Forests Equal to Almost 350,000 Football Fields Conserved in RSPO Member Plantations

Earlier this month, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) released their 2018 Impact Report, highlighting that an area of more than 263,000 hectares of High Conservation Value (HCV) land, equivalent to almost 350,000 football fields, has been set aside and managed by RSPO members – a 39% increase from the previous reporting year.

Other noteworthy trends included strong progress from emerging markets such as Latin America and Africa, where the growth in HCV area set aside by RSPO members increased by 83% (66,229 hectares) and 132% (18,043 hectares) respectively.

Certified area expanding

In terms of total certified area, RSPO members covered 3.2 million hectares as at 30 June, 2018, representing an annual certified production volume of 13.6 million tonnes of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). Significant gains were made in Africa where RSPO-certified area increased by 94% and by 15% in Latin America.

Avoided emissions from more than 110,000 cars – in just one year

RSPO Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Darrel Webber, was pleased to note among other impact highlights, the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions found through GHG assessment submissions received since 2015. “We’ve seen a steady increase in cumulative annual CO2 emissions avoided from the conservation of peatlands, equivalent to removing the emissions of more than 110,000 cars in just one year. We commend our members for their efforts and I hope we can continue to see this kind of progress across the board year-on-year” he said.

15% increase in membership

In terms of membership, RSPO had 3,920 members in 91 countries as at June 30, 2018 – a 15% increase from the previous year. Membership surpassed 4,000 members from 92 countries in October, a milestone for RSPO.

Data in the RSPO Impact Report 2018 is from the reporting period 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. The full report can be found here.