General Assembly 23-2D

Background

The RSPO is a global, multi-stakeholder initiative. RSPO brings together stakeholders from all across the palm oil value chain to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. RSPO actively facilitates collaboration and a shared commitment across the value chain to drive demand and ensure sufficient supply of sustainable palm oil.

RSPO drives changes through consensus among multiple stakeholders including financial institutions, downstream companies, growers, smallholders and social and environmental NGOs. Making the palm oil sector sustainable involves everyone in it. With thousands of members worldwide representing every link of the palm oil supply chain, RSPO operates through consensus, ensuring all stakeholders have a voice and share responsibility to protect the RSPO Standards. This shared decision making is the foundation of RSPO’s credibility.

This resolution aims to maintain and strengthen the RSPO as a multistakeholder platform. This requires NGO and smallholder involvement in the Board of Governors, P & C Review processes, National Interpretation groups and in the various committees, working groups and task forces. Notably, NGOs are the only non-corporate constituency within RSPO. They bring critical social and environmental perspectives, as well as specific expertise that may not be present in other groups. Smallholders also face resource constraints in participating in RSPO processes and meetings.

Ensuring representation in various groups is becoming increasingly challenging for NGOs because of severely reducing funding streams available for Advocacy work. It is important to note that there is no replacement - but a real reduction (see the Annex for the current overview of NGO involvement in the RSPO). Many southern and increasingly northern NGOs feel unable to join and contribute to RSPO due to a lack of funding. In addition, NGO funding from traditional donor countries (such as the US, The Netherlands, the UK, Germany) is under severe pressure or fully reduced. As of 2026, several of the northern NGOs that have been active RSPO-members for many years, are facing financial limitations. Their advocacy work in the RSPO might no longer be funded.

To ensure structural participation of NGOs and smallholders in the RSPO new funding models should be explored and established soonest.

To ensure the true multistakeholder spirit, the RSPO should explore ways to ensure NGOs and smallholders can continue to be represented within the various groups and bodies governing RSPO. Compared to other voluntary certification schemes, RSPO has very few NGO members and even fewer of them are able to actively engage in the standard setting and implementation work due to their financial limitations. Many NGOs feel overstretched in their engagements with multiple committees and working groups, as well the Board. This also applies to smallholders.

Without substantial NGO participation, RSPO loses its multistakeholder approach and value. NGOs play a very important role in the transformation of the global palm sector. By agenda development, standard-setting, by flagging and raising issues that are not up to standard, by supporting corporates with improvements and by developing additional transformative strategies. This ensures the credibility of certification amongst Consumer goods manufacturers, Retailers, Banks and investors and consumers.

No previous resolutions on this topic have been identified.