Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard

of the supply chain to establish systems to record and control the sourcing and flow
of palm oil, and so is a useful step toward developing the data management systems
needed for fully segregated supplies of CSPO.
Disadvantages: The end product doesn’t contain 100 per cent CSPO, so users can’t be
sure it doesn’t include oil from unacceptable sources.
Book and
claim CSPO
What is it? It’s a certificate trading system separate from the physical trade in
certified palm oil. The retailer or manufacturer buys physical palm oil from an
established supplier. Via an online trading platform, the same user also purchases a
certificate from a CSPO producer for each tonne of “real” palm oil that they buy. For
each certificate purchased the CSPO producer is rewarded with a direct payment.
This option is also known as GreenPalm, after the name of the company that manages
the certificate trading system for the RSPO (until January 2017).
A COMPANY USING
BOOK AND CLAIM
MAY STILL BE
USING OIL FROM
UNACCEPTABLE
SOURCES
Benefits: It’s a much cheaper option because no paper trail or physical separation
of oil along the supply chain is needed. Because it’s so easy, all brands using palm
oil should be using it as a first step to support sustainable production, even if they
don’t yet understand their own supply chains. Also, companies using derivatives
and fractions of palm oil that may not yet be available as physical CSPO can still
buy certificates to support sustainable production. It may also be the only option for
certified smallholders who cannot easily access global markets and fully segregated
supply chains.
Disadvantages: A company using book and claim may still be using oil from
unacceptable sources, and is effectively supporting irresponsible producers by allowing
the supply chain to continue to do business with them. Book and claim allows the
trade in palm oil to continue without any relationship or link between the different
parties, meaning unsustainable (rather than simply uncertified) palm oil can still find
a market.
Companies must
move toward
physical supplies
Each of the options to source CSPO has a role to play in transforming the industry.
The book and claim system is valuable to kickstart transformation by making it easy
and cheap for brands to support growers that are RSPO-certified. And it’s currently
difficult or even impossible to source physical supplies of some types of palm oil, such
as complex derivatives or palm oil from independent smallholders.
However, shifting supply chains to physical supplies of CSPO is important because it
brings greater transparency to that supply chain and gives consumers the confidence
that the oil in their certified products came from certified plantations. It requires
companies along the supply chain to ask questions about their suppliers and to build
a relationship with those suppliers based on their ability to deliver sustainable palm
53 WWF PALM OIL BUYERS SCORECARD 2016