Since 1980, the quantity of the raw material, palm oil, brought onto the market has increased almost ten-fold. A critical public discussion has flared up in recent years around the cultivation – particularly in south-east Asian developing countries. While local Asian companies above all promote the exponential growth of the palm oil market, the criticism in western countries particularly targets the ecological and social, as well the economic consequences for the communities locally.

Drivers of the Palm Oil Expansion
Three reasons are crucial to the expansion of palm oil products:

1. Trans fatty acids in foodstuffs have been made partially responsible for the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. Foodstuff manufacturers in western countries now increasingly use trans fatty acid-free palm oil for certain products.

2. The consumption of and requirement for palm oil increase with the world’s growing population. Palm oil is a central constituent of the diet in many developing countries.

3. Due to its technological properties and diverse versatility, palm oil is an alternative to basic mineral oil-based materials in many branches of industry. The use of palm oil as an ingredient in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products and as an organic fuel and for the creation of energy continues to increase.

 
The Challenge of Oil Palm Cultivation
In comparison to other tropical crop plants, oil palms deliver the greatest yield relative to the cultivation area required. Furthermore, there are no genetically altered varieties of any kind used in the manufacture of palm oil and palm kernel oil. Nevertheless, palm oil comes under criticism. Due to the expansion of the cultivation areas for oil palms, dramatic de-forestation began and, with this, many species were decimated and threatened. In addition, due to the establishment of new palm oil plantations. indigenous groups and peasant communities are frequently robbed of their ancestral living environments and foundations.

 
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – the Solution?
At the initiative of the WWF, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) came into being in 2003. The RSPO brings important south-east Asian palm oil producers, company representatives along the length of the supply chain and stakeholders in the main user markets in Europe and the United States together to work on sustainable solutions.
But even the Roundtable is criticised: Western food manufacturers may be ready to purchase sustainable palm oil. However, they only purchase a small part of world production in any case. The majority of the buyers from less environmentally aware emerging countries such as India or China, who buy greater and greater volumes of palm oil, must also be motivated to participate in sustainable concepts.
While the RSPO views itself as a compromise between sustainability and economic interests, critics question the practicability of sustainable oil palm cultivation in the light of the continuous de-forestation and social conflicts. This, however, is neither a particularly Asian problem nor a problem exclusive to the RSPO. Conflict has also arisen for organic palm oil cultivation over the potential eviction of farmers in Las Pavas in Colombia.

 
Sustainability only with the Participation of all Players
Palm oil and palm kernel oil are a good example of the far-reaching, complex challenges associated with tropical raw materials. The co-operation of economic and business players in the management of the value-added chain can promote the implementation of ecological and social guidelines and regulations.

Within just a few years, the Roundtable has assembled a formidable and broad coalition of industries and national governments, which are united by their recognition of the sustainability problem in palm oil production. No other democratic institution has succeeded in assembling all the participants and players in the palm oil supply chain under one roof and to commit to a single – if also in need of improvement and able to be improved – standard. It also needs the co-operation of the national governments in the countries where there is cultivation. Without them and, as well, without the emerging countries such as India or China, there will not be able to be any sustainable solutions.

Western food manufacturers require raw materials that they can trace reliably. That compels more transparency than the “book and claim” model, used for the most part hitherto, can deliver. RSPO certification must be consistently refined. 
In addition, there are now alternatives such as the SAN Standard of the Rainforest Alliance and their partners in the Sustainable Agriculture Network. As well, the initiative of various companies, who, with the WWF and the German Association for International Co-operation (GIZ), founded a “Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil”, should continue to develop and augment the criteria defined by the RSPO.