MSPO - Standard for Palm Oil sustainability

STANDARDS MALAYSIA is responsible for processing applications for accreditation and their submission to the Director General who, in successful cases, issues certificates of accreditation.

The long awaited Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) will be the third such certification standard in the world for palm oil, after the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) launched in 2011, and the international multi-stakeholder grouping, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) set up in 2004.

Voluntary or mandatory
MSPO will be transparent for the benefits of producers, traders, consumers, the public as well as regulatory bodies. For now, MSPO certification is on a voluntary basis for oil palm plantation companies and planters in the country. However, the Government may consider making it a compulsory standard in stages.

Development stages
The MSPO standard is developed by the MPOB together with the oil palm industry and relevant government agencies, guided by Sirim Bhd. The first draft of the MSPO was ready in March 2011, which was circulated to the industry for comments. Based on industry feedback, the MSPO draft was revised based on the national interpretation of RSPO.

The MSPO is divided into four parts: general principles; general principles for independent smallholders; general principles for oil palm plantations and organised smallholders; and general principles for palm oil mills.
The MSPO Principles consists (i) Management Commitment & Responsibilities (ii) Transparency (iii) Compliance to Legal Requirements (iv) Social Responsibility, Health, Safety and Employement Conditions (v) Environment, Natural Resources, Biodiversity and Ecosystem (vi) Best Practise (vii) Development of New Planting

As required of the development of a Malaysian standard, the MSPO drafts were posted on Sirim’s website for public comments; the first part from October to November 2012, and the second from February to March 2013. Subsequently, the MSPO was approved by the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister on Sept 5 last year.

MSPO certification with CARE Certification International (M) Sdn. Bhd.