Palm Oil Sustainability, RSPO Certification And EUDR Compliance

What You’ll Learn

• An introduction to palm oil sustainability challenges and the importance of responsible sourcing 
• An overview of RSPO certification, how it works and the benefits 
• Understanding the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and its impact on businesses
• How RSPO Certification can support compliance with EUDR and other deforestation-related legislation, including the UK Forest Risk Commodities (UK FRC) regulation
•  PLUS: an interactive Q&A session

Webinar Transcript 

Thank you very much to everyone attending so far. I’m the training manager at NQA, and I’m joined by Judith Murdoch, who will be speaking through today’s webinar. The focus will be on EUDR palm oil compliance through RSPO certification.

A quick introduction to NQA before we begin. NQA is a world-leading certification body with global operations. We specialise in high technology and engineering sectors and are expanding our reach to cover topics such as today’s webinar.

I’ll now hand over to Judith to begin the main part of the webinar. If you have any questions, please use the chat function. There will also be a Q&A session at the end to address your queries.

The objective of today’s webinar is to explore the relevance and value of RSPO certification for compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). We want to show how RSPO certification can assist in compliance, improve business reputation, open new opportunities, and build supply chain traceability and transparency.

I’m the technical manager at NQA for RSPO and have worked in palm oil for over 30 years, with extensive manufacturing knowledge and hands-on experience in oils and fats. The presentation will cover three areas: background on palm oil, EUDR requirements, and RSPO’s role in potential compliance. This is a large topic, so today’s session aims to give you direction and ideas rather than cover everything in detail.

Palm oil is found in many products, from food items like chocolate and pizza to cosmetics and toiletries like shampoo and lipstick. It’s semi-solid at room temperature, heat-stable, and has a long shelf life, making it ideal for processed foods and cosmetics. Palm oil is highly efficient: it makes up 40% of the world’s vegetable oil using only 6% of the land used for vegetable oil production. Switching to other oils like soybean or sunflower would require four to ten times more land and could threaten other habitats.

Palm oil is grown around the equator, with Indonesia and Malaysia accounting for over 85% of global supply. It’s a dual-yield product, providing both palm oil and palm kernel oil. Millions of smallholders depend on it for their livelihoods. Replacing palm oil could significantly impact these communities.

The supply chain is complex, and traceability can be lost at multiple stages from plantations to traders to mills. This complexity makes compliance and traceability crucial.

EUDR is one of several new regulations aiming to reduce deforestation linked to seven commodities: palm oil, cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, rubber, and coffee. It comes into force in December 2025. Companies must provide detailed supply chain information, including geolocation data and due diligence. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to 4% of turnover.

Operators (those who place products on the EU market) must collect geolocation data, conduct risk assessments, and file due diligence statements. Traders (those who buy and sell within the EU) must maintain traceability and documentation. SMEs will have additional time to comply.

Due diligence systems must include documented procedures, internal controls, audits, risk assessments, and record retention for at least five years. Each EU country has its own competent authority to enforce compliance.

RSPO can support EUDR compliance through deforestation criteria, legal compliance checks, geospatial data collection, and traceability systems. RSPO is a global non-profit setting standards for sustainable palm oil. Around 20% of global palm oil is RSPO-certified. RSPO has been preparing for EUDR by reviewing its standard and launching Prisma, an IT platform to capture polygon data.

RSPO certification covers the entire supply chain from growers and mills to manufacturers and retailers through two certification types: Principles and Criteria (mandatory for plantations and mills) and Supply Chain Certification (voluntary for downstream actors).

EUDR requires no deforestation after December 31, 2020. RSPO’s cutoff date is earlier November 2018 and includes assessments of high conservation value and high carbon stock. Although definitions differ slightly, RSPO provides a strong basis for compliance.

RSPO certification involves third-party audits, legal compliance checks, traceability, and documentation. RSPO supply chain models include Identity Preserved (single-source, fully traceable), Segregated (mixed but only from certified sources), and Mass Balance (mixing certified and non-certified). Under EUDR, mass balance is not allowed, but segregated supply chains are particularly relevant for compliance.

Currently, around 460 RSPO-certified mills exist worldwide, with about half operating segregated supply chains. RSPO supply chain certification involves documented procedures, purchasing controls, record keeping, training, and transaction registration, supporting the due diligence structure required by EUDR.

RSPO certification brings both environmental and commercial benefits. It promotes sustainable production, protects forests and communities, improves reputation, and helps set up due diligence systems more easily. While RSPO isn’t fully aligned with EUDR in all areas (e.g., forest definitions), it provides a strong platform for compliance. RSPO certification may also reduce the frequency of checks by EU authorities, as EUDR recognises third-party verified schemes like RSPO as risk assessment tools.

In conclusion, RSPO can help organisations go beyond minimum legal requirements, demonstrate no deforestation, and build stakeholder trust.