RSPO Latin America Faces Challenge to Convince Local Brands to Get Involved

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been operating in Latin America for 10 years but the majority of its membership remains producers, so the next big push has to come from local brands, says its outreach and engagement manager, Yasmina Neustadtl.  In 2008, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) held its first conference in Latin America, marking the not-for-profit organization’s first venture into the significant palm oil growing region.  

Latin America is the fourth-largest palm oil growing region in the world, producing 5-6 per cent behind Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.  Currently, 782,000 tons or 21 per cent of total production is RSPO-certified and the goals is to have 1m tons certified by the end of 2018 and 50% by 2020.  

Membership in RSPO Latin America had risen signficantly over the last few years to 103 and should top 120 by the end of the year.  However, more than 90 per cent are producers and the goal now is to get more brands on board. Neustadtl said it was vital to have certified producers for strong supply but it was also necessary to get local brands involved to create impact in the market.  Many major international companies such as Nestle, Unilever and Ferrero, she said, worked in Latin America but these firms had their RSPO registered elsewhere, so the task was getting regional and local sign ups.