This impact story was originally published by The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil here.
Since early 2016, the RSPO has embarked on a journey to upscale its impact and approach onto a Jurisdictional level. This approach, referred to as the Jurisdictional Approach to Certification (JA), will allow the RSPO Standards to be applied at the jurisdictional level facilitated through an established Jurisdictional Entity. The journey of developing the RSPO Jurisdictional Approach was driven by the RSPO Jurisdictional Working Group (JWG) with three pilots, the State of Sabah, Malaysia; District of Seruyan, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia and Ecuador.
The RSPO Jurisdictional Approach Pilot Framework was launched on 6 September 2021, offering guidance and a framework for developing Jurisdictional Approaches to the certification of sustainable palm oil. This will follow the RSPO Standards (Principles and Criteria 2018, Independent Smallholder Standard, etc.) and sets a stepwise approach that is coherent across all regions.
After more than seven years into the journey, the three RSPO pilots have achieved great progress towards coming onboard to be an RSPO Member. Hence, the RSPO JWG has developed a proposal to facilitate RSPO membership for the Jurisdictional Approach. A separate RSPO Membership Category for the Jurisdictional Approach has been proposed (refer to the text in the table below).
Table 1. RSPO Membership Category
| Membership Category | Membership Sector |
| Ordinary | Oil Palm GrowersPalm Oil Processors & TradersConsumer Goods ManufacturersRetailersBank and InvestorsEnvironmental NGOsSocial NGOs |
| Affiliate | Affiliate |
| Supply Chain Associates | Supply Chain Associates |
| Honorary Member | Honorary Member |
| Jurisdictional (NEW) | Jurisdictional Entity – entity governed by a multi-stakeholder supervisory board, performing administrative and executive services facilitating compliance of organisations that have either direct involvement, or have activities around, the palm oil supply chain, with RSPO Standards. |
The Jurisdictional Entity applying for an RSPO membership shall demonstrate compliances to Step 1 and 2 requirements of the RSPO JA Piloting Framework. This new Jurisdictional Member will:
- Have NO voting rights at the General Assembly
- Have NO Board of Governors representation
- Have NO membership fees obligations
- Shall be bound by the Code of Conduct (Annual reporting of Progress and Time-bound Progression Plan)
Membership rights and obligations for Jurisdictional Members will be reviewed when the situation warrants it.
BAHASA INDONESIA – JE Membership
BAHASA MALAYSIA – JE Membership
The Secretariat will also be providing a webinar briefing on this proposal. Please register your slot here. Available webinar slot are as follow:
Webinar: 18 September 2023 (Monday)
(i) 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (MYT / GMT+8)
(ii)10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (CET / GMT+2)
(iii) 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (COT/ GMT-5)
For more information, please contact standard.innovation@rspo.org.