01/03/2016 (Tempo.co) - As many as 149 palm oil companies covering a total of 1.16 million hectares of oil palm plantation has managed to acquire the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification. The government implemented the ISPO policy in an effort to improve Indonesian CPO's competitiveness in the international market. In addition, ISPO marks Indonesia’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emission and environmental commitment.

Bayu Krisnamurthi, Director of the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP), said that the BPDP will accelerate ISPO certification process for corporation and individual farmers. Bayu added that currently, there are 540 companies that are taking part in the ISPO certification process. Later on, government’s Crude Palm Oil (CPO) fund program will be utilized to fund the ISPO audit process in addition to supporting ISPO certification for oil palm farmers.

"[Certification] is important because we want sustainability to be our identity and advantage. On the other hand, it is important to show the world that Indonesia is prioritizing sustainability aspects [in CPO production]," Bayu said on Monday, February 29, 2016.

Bayu added that the ISPO Secretariat will be involved in helping utilize the CPO fund to help farmers acquire their certification and for their products to be categorized as sustainable products