Formulation of Corporate Strategy to Get Successful in RSPO and ISPO Certification.

Author at an oil palm main-nursery in East Kalimantan

By Suhardiyoto Haryadi

    1. Brief Description on RSPO dan ISPO Certification.

Description	RSPO	ISPO
Effective Date	2005	2011
Initiators	Multi-national firms main purchasers of palm oil, banks, NGOs.	Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture sponsored by UNDP and a number of multi-national firms.
Character of Certification	Voluntary	Mandatory
Pre-condition for certification	a)      Acceptance of RSPO Code of Conduct and become member b)      Having completed an environmental and social impact (ESI) assessment  c)       Having completed a high conservation value (HCV) assessment	Having completed evaluation of palm oil business process and obtain the result of  a)      Class I (very good), or b)      Class II (good), or c)       Class III (Fair)
Standards of audit	Principles and Criteria (8 principles and   criteria)	Principles and Criteria (7 principles and   criteria)
List of Principles	1.       Commitment to transparency. 2.       Compliance with applicable laws and regulations. 3.       Commitment to long-term economic and financial viability. 4.       Use of appropriate best practices by growers and millers. 5.       Environmental responsibility and conservation of natural resources and biodiversity. 6.       Responsible consideration of employees, and of individuals and communities affected by growers and millers. 7.       Responsible development of new plantings. 8.       Commitment to continuous improvement in key areas of activity.	1.       Lincensing and Plantation Management Systems. 2.       Implementation of Technical Guidance of Palm Oil Cultivation and Processing. 3.    Environmental Management and Monitoring. 4.       Obligation of workers. 5.       Social and community obligation. 6.       Empowerment of community's economic activities. 7.       Commitment to long-term sustainable business.
Auditor	Third-party certification bodies that have been approved by the RSPO Executive Board.	Third-party certification bodies that have been approved by the ISPO Commission.
Character of audit	Independent and transparent	Independent and transparent
Recommended date of participation	When the project is about to start.	Can be started either when the project is at development stage or when it is operational.
Predicted certification cost	US$ 25 per Ha	Lower
Deadline for certification	None	31 December 2014
Consequences of success	Company/group and product shall be RSPO certified.	Company/group and product shall be ISPO certified.
Consequences of failure	Fail in certification.	Fail in certification, degradation to a lower class and possible revocation of IUP license.

      2. The above description suggests that the certification process of both RSPO and ISPO involves the overall management of plantation company. The key to success in both certification schemes is a proper management in broad senses.

      3. A proper management means that a company should apply management in general senses that comprises planning, organizing, implementation and controlling functions. It should also apply management in specific senses namely best plantation management practices.  

Application of a proper management is the key to success in certification.

4. Under the RSPO scheme there are two additional components in the implementation of management functions namely a) environmental and social impact assessment and b) high conservation value assessment. Field managers and their staff should integrate these two components in day-to-day management to get successful in the RSPO certification.

For more information please contact Suhardiyoto Haryadi via email:<suhardiyoto@gmail.com>
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