Starting on 1st January 2017, public reporting of GHG assessment for new plantings under Criterion 7.8 is made mandatory through; i) standard NPP report uploaded onto the RSPO website; and ii) as part of the annual audit summary report published on the RSPO website under compliance findings of principle 7. The GHG assessment report for new plantings is to be verified by auditors based on ‘Chapter 6 – Reporting of GHG assessment for new plantings’.
Throughout the implementation period of Criterion 7.8, the RSPO GHG Assessment Procedure for New Plantings is revised to provide better clarify and step-by-step guidance on how GHG assessment would be carried out and the reporting framework of the assessment.
The RSPO GHG Assessment Procedure for New Plantings Version 3, is a revised guidance document meant to be used as a guidance to identify and estimate the corresponding expected carbon stock fluxes (above and below ground) and GHG emissions associated with the resulting land cover change to oil palm, peat drainage (if appropriate); and emissions from mills and operations can be estimated and thus development plans could be adjusted to avoid areas with high carbon stocks and minimise net GHG emissions associated with new plantation development.
Additionally, the procedure will provide guidance for developing a plan to minimise net greenhouse gas emissions which takes into account avoidance of land areas with high carbon stocks and/or sequestration options as required by Criterion 7.8.2. A calculator, known as New Development GHG Calculator, was also developed to assist the estimation of GHG emissions. This procedure is referred to in the RSPO P&C 2013, as the RSPO Carbon Assessment Tool.
This latest version of RSPO GHG Assessment Procedure for New Plantings (Version 3, 30th October 2016) will supersede all previous versions of RSPO GHG Assessment Procedure. The compliance for scheme smallholders is the responsibility of the company that is managing the scheme. There is yet a mechanism in-place at this time for the independent smallholder to comply with Criterion 7.8.
