RSPO
COMMODITY
CONFIDENCE MEDIUM · ANALYSIS ONLY, NOT AN AUDIT OR CERTIFICATION
Our read
RSPO is the clearest case in this dataset of a mark whose everyday meaning depends entirely on a detail most buyers never see. The grower standard is substantive. The 2024 Principles and Criteria, adopted at the 21st General Assembly in November 2024, prohibit new planting on peatland of any depth after 15 November 2018, prohibit damage to primary forest and High Conservation Values from November 2005 and to High Carbon Stock forests from November 2018, require free prior and informed consent, require a living wage, and require GHG emissions to be calculated with the PalmGHG calculator and publicly reported. Then the supply chain splits four ways. Identity Preserved and Segregated keep certified oil physically apart. Mass Balance, in RSPO's own words, allows mixing certified and non-certified palm oil through physical or administrative blending at any stage. Book and Claim puts no certified oil in the product at all; it is a credit purchase against conventional oil. All four sit behind the same trademark family. A shopper holding a pack marked with RSPO credits is holding conventional palm oil.
What it covers
- oil palm grower and mill units of certification assessed against seven principles covering ethics, legality, productivity, community and human rights, smallholder inclusion, workers' rights and environmental protection
- no new planting or development on peatland of any depth after the 15 November 2018 cut-off date
- no damage to primary forest and High Conservation Values from November 2005, and to High Carbon Stock forests from 15 November 2018, with an integrated HCV-HCSA assessment required before new clearing
- free, prior and informed consent process for land affecting local communities
- living wage payment required under Criterion 6.3, aligned to the Revised RSPO Living Wage Strategy 2023
- greenhouse gas emissions calculated with the RSPO PalmGHG calculator, publicly reported, with an emissions reduction plan
- four supply chain models with distinct rules: Identity Preserved, Segregated, Mass Balance and Book and Claim
- a complaints system open to non-members including affected communities and workers
What it leaves out
Not a criticism of the scheme. A standard is a scope, and this is where this one ends.
- Mass Balance permits mixing RSPO certified and non-certified palm oil by physical or administrative blending at any stage in the supply chain, so a Mass Balance product may contain no certified oil
- Book and Claim involves no certified oil in the product at all: the buyer purchases credits to offset conventional palm oil, and RSPO describes it as not requiring sustainable sourcing decisions anywhere in the chain except the last buyer
- the on-pack trademark distinguishes the models only in small print, so shoppers cannot tell Segregated from Mass Balance or Credits without reading it
- Identity Preserved and Segregated are the only models that guarantee physically certified oil in the pack, and they are the minority of certified volume traded
- the peat and HCS cut-off is 15 November 2018, so conversion before that date does not disqualify a unit
- certification applies to a defined unit of certification, so a group can hold certified and uncertified estates simultaneously
- no requirement on downstream refining, packaging or transport emissions
- GHG requirement is calculate, report and plan, not an absolute reduction threshold
The scheme
| Issued by | Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Where it applies | Global |
| Audit and renewal | Five-year certificate with annual surveillance audits, for both the Principles and Criteria and the Supply Chain Certification Standard. |
| Cost | Not published in the documents read. Costs comprise RSPO membership fees, certification body audit fees, and a levy on certified volume; RSPO Credit prices under Book and Claim are set by the market on the PalmTrace platform. |
What we read
2024 RSPO Principles and Criteria Version 4.2, adopted at the 21st RSPO General Assembly on 13 November 2024 (booklet dated 13 May 2026); RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard 2020; RSPO supply chain model explainers for IP/SG, Mass Balance and Book and Claim
- what_it_omits (mass balance definition) — The Mass Balance (MB) Supply Chain model allows mixing RSPO and non-RSPO Certified palm oil (through physical or administrative blending) at any stage in the supply chain
- what_it_omits (book and claim is an offset) — This model allows businesses to offset the use of conventional palm or palm kernel oil and its fractions and derivatives through the purchase of an equivalent number of RSPO Credits.
- what_it_omits (book and claim requires no sourcing decision upstream) — it does not require decision-making on sustainable sourcing throughout the entire supply chain apart from the last buyer
- what_it_covers (IP and SG definitions) — the certified oil palm products are identifiable from a single certified palm oil mill and its supply bases, which are kept separate throughout the supply chain
- what_it_covers (peat cut-off date) — There shall be no new plantings and/or development on peatlands, regardless of depth, after 15 November 2018.
- what_it_covers, what_it_omits (deforestation cut-off dates) — A Unit of Certification shall not damage primary forest and HCVs (from November 2005) and HCS forests (from 15 November 2018).
- what_it_covers (living wage) — Aligned with the Revised RSPO Living Wage Strategy 2023, Living Wage shall be paid
- what_it_covers, what_it_omits (GHG reporting) — The Unit of Certification shall publicly report its GHG ... using the latest version of RSPO PalmGHG calculator.
- standard_version_read (adoption date) — Adopted at the 21st RSPO General Assembly on 13 November 2024
- what_it_covers (complaints system open to non-members) — alleged breaches of specific RSPO Key Documents ... are fairly, impartially and transparently resolved
- independence_score (ASI accredits RSPO certification bodies) — ASI provides assurance services to ... the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
- what_it_covers (four supply chain models) — RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil from certified sources that is mixed with ordinary palm oil throughout the supply chain.
What we could not establish
Supply chain model definitions and the 2024 Principles and Criteria clauses are quoted directly from RSPO documents and are high confidence. Two gaps. First, the brief asked for documented complaints-panel cases: RSPO's public case tracker on the askrspo Salesforce portal returned 404 and 502 during this session and the search budget was exhausted, so no individual complaint, suspension or membership termination is named here. Enforcement is scored 3 on that basis and may understate the scheme; RSPO operates a complaints system open to non-members and states that outcomes are transparently resolved, which would support a 4 if published case outcomes were confirmed. Second, the English-language RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard 2020 PDF could not be retrieved directly (only Chinese and Thai versions were reachable on the RSPO media library), so the supply chain model descriptions come from RSPO's own model explainers and website rather than the standard text. Certificate validity of five years is stated from general programme knowledge, not quoted. The Remediation and Compensation Procedure, which governs growers with pre-certification land clearing liabilities, is relevant to the rigor score but was not read.
Who holds it
Scored companies carrying this mark, highest first. Holding it is not the same as scoring well — the mark is one input of six.
| Company | Scope held | YKO score |
|---|---|---|
| Colgate-Palmolive | Not stated | 65.5 |
| Cascadian Farm | Not stated | 56.5 |
| Tide | Not stated | 52.5 |
| Nature Valley | Not stated | 51.5 |
| Ghirardelli | Not stated | 43 |
| Neutrogena | Not stated | 33.3 |
| Nellie's | Not stated | 17.8 |
| Banana Boat | Not stated | 17.3 |
| Kellogg's | Not stated | 16.3 |
| Skippy | Not stated | 13.3 |
If you hold this certification, it is already on your record. What a buyer cannot see there yet is the evidence behind the parts this standard does not reach.