Sales of physical Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) have increased by a whopping three-fold as end of January 2016; recording a 162% surge for the physical uptake of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) CSPO as compared with January 2015, reflecting heightened stakeholder commitment and growing environmental awareness globally.
According to RSPO’s latest data, the sales of physical CSPO, reported through the three RSPO physical supply chain options -- Identity Preserved (IP), Segregated (SG) and Mass Balance (MB -- have increased to 448,140 Metric Tonnes (MT) in the first month of 2016, as compared with 170,896 MT in the same period last year.
The bulk of the commitment towards CSPO can be seen among SG (57%) and IP (30%), as explained in Figure 1 from the eTrace platform.
RSPO’s Head of Certification, Jan van Driel said: “Increasing the level of CSPO uptake has been a long-standing challenge for RSPO and its members. With the current record of sales, we are pleased to witness the commitments of our stakeholders towards sustainable palm oil translating into action through the increased demand of RSPO CSPO, most of them with a 2020 deadline.”
The encouraging data reflects the positive response to calls for commensurate efforts by RSPO’s supply chain members and certified growers to make the whole palm oil industry sustainable by sharing their responsibilities.