Annual Round Table Meeting by the RSPO welcomes delegates from all around the world
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, 23 August 2011 - Multi stakeholder initiative, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), announced today, that its 9th Annual Roundtable Meeting on Sustainable Palm Oil (RT9) will be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah this year.
The announcement was made at a joint press conference between the Minister of Industrial Development, Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah on behalf of Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Hj. Aman, the Chief Minister of Sabah together with the Secretary General of RSPO, Darrel Webber.
The RT is the world's largest meeting on sustainable palm oil organized annually by RSPO as a platform to exchange views and experiences among various stakeholders in developed and developing countries; and to strengthen their co-operation and support towards a unified vision. Last year, the RT 8, attracted over 800 delegates from 30 countries around the world.
This year, Sabah has been given the honour to host the RT9 with its theme: "RSPO Certified. Transforming the Market. Together." which will be held from November 22nd to 24th.
Darrel Webber, Secretary General of the RSPO, commented that: "Sabah is becoming an ideal location to host many international conventions, with many factors contributing to its popularity. Amongst these would be its efficiency and infrastructure; intellectual and knowledge based capacity; its charm and appeal as a diverse and culturally rich heritage; as well as the beauty and magnificence of its bio diversity".
"Most importantly, is that Sabah is highly committed to embracing world class sustainable practices in the production of certified sustainable palm oil. In fact, some of the first few mills certified within Malaysia were located in Sabah. And Sabah contributes to over 40% of total certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) production in Malaysia, which is the highest producer of CSPO in the world." Webber added.
"This is very significant as we are seeing more and more internationally acclaimed platforms and events hosted here, in the land below the wind. Sabah also seems to be the host and grounds for numerous international knowledge based and bio diversity related assemblies, which is certainly gaining world stature. We are indeed very proud of this." Commented by the Minister of Industrial Development, Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah on behalf of Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Hj. Aman, the Chief Minister of Sabah.
I am grateful towards the RSPO for spearheading the entire palm oil supply chain from upstream to downstream in guiding and motivating world class best practices in protecting our dwelling and our people for the future of all. It is precisely initiatives such as the RSPO that allow for Sabah to attract investors to develop our resources, introduce technology and up-skill the current workforce with best practices." Yang Amat Berhormat further commented.
This year, the RSPO expects the RT9 to continue to be well received from the international scene as sustainably produced palm oil gains increasing interest, attention and momentum as the solution to concerns faced within the sector. Already, the RT9 has delegates from 15 countries around the world from both grower and consumer markets, who have registered to attend. For more information about RT9 and how to register, please log on to www.rt9.rspo.org.
About RSPO
In response to the urgent and pressing global call for sustainably produced palm oil, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with a satellite office in Jakarta.
RSPO is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. Such multi-stakeholder representation is mirrored in the governance structure of RSPO such that seats
in the Executive Board and project level Working Groups are fairly allocated to each sector. In this way, RSPO lives out the philosophy of the "roundtable" by giving equal rights to each stakeholder group to bring group-specific agendas to the roundtable, facilitating traditionally adversarial stakeholders and business competitors to work together towards a common objective and making decisions by consensus.
