KUALA LUMPUR: The 12th Roundtable Meeting on Sustainable Palm Oil (RT12), organised by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), will look at trends pointing towards the evolutionary path of sustainability and how to prepare for it.
The annual meeting, set to take centre stage here on November 17 to 20, was previously held in Medan, Indonesia.
RSPO Secretary General, Darrel Webber, said the RT12, themed ‘Sustainability: What’s Next?’, would discuss current challenges faced by members and stakeholders such as multiplicity of standards and constant change in demand from the market.
“This year’s meeting will consist of four types of formats – small intense group sessions, plenary sessions, panel discussions as well as a more interactive session called World Cafe, where we go around the table and ask questions.
“We are the facilitator while the members are the owners. Therefore, they need to come together, engage with the stakeholders and come up with solutions to tackle potential issues in the industry,” he told Bernama.
The meeting will bring together close to 800 delegates from over 30 countries, comprising stakeholders from all sectors in the palm oil industry.
The highlight of this year’s event is a keynote address and panel discussion led by award-winning scientist, environmentalist and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, Dr David Suzuki.
RSPO had indeed came a long way since its first establishment in 2004.
With the rolling out of national standards such as the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO), the RSPO is more determined than ever to stay on its toes and maintain its relevance.
Webber said that these new standards would also help lift the industry floor, making it easier for local players to jump over the RSPO benchmark, as well as, present opportunities for collaboration between the organisations.
In October last year, the RSPO and ISPO announced their cooperation towards promoting sustainable palm oil in Indonesia, which includes a joint study to examine both voluntary international standards and mandatory national standards.
RSPO now have over 1,791 members from from 72 countries including Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Malaysia and Indonesia. — Bernama