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Marieke Leegwater | leegwater@mvo.nl
Telephone +31(0) 70 319 51 36
Fax +31 (0) 70 319 51 96
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June 10, 2011
Dutch food & feed industry buys 85,000 tons of first responsibly produced soy
The Dutch food and feed industry has bought the first batch of soy produced according to the principles of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS). This first ever market uptake of 85,000 tons was celebrated today by an event in the Rotterdam harbour at which among others RTRS Executive Secretary Agustin Mascotin was present.
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| Hugo Byrnes, Director Product Integrety of AHOLD receives the first certificat fot the production of RTRS Certified Soy, on behalf of the Dutch Initiative Sustainable Soy (IDS). |
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The 85,000 tons of RTRS certified soy originate from the Brazilian producer Grupo André Maggi, whose first soy fields were certified by independent auditors in May 2011. This first ever certification of a producer and the subsequent market uptake are important milestones for the RTRS, which began its quest to become the global standard for responsibly cultivated soy in 2006. Respecting the land rights of local communities and preventing the degradation of valuable nature areas are among its objectives.
The 85.000 tons were purchased by the Initiative for Sustainable Soy (IDS), representing the following group of companies: Feed Industry Association Nevedi, Ahold, FrieslandCampina, Vion, Gebr. Van Beek Group and 2 Sisters Storteboom. They were bought through a certificate trading platform that directly rewards soybean producers for their efforts in becoming RTRS certified.
At the event Unilever also announced the purchase of 5000 certificates covering a part of their use of soy oil in Brazil. Eddy Esselink, oil supply technology manager at Unilever, who presented the announcement remarked the purchase should be seen as a step towards the implementation of their goal of towards 100% sustainable sourcing of its agricultural raw materials by 2020. The full Unilever press statement click here.
Click here for the full press release on the event.
RSPO releases trademark for use by its members
 Last week the RSPO formally released its new trademark for use in the market. The trademark is intended to promote the uptake of RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil. The trademark will allow RSPO members to even more clearly show their commitment to sustainable palm oil and other sustainable palm-derived products. Members will be able to use the trademark in communication on or about products that contain palm-derived ingredients sourced in compliance with one or more of three RSPO supply chain systems: 'Identity Preserved', 'Segregated' and 'Mass Balance'.
The design of the trademark was unveiled in November 2010 at the 8th Roundtable Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. Now, rules governing the use of the trademark have been finalized and a procedure to apply for trademark licenses has been put into place. The new rules replace the existing RSPO Rules on Communications and Claims and together with the Trademark License Agreement govern all RSPO-related communication including use of the trademark. It can be found on RSPO's online Market Center.
More information and a summary of the new rules can be found on the RSPO website
OECD adopts new Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
Last month the countries of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and eight partner countries have reiterated their commitment to responsible business practices and adopted the updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The updated Guidelines include new recommendations on human rights abuse and company responsibility for their supply chains, making them the first inter-governmental agreement in this area.
The Guidelines were developed in 1976 and first revised in 2000. They constitute recommendations on responsible business conduct in nine areas including disclosure, human rights, employment and industrial relations, environment, bribery, consumer interests, science and technology, competition, and taxation. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in or from the forty-two adhering countries are encouraged to voluntarily commit to the principles and standards introduced in the guideline.
The new revision, published last month, constitutes an official recognition of a changing business environment and the need for MNEs to address human rights risks, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and exercise supply chain due diligence. The revised Guidelines now include a separate chapter on human rights, an amendment that is long overdue.
The full guidelines can be found on the OECD website
RSPO finalises funding mechanism to support Indonesian Smallholders in journey towards sustainable palm oil
The RSPO has signed a substantial funding mechanism to support independent smallholders in their journey towards RSPO certification. The agreement is valued at EUR 200,000 per year for a period of 3 years and is signed with Solidaridad, a social development non-governmental organization. This sum, which is the largest single funding contribution ever made by RSPO, is part of a larger fund that Solidaridad aims to generate for the purpose of supporting independent smallholders from around the world.
In Indonesia, 45% of palm oil is produced by smallholders. One of the key challenges in Indonesia is the funding and technical support for smallholders in adopting sustainable standards. The role of the government and private sector is critical in this area. "Capacity building for Indonesian smallholders is important so that they are aware of the fact that sustainable palm oil is an inevitable future, both for national and international consumption" Darrel Webber, RSPO Secretary General, remarked.
'Indonesia has recorded phenomenal year on year growth of the production of sustainable palm oil: 200,000 tonnes in 2009; quadrupled to 800,000 tonnes in 2010; to a whopping 1.2 million tonnes in the current year as of April 2011. This is a 600% increase in CSPO production in Indonesia in just two years! This astounding success should be attributed also to the Indonesian Government, GAPKI and Indonesian growers", Webber reiterated.
For the full RSPO press release click here.
Production of RSPO-certified palm oil passes 5 million tonnes
In May RSPO-certified palm oil production facilities produced their five-millionth tonne of certified sustainable palm oil. Thanks to an ever increasing number of certified production units, the latest million tonnes were added to the total tally in just three months time. As a comparison, it took one full year to pass the first million tonnes milestone in August 2009.
