The global watchdog for the palm oil industry must strengthen its standards to require all members to commit to ending deforestation - or risk becoming irrelevant, an increasing number of growers, investors and green experts say. The Kuala Lumpur-based Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), comprising producers, buyers, consumers and advocacy groups, is conducting a review of its standards. It aims to publish new guidelines in November that will cover the next five years. Presently, the RSPO demands its members should not cultivate oil palm trees on land designated as primary forest or forest with a "high conservation value", which includes important biodiversity, ecosystems and sacred sites. "The standards are strong and tough, but that doesn't mean they can't be made stronger or tougher," said Carl Bek-Nielsen, chief executive director of United Plantations, which grows oil palm in the world's top-two producers, Malaysia and Indonesia. Mr Bek-Nielsen, who also co-chairs the RSPO, called for "a total commitment" by all its members to zero deforestation - often seen as the elephant in the room.

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The Business Times