Update: Complaints and Appeals Procedures 2017 and Grievance System review

The RSPO Complaints System is a fair, transparent and impartial process to duly handle and address complaints against RSPO Members regarding allegations of breaches of any of the provisions within the RSPO Key Documents. It is not intended as a replacement for legal requirements and mechanisms in force and is regulated by the Complaints and Appeals Procedures 2017 (CAP 2017). It was endorsed by the Board of Governors on 14 June 2017 and amended with effect from 1 December 2018.

Five (5) years after its introduction and implementation, the RSPO, in its pursuit to improve its procedures and systems, has embarked on a mission to review the CAP 2017 and to explore the idea of elevating the existing Complaints System into a wider Grievance System.

In line with the principle of transparency, the Secretariat is pleased to provide the RSPO Membership with the following key updates on the progress of the review: 

The review commenced in December 2022. The Remedy Project was appointed as an independent Consultant to perform the review and the process is overseen by a Steering Group.

• December 2022 – January 2023

• • Literature review conducted and completed by the Consultant.

• January – February 2023 

• • First Steering Group Virtual Meeting proceeded on 12 January 2023. 

• • Stakeholder engagement conducted and completed with stakeholders in Malaysia and Indonesia (physical and virtual), as well as with stakeholders from the rest of the world (virtual). 

• • Approximately more than 60 stakeholders including the RSPO Secretariat, Complaints Panel members, RSPO Members, Civil Society Organisations, Trade Unions, and Certification Bodies were consulted. 

• • An online survey  (by way of questionnaire) was carried out from 25 January 2023 to 15 February 2023. A total of 128 responses were obtained from the online survey with a 50% completion rate. 

• March 2023

• • The Second Steering Group Meeting (hybrid) proceeded on 17 March 2023 in Kuala Lumpur with members of the Steering Group, the Secretariat and the Consultant in attendance. The Consultant presented the contents of their report (Version 1).

• • Following discussions and receipt of comments from the Steering Group, the Consultant submitted a revised report (Version 2) on 31 March 2023. 

• April – present 2023 

• • Version 2 of the report was reviewed by the Steering Group.   Further comments  from the Steering Group members were collated and furnished to the Consultant.

• • The Consultant are to prepare a revised report (Version 3) based on the comments from the Steering Group members.  

In light of the required revisions, additional tasks are to be included in the scope of work of the Consultant, hence the Secretariat is currently renewing the Consultant’s service agreement to extend the timeline and to include these additional tasks.  

The RSPO Secretariat and the Complaints System remain committed to stakeholders while upholding the independence and impartiality of the process and will continue to keep stakeholders updated on the progress of this review.