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Sustainability issue
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2021
Economic
A review of the financial costs and benefits of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: Implications for future research

Published in Sustainable Production and Consumption in 2021, this study reviews the existing literature to identify the financial outcomes associated with RSPO certification.

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Independent
2021
Economic, Social
Indonesia
Pre-certification conditions of independent oil palm smallholders – Assessing prospects for RSPO certification

This study explores the differences in smallholders’ pre-certification conditions and prospects for certification to develop strategies to target smallholders that are currently not reached by certification initiatives.

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Independent
2021
Economic, Social
Indonesia
Independent oil palm shareholder management practices and yield. Can RSPO certification make a difference?

The study aims to evaluate if and how certified smallholders perform differently from their non-certified counterparts in terms of management practices and yields, and to what extent this is related to RSPO certification.

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Independent
2020
Environmental
Indonesia
Deforestation spillovers from oil palm sustainability certification

Published in Environmental Research Letters in March 2020, this study quantified forest loss and conservation spillovers from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification system in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan).

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Independent
2020
Policy and Regulations, Social
Indonesia
To grip or to slip – Smallholder inclusion in sustainable palm oil certifications in Riau, Indonesia

This study examines the barriers that smallholders face in pursuing the regulatory process prior to the certification process and how they affect smallholder inclusion in sustainable palm oil initiatives.

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Independent
2020
Policy and Regulations, Economic, Social
Thailand, Indonesia
Opportunities and bottlenecks for upstream learning within RSPO certified palm oil value chains: A comparative analysis between Indonesia and Thailand

Published in the Journal of Rural Studies in August 2020, this study investigates if and how RSPO certification fosters upstream learning to improve farming practices.

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Independent
2020
Economic, Social
Indonesia
Non-state certification of smallholders for sustainable palm oil in Sumatra, Indonesia

This study aims to understand the perceptions of RSPO certified smallholders about (1) the challenges and benefits of RSPO certification, (2) their willingness to maintain their certification, and (3) factors affecting their willingness.

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Independent
2020
Economic
Malaysia
Consumer preference for certified sustainable palm oil with environmental sustainability attributes: A choice experiment approach

This study explores Malaysian consumer knowledge of certified sustainable palm oil, and to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for cooking oil certified under RSPO.

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Independent
2019
Economic
Companies committed to sustainable palm oil production have substantively stronger equity returns

This analysis by Climate Advisers was done to compare the financial performance of RSPO companies to non-RSPO companies.

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Independent
2019
Environmental
Indonesia, Malaysia
Comparative life cycle assessment of RSPO-certified and non-certified palm oil

This report, prepared by 2.0 LCA consultants, presents the executive summary of a detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) study of palm oil production comparing the environmental impact of RSPO certified sustainable palm oil with non-certified palm oil.

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Independent

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