MALAYSIA OIL PALM INDUSTRY-ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND PRESENT SCENARIO: PART 2: AN ALTERNATIVE FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTION

In part 1, the presently available environmental schemes applicable to the oil palm industry have been outlined. At present environmentally speaking, the Malaysian oil palm industry is attempting to secure recognition for the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme which is based on a Malaysian standard drawn up by the industry. This move was spearheaded with the support from industry organisations and members facilitated by MPOB. The MSPO scheme will be mandatory for the Malaysian oil palm industry in the near future and is parallel to the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil scheme (ISPO). This paper advocates the establishment of a national scheme for environmentally friendly oil palm products based on the ISO 14000 family of standards. With this proposed claim, Malaysian palm oil and oil palm products can then be marketed or branded as environmentally friendly products. As the ISO 14000 family of standards fully supports the environmental sustainability aspect, products accepted as being environmentally friendly can be deemed to be produced sustainably. Since the scheme is based on the ISO 14000 family of standards and independently certified as such by independent third party assessors, this scheme will have a good chance of being accepted by overseas consumers and buyers of Malaysian palm oil and oil palm products. Keywords: Palm oil, environmentally friendly, sustainability, ISO 14000 standards, independent certification, MSPO, environment labelling, branding.