21/07/2009 (The Star Online), Petaling Jaya - The world’s Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard is expected to be out in October, says WWF International Palm Oil Industry Engagement senior manager Darrel Webber.

The scorecard is an initiative by WWF International in support of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)-certified palm oil.

It will initially rank 20 to 50 major global retailers, manufacturers and traders of palm oil and palm-based products on their commitment and actions in producing, procuring, utilising and promoting sustainable palm oil.

“We will score these buyers on a variety of criteria, including procurement practices, buying policy and targeted year for usage of 100% sustainable palm oil,” Webber said.

Since announcing the scorecard initiative two months ago, WWF International had been busy going through the companies’ public domains, annual reports and corporate social responsibility reports.

This will be followed with surveys as well as one-to-one interviews with the companies should certain facts be needed for further clarification, he added.

Webber, who is also RSPO executive board vice-president I, told StarBiz that the scorecard initiative came in the light of reports that there was some resistance among world palm oil buyers to taking up the higher premium RSPO-certified palm oil, given the current global economic crisis.

“We acknowledge that some oil palm producers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea have invested substantial resources to ensure that their commodity is sustainably produced via the RSPO certification.

“Now we need to see their commitments matched by buyers who are at the other end of the palm oil supply chain,” he said.

Currently, there were about 1.5 million tonnes of RSPO-certified palm oil in the world market, Webber said, adding that production was expected to increase further when more plantation companies gained their RSPO certification by year-end.

Interestingly, palm oil is believed to be the world’s first widely-traded commodity having credible sustainability standards that lead to certification.

Currently, the soybean industry is playing catch-up as it has only recently started a Roundtable for Responsible Soy to develop a standard for responsible production.

While some buyers are still reluctant to purchase sustainable palm oil, Webber said Unilever, a global manufacturer of food, homecare and personal products, had pledged to use a 100% certifiable palm oil in its products by 2015.

Major British retailer Marks & Spencer has also made a similar pledge to do so by 2012. Hypermarket operator Tesco and US-based chocolate manufacturing group Mars are joining the bandwagon.

“Despite the previous lukewarm response, lately there has been a significant increase in interest to use RSPO-certified palm oil among major buyers and users, which has led to publicly-stated procurement statements,” Webber added.

At last week’s Second International Oil and Fats Summit in Beijing, China also highlighted the commitment of its companies to support sustainable palm oil promotion, procurement and use in the republic through investment in producing countries.

China is currently the world’s largest importer of palm oil, accounting for one third of all global trade.