SANDAKAN: A Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) awareness workshop will be held here next week amid growing concern on the need for the sector to do its bit for the environment and to produce edible oil in a sustainable way.The “Sustainable Palm Oil — From Tree to Table” workshop on Jan 14 will see speakers presenting six papers expected to touch on the industry’s sustainability issue.
The workshop is jointly organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) Sabah branch and WWF-Malaysia’s Kinabatangan – Corridor of Life (K-CoL) project and is expected to draw 100 participants.
MPOA Chief Executive Datuk Mamat Salleh will address the workshop and also expected to present a paper that centres on the road ahead for the industry.
K-CoL team leader Julia Majail said the workshop is expected to create awareness among participants on sustainability issues and expectations of consumers, both globally and in Malaysia.
“Consumers are becoming more concerned about where products come from, and in the case of palm oil, they want to be sure that minimal harm has been done to the environment.
“RSPO provides guidelines on making sure this vegetable oil is produced in a sustainable way and we are confident this workshop will provide planters and millers the knowledge they need to take the next step, especially among those who are operating in the Kinabatangan Basin,” she said in a statement.
Statistics show that there are more than 290 licensed oil palm plantations and over a thousand smallholders within the Kinabatangan Basin on Sabah’s east coast.
The Basin, which is known for iconic wildlife like the Orang Utan and Borneo Pygmy elephants, is also home to 29 mills. — Bernama