VATIS UPDATE Article

A joint-study between the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Standard (ISPO) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been officially released, marking a milestone for closer and effective cooperation between Indonesian and global palm oil sustainability standards. The study on “Similarities and Differences of the ISPO and the RSPO Certification Systems” is a joint initiative, endorsed by the Ministry of Agriculture. PT Mutu Agung Lestari, an independent certification body with competency to conduct both RSPO and ISPO audits, was appointed to perform the study.

Facilitated by The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the study represents a milestone in the formal collaboration between the two sustainability standards and has been touted as an important move toward streamlining the certification process within the Indonesian palm oil sector. The main findings of the study showed that both ISPO and RSPO aim to contribute to the reduction in loss of forest coverage, reduction of Green House Gas from land use change and adherence to legal requirements.

However, the study also demonstrated that there are different elements contained in the requirements of the two standards. Key differences include the protected area and High Conservation Value concepts, oil palm plantation land ownership procedures based on Indonesian law and the concept of Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) process present in RSPO. The key recommendation by the study is to use the many common elements required by both certification systems as a basis to conduct a joint, more efficient ISPO audit and RSPO certification with an auditor who understands both systems.