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RSPO launches new, stricter palm oil label
February 11, 2016
RSPO launches new, stricter palm oil label
By Vaidehi Shah
Thursday 11 February 2016
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has launched a new label called RSPO Next, which allows palm oil growers to brand their products as exceeding the association’s minimum standards on environmental and social responsibility.
The industry group, which has since 2010 certified palm oil which is grown in accordance with its rules on sustainable palm oil cultivation, said on Tuesday in a statement that the new label is a voluntary add-on to its existing criteria, and companies can decide on their own timelines for compliance to the standard.
About 20 per cent of the world’s total palm oil supply is certified under the existing certification, known as the RSPO trademark.
Many palm oil giants such as Wilmar, Golden Agri-Resources and Cargill have in recent years gone beyond the basic standards to make zero-deforestation commitments, and to halt development on carbon-rich peatland, among other things.
However, these practices are not currently required to obtain the RSPO stamp and hence, the existing RSPO label does not reflect these additional efforts by companiesto break the link between palm oil and deforestation.
Read more at Eco-Business.
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