 The current estimated annual production capacity of RSPO-certified production units is about 4.2 million tonnes of sustainable palm oil. This equals about 9 percent of global production, estimated to be about 46 million tonnes annually. About 54 percent of the world's current RSPO-certified palm oil production capacity is in Malaysia. Indonesia is second, with about 35 percent of the current global supply. Papua New Guinea and Colombia provide the remaining 10 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Within Malaysia, the Peninsula holds a little more certified capacity than Borneo; within Indonesia, Sumatra has five times more certified capacity than Kalimantan.
Besides palm oil, certified mills also collect palm kernels for further processing. At present, certified production units harvest close to 1 million tonnes of palm kernels annually, out of which about 450,000 tonnes of RSPO-certified sustainable palm kernel oil and derivatives will be processed.
The sales of sustainable palm oil continue to increase as well, despite the fact that they keep lagging behind the production. March 2011 shattered previous records with over 269,000 tonnes of sustainable palm oil (or corresponding certificates) sold by RSPO-certified mills. However, May sales showed a decrease again.
For more numbers see the RSPO website.
Dutch turnover sustainable foods shows nearly 30 % growth
The turnover of sustainable foods in The Netherlands has grown with 30 % over the last year. This was announced by Dutch Minister of Agriculture Mr Henk Bleker following the presentation of the Dutch Monitor Sustainable Foods, containing an inventory of consumers spendings on sustainable food products.
The growth is attributed to increasing attention for sustainable food by consumers, but also to the efforts of companies which create both more sustainable choices and additional attention for them. The biggest growth in the supermarkets was shown by the meat and dairy products. Other sectors that showed growth included coffee and fish.
The monitor defines sustainable foods as foods where during the production more attention is given to environment, animal wealth and social aspects than legally required. This process-definition has been chosen since absolutely sustainable foods do not exist, as production and processing of all our foods affect our environment.
To measure sustainability two criteria have been selected: On consumer-level the efforts have to be made visible with a logo and there should be independent verification that the logo is properly used. The Monitor took account of the following labels:
Rainforest Alliance
FAIRTRADE/ Max Havelaar
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
EKO
Labels for palm oil or soy have not been included.
More information on the Monitor can be found at the website of the Dutch government
For the full report click here.
NBPOL and Wilmar collaborate to bring segregated certified palm oil to Europe
Papua New Guinea-headquartered New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL), a large-scale integrated industrial producer of sustainable palm oil in Australasia, and Wilmar International have agreed to set up an integrated supply chain and joint marketing agreement to supply Europe with fully traceable and segregated sustainable palm oil from NBPOL's RSPO certified plantations in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
The palm oil will be available from Wilmar's refinery in Brake, Germany, in a range of products from mid-2012. The Brake-based facility has a capacity of around 700,000 tonnes a year, 300,000 tonnes of which will be dedicated to palm oil supplied from NBPOL's estates. 'Wilmar is very pleased to be working with New Britain Palm Oil Limited to ensure that our Brake refinery is now able to produce a whole host of products and blends of certified sustainable palm oil,' adds Martua Sitorius, director of Wilmar International. 'This is a fantastic opportunity for NBPOL and Wilmar International to make the supply of segregated traceable certified sustainable palm oil a reality in Europe,' comments Alan Chaytor, executive director of New Britain Palm Oil.
For the full press release click here.
RTRS organizes successful Chain of Custody Certification Training Course in London
From 1-3 June the RTRS organized its third RTRS Chain of Custody training course, this time in London, UK. The 3-day course, facilitated by ProForest, was well attended is expected to have a positive result in the sense of having additional auditors working with the RTRS Chain of Custody certification system. This is expected as the final exam results still have to be confirmed.
Besides auditors from different certification bodies, representatives from different European companies from the food, feed and biofuel sector attended the course in order to be prepared for their first RTRS certified soy sourcing activities. Participants came from countries like Portugal, UK and The Netherlands.
The RTRS Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard was developed to ensure the traceability of responsibly managed soy products from the field to the final consumer. The standard contains a set of requirements defining the systems and controls organizations in the RTRS soy supply chain need to implement in order to be certified against the RTRS CoC standard. Such a certification allows these organizations to sell RTRS certified products. Any organization in the supply chain planning on selling RTRS products will need to implement a Chain of Custody system and seek RTRS Chain of Custody certification.
The full announcement can be found on the RTRS website.
ISA Certification Netherlands approved as RSPO Supply Chain Certification Body
The RSPO has initially approved ISACert as an RSPO approved Supply Chain Certification Body for the RSPO. ISA Certification has an office in The Netherlands. ISA Cert is the sixth Certification Body approved to certify against the RSPO Supply Chain Certification Systems.
For further information on ISACert, please visit www.isacert.com or contact Gerard van der Ven, email: G.Ven@isacert.com. The full RSPO announcement can be found on the RSPO website.
RSPO welcomes comments on TÜV NORD Indonesia
The RSPO welcomes comments on the performance of PT. TÜV NORD Indonesia, who is as an RSPO-approved certification body. The comments can be sent to Accreditation Services International (ASI). This organization will perform third party assessments of all RSPO-approved certification bodies this year.
