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RSPO New Planting Procedure

Before any new oil palm development, members must complete The RSPO New Planting Procedure (NPP): a set of assessment processes by growers and some smallholders, followed by a verification by third-party accredited Certification Bodies (CBs).

The NPP Processes:

  • Identify and preserve areas with High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS);
  • Prevent planting on peatland, fragile and marginal soils; and
  • Uphold the rights of local peoples including their rights on the land being developed.

The NPP is part of the RSPO certification journey. Compliance to NPP requirements are in line with the 2018 RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C). Please refer to Annex 4 of the RSPO New Planting Procedure 2021 document. The NPP is updated in line with the RSPO P&C every five years.

The NPP report is verified by the CBs and vetted by the RSPO Secretariat before a 30-day public comments period on the RSPO website and on-site notice boards for public comment. New planting and any associated development can only begin once the 30-day public comments period is completed, RSPO approval is granted, and applicable local legal requirements are met.

Which smallholders does the NPP apply to?

The NPP applies to any proposed new development by smallholders who are not pursuing the 2019 RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard and/or applicable National/Local Interpretation. If a company leads the certification process for a group of smallholders, then the company (group manager) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the NPP.

Growers

NPP submissions step-by-step guide

  1. Growers conduct the following assessments:
    a) Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA)
    b) High Conservation Value-High Carbon Stock assessment (HCV-HCSA assessment) using the HCSA Toolkit and the HCV-HCSA Assessment Manual
    c) Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)
    d) Land Use Change Analysis (LUCA) (as per Section 2.6 of the NPP 2021 document)
    e) GHG
  2. Upon verification, the CB shall submit the following NPP documents to the RSPO Secretariat:
    a) Notification Statement: Acknowledgement by RSPO member and CB;
    b) Summary of Assessments: Report that proposes how and where new oil palm planting should (or should not) proceed for a given management area; and
    c) Integrated Management Plan: Development and operations planning of the proposed new development.
    d) Shapefiles: Digital maps which include files like shp. shx. dbf. prj. The shapefiles must be in the WGS84 coordinate system.
  3. The RSPO Secretariat will review the NPP documents submitted.
  4. Once the NPP passes the RSPO Secretariat’s internal review, it will be posted on the RSPO website for 30 days for public comments.
  5. The RSPO Secretariat will communicate the approval of the NPP to the grower. This is subject to the grower addressing stakeholders’ comments (if any) on the NPP.
  6. Grower can start new planting.

Smallholders

NPP is applicable to smallholders when:

  • It is a new area of smallholder(s) and/or independent growers (growers without a mill), supported by an RSPO member company (either through existing group member(s) or new recruitment into existing group).
  • It is an area where new members of smallholder(s) or independent grower(s) join an existing scheme/organised smallholders or group of growers certified through group certification, managed by an appointed Group Manager (not company).

Note: Independent Smallholders pursuing the RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard do not need to apply NPP, but to demonstrate compliance with relevant requirements for new plantings/developments as outlined within the standard during the certification process.

NPP submissions step-by-step guide

RSPO recognises the need to provide simple and straightforward guidance, as well as cost-effective mechanisms and tools to facilitate compliance of smallholders with the NPP. Therefore, smallholders need to apply a Risk-Based Approach guided by simplified toolkits for relevant assessments demonstrating compliance with the NPP.

Step 1

Smallholders conduct an Independent Smallholder – Land Use Risk Identification (IS-LURI) assessment to determine whether the areas fall under the ‘Low Risk’ or ‘Risk’ category. Based on the results, please follow one of the two submissions processed below.

  • Low Risk areas: NPP shall be submitted without CB verification.
  • Risk areas: NPP shall be submitted with CB verification (remotely and/or through desktop review).

Step 2

Low Risk Areas
Smallholders conduct an HCV assessment by using the HCV App.

Risk Areas
Smallholders conduct an HCV-HCSA assessment in accordance with Table 3 requirements (Section 2.2 of the NPP 2021 document).

Step 3

Low Risk Areas
Smallholders submit the following documents to the RSPO Secretariat:

  • NPP notification statement (Template 1 of the NPP 2021 document).
  • Digital map of legal boundary, NPP area and (if present) HCS, HCV, peatlands, riparian buffer, steep terrain, marginal and fragile soil.
  • Full assessment reports [SEIA, HCV+IS-LURI, soil suitability and topographic (refer to Section 2.4 of the NPP 2021 document), GHG] guided by the relevant simplified toolkits.
  • LUCA (refer to Section 2.6 of the NPP 2021 document).
  • Relevant legal document verifying legal use rights.
  • Relevant document relating to stakeholder engagement and FPIC processes.
  • Integrated management plan (Template 3 of the NPP 2021 document).

Risk Areas
CB to verify that all NPP requirements have been met and submit the final NPP report that contains the following to the RSPO Secretariat:

  • NPP notification statement along with CB’s verification statement (Template 1 of the NPP 2021 document).
  • Summary of assessment reports (Template 2 of the NPP 2021 document).
  • Summary of integrated management plans (Template 3 of the NPP 2021 document).
  • Digital map of legal boundary, NPP area and (if present) HCS, HCV, peatlands, riparian buffer, steep terrain, marginal and fragile soil.

Step 4

The RSPO Secretariat will review the NPP documents submitted.

Step 5

Once the NPP passes the RSPO Secretariat’s internal review, it will be posted for 30-day public comments on the RSPO website.

Step 6

The RSPO Secretariat will communicate the approval of the NPP to the smallholders or the CB. This is subject to the smallholders addressing stakeholders’ comments (if any) on the NPP.

Step 7

Smallholders to start new planting.