Get ready for radical resolutions at RSPO’S eighth general assembly
ABOUT four months back, the eighth General Assembly (GA8) of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) grouping in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah was declared invalid after protests by some members that the GA8 was carried out without a quorum.
Hence, a repeat of the GA8 has been rescheduled for this Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. At a glance, it is good timing to hold the assembly right after the three-day Bursa Malaysia Palm and Lauric Oils Conference & Exhibition (POC 2012), where many of RSPO members will be attending.
The RSPO is the first global multi stakeholder initiative to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil through cooperation and open dialogue with stakeholders.
To RSPO detractors, the invalid GA8 has somewhat put a dent on RSPO’S reputation.
To be a credible international initiative grouping, they said RSPO should have complied with its own rules and regulations in line with its Principles and Criteria sustainability, ie complying with national rules and regulations.
Therefore, some quarters are still doubtful on the outcome of the GA8.
The first question that comes to mind would be whether there will be a quorum of 300 attendees and enough proxies this time round?
From the RSPO website, Malaysia has 101 RSPO ordinary members while Indonesia has 93 members. With a combined 194 members, it is about 60% of the quorum of 300.
On the other hand, the non-growers consist of 400 members. However, it is speculated that not all will be able to come or send proxies to the GA8.
Also, will the increasing number of new resolutions submitted compared with the previous invalid GA8 be able to carry through?
In addition, there are concerns on the radical resolution of the governance and management of RSPO. So far, the lack of market access of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) have dissappointed the oil palm growers group.
Will the resolution solve the said problem?
Another important point is whether there will be a change in the RSPO presidency or will it remain status quo? At present, the president is elected by the 16 members of the RSPO executive board (EB) and the president has continued to hold the post from the beginning until now.
What are the implications should there be no quorum at the repeated GA8 and what kind of solutions will RSPO come up with to solve this constitutional crisis?
With these many questions and uncertainties, some groups are even considering to fall back on other standards such as the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil and the proposed Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil, which seems to be good pre-emptive strategies by producers.
Currently, they claim that while RSPO has successfully produced CSPO, it has fallen short of reaching a sustainable market for the premium oil.
Therefore, the oil palm growers grouping is proposing a number of radical resolutions at GA8.
The argument is that the resolution passed last year to review and restructure the RSPO governance has not resulted in much change, except for the restatement of the vision and mission of RSPO.
It will also propose that the election of the RSPO president be done by the general assembly and limited for only two terms.
Another resolution proposed is that the present EB, which performs executive functions, should be changed to non-executive to deal with policy and strategy matters. This means that the operational aspects will be left to the RSPO standing committees and the Secretary General.
Growers are also pushing for a moratorium in the certification of palm oil.
In addition, it is proposing the creation of a new category of members, ie transnational corporations or organisations. This category will represent corporations with business interests ranging from producing to the refining and marketing of palm oil.
In fact, this category is expected to balance the interests of all the direct and real stakeholders.
Some say that it is more suitable for any one of the leaders from the transnational corporations to become the new president of RSPO.