With these assessments RSPO works towards a system with third party accreditation of certification bodies and thus continue to build on the credibility of the certifications.
The full announcement can be found on the RSPO website: www.rspo.org/
Indonesia signs Moratorium on new permits to clear rainforest
The Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on 19 May signed into law a two-year moratorium on new permits to clear primary forests throughout the country.
The moratorium is a portion of a US$1 billion deal with Norway to stop deforestation and forest degradation in the region as a way of cutting emissions, slowing the expansion of plantations, and fighting climate change. The moratorium halts all new permits for logging and primary forest and peat land conversion. While industries such as timber, mining and palm oil initially argued that the moratorium would negatively impact production, environmental groups contend that the approved measures do not go far enough and allow enormous loopholes for business.
More information can be found via: http://ictsd.org/i/news/biores/107625/
EU Commission pre-accepts RTRS as voluntary scheme
Following consultation with the Committee on the Sustainability of biofuels the European Commission (EC) has concluded there are no objections to finalize adoption of the RTRS scheme as voluntary scheme with which compliance with the sustainability criteria in the EU RED directive can be demonstrated. The final step in the process is for this pre-acceptance to be forwarded to the European Parliament for information and then to be published in the Official Journal of the EC.
In order to meet the EU RED requirements, the RTRS developed an annex that contains the requirements of the EC directive. It includes requirements related to land use change, GHG calculations and Chain of Custody. The RTRS 'biofuels annex' is optional for farmers that produce soy for biofuels meant to be exported to the European Union. From the producers´ perspective, once the biofuels annex has been published in the Official Journal of the EC as a recognized voluntary standard complying with the EU-RED, RTRS certified soy can be exported to any of the European Union member countries as compliant biofuels.
The full announcement can be found on the RTRS website via this link.
WWF publishes new report on soya highlighting environmental threats and solutions
Last week WWF-UK published a new report highlighting the impact of the growing global demand for soya on sensitive environments around the world such as the Brazilian savannah, the Cerrado. In the report WWF calls on supermarkets, producers and farmers to sign up to credible certification schemes, such as the Round Table for Responsible Soy (RTRS), which sets strict environmental and social standards for soya production.
Commenting on the report, Isabella Vitali, Senior Policy Officer on Livestock and Soya at WWF UK, said: 'Through the consumption of livestock raised on soya, UK consumers may be unwittingly contributing to the destruction of some of the world's most valuable habitats. WWF believes that schemes like RTRS can be an effective way of tackling the problems associated with soya expansion and help to preserve unique habitats for future generations. RTRS is not a silver bullet, however, and other ways in which we can reduce the impact of soya agriculture on areas like the Cerrado include changes to our diets, cutting down on waste, and supporting effective legislation to protect valuable habitats.'
UK members of RTRS already include M&S, Waitrose, Asda and Unilever as well as producers of agricultural inputs, animal feed and biofuels. WWF is asking UK consumers to back the campaign and ask their local supermarkets to sign up to RTRS.
More information on the Save the Cerrado campaign can be found at the WWF website.
The full report can be found here.
RSPO launches website RT 9
The RSPO organisation has launched a dedicated website for its annual round table conference and general assemble: RT9.
The conference will take place from 22 to 24 November 2011 with as theme for this year "RSPO Certified: Transforming the market. Together". The portal can be found via: www.rt9.rspo.org.
Event on sustainability of palm oil production 14 June in Brussels
On 14 June the Parliament Magazine in association with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council will host a lunch discussion on the sustainability of palm oil production. The event will be hosted by Martin Callanan MEP and aims to raise awareness of the industry role in developing sustainable palm oil production.
 It will also look at how the EU's renewable energy directive and other regulations will impact the industry and highlight the need for a level playing field regarding sustainable palm oil certification schemes.
For more information, including the full agenda and registration, please click here.
Agri and Food Challenge 2011
On 28 and 29 June the Dutch Agentschap NL organizes the Agri and Food Challenge 2011. The event is intended to allow companies a chance to explore their international opportunities in the agricultural sector.
During these days it is possible to meet different Dutch Agricultural Councils and speakers will give their view on existing chances.
For more information and registration, please see: www.agentschapnl.nl/onderwerp/agri-food-challenge. (Dutch language)
Sustainable Food Summit 23-24th June in Amsterdam
On 23 and 24 June the fourth edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit is organised in Amsterdam. The sustainable Food Summits is a series of international summits that focuses on the leading issues the food industry faces concerning sustainability and eco-labels, such as Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, etc.
The intention is to bring together key stake-holders (food manufacturers & retailers, ingredient suppliers, industry organizations & certification agencies, investors, packaging companies, etc.) and create a forum to debate and discuss key issues in a high-level forum. The European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit comprises four key sessions:
- Session One: Pioneering Sustainability Initiatives
- Session Two: Climate-Change Strategies
- Session Three: Marketing & Distribution Innovations
- Session Four: Lowering Environmental Impacts by Sustainable Ingredients
More information can be found via: www.sustainablefoodssummit.com/programme.htm
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