Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) members will vote next week to bring in stricter criteria for companies seeking RSPO certification. Earlier this year, more than 90 global institutional investors, including Aegon Asset Management, Aviva Investors or M&G Prudential, urged the RSPO to strengthen its draft certification standards. In a letter to the RSPO Secretariat, investment firms expressed concern that the companies in their investment portfolios are adhering to higher sustainable palm oil commitments than those requested by the RSPO, creating a “disconnect between leading corporate policy commitments and the RSPO standard.” Zoological Society of London’s assessment of 70 palm oil companies found zero-deforestation commitments risk being undermined by a lack of monitoring. Aviva Investors’ senior SRI analyst, Eugenie Mathieu, says: “Acting to stop deforestation is one of the most effective steps companies can take to prevent this climate breakdown.”

Posted by

Money Marketing