First Indonesian palm oil company certified sustainable

A large Indonesian plantation company has become the country’s first certified maker of sustainable palm oil. Musim Mas Group is the first company in Indonesia to demonstrate that some of its plantations comply with the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria, a set of standards that helps ensure that palm oil is produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way. However, there is still much work to be done before sustainable palm oil can be a reality in the country; thus, the Indonesian branch of conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), one of the roundatble’s founders, said it will continue to cooperate with stakeholders to build the capacity of farmers to implement the RSPO guidelines, promote the use of idle or degraded land for oil palm expansion, and put pressure on those companies that persist in converting natural forest for oil palm expansion. Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, an edible plant oil derived from the fruit and seeds of the Arecaceae Elaeis oil palm tree.(April 7, 2009)