Take a look with us at RSPO and palm oil certification

If you have already searched the market for palm oil from sustainable sources, you have probably already come across this abbreviation or organization.
RSPO or Roundtable on sustainable palm oil ensures the global standard for sustainable palm oil. However, if you are hearing about this certification for the first time, don’t despair, you will learn everything you need in this article.

RSPO CERTIFICATION

Manufacturers and consumers are paying increasing attention to the environmental consequences and the footprint of oil production. In this field, palm oil in particular is coming to the forefront, as it is sometimes associated with non-ecological and non-gentle practices towards the environment.


Due to the growing requirements for sustainable sourcing of raw materials and global concerns about non-gentle production of palm oil, RSPO certification was created. This certificate serves as a guarantee for customers that the production of palm oil took place in a form that is sustainable for the environment.


Palm oil producers are certified after undergoing a strict inspection of their manufacturing and cultivation practices. Only after all the requirements arising from RSPO principles and criteria have been met is the certificate granted. At the same time, in the case of a negative change in the manufacturing and production process, this certificate can be withdrawn. Furthermore, there is a control of the entire processing chain in order to prevent even the mixing of certified oils with non-certified ones or with oils obtained by non-ecological practices without proper labelling of the resulting product.

TYPES OF CERTIFICATION

There are several certificates that manufacturers can obtain. In the case of pure sustainable palm oil, there are two categories.


•    IP (identity preserved) – in this case it is possible to trace the palm oil directly back to its single source.
•    Segregated oil – in this case, certified sustainably sourced palm oil is kept separate from non-certified oil, but it is obtained by mixing several certified palm oils from different suppliers, i.e. it comes from various certified sources. Again, it is possible to trace the oil back to its original producers.


There is also the designation Mixed – mixed, when palm oil is not 100 % obtained from sustainable sources, but on the contrary, arises from mixing sustainably and conventionally sourced palm oil. The effort to obtain this designation is also common among producers, since it is a cheaper and faster process than in the case of producing palm oil from 100 % sustainable sources.

WHAT IS MEANT BY SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL?

You too may be wondering what exactly is hidden under the designation sustainable palm oil. According to RSPO guidelines, this refers to palm oil that has been obtained under the condition that producers respected and took into account the local population, that no deforestation of protected areas occurred, and that the impact of production on the environment was minimized.


Being a member of RSPO does not mean for a manufacturer that they automatically produce only certified palm oil. Membership in RSPO, however, means a time-limited commitment to more sustainable production, and members must also demonstrate the fulfilment of tasks to achieve this goal. The actual production of the oil must undergo an approval process, and only then does the RSPO member obtain a certificate for the palm oil produced.

WHY CHOOSE CERTIFIED OIL?

A lot has been written about the ecological unsustainability of palm oil production. Nevertheless, it remains a fact that this oil has universal use from food production to cosmetics, and in some products it would be difficult to replace it, or the price of the product would increase several times over.


This is also why organizations such as RSPO are emerging, which are trying to lead oil producers towards more sustainable practices and at the same time bring transparency into the entire production chain. Thanks to the annual reports of RSPO members, it is possible to trace how much palm oil individual producers use and produce and what form of certification they use. Thanks to this, consumers ultimately have more information before purchasing a given product and can decide in favour of a product made from raw materials obtained in a more sustainable way.

RSPO AND CONCLUSION

Have you already heard of RSPO or of palm oil certification? Do you use palm oil in your products?

Write to us with your opinion or observations and let’s stir up a conversation about certification and the quality of raw materials at marketing@handymade.sk.

We thank Ivana Jačalová for the helpful article.