What is ISPO?

The Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) is the mandatory national sustainable palm oil certification scheme in Indonesia that aims to improve the competitiveness of the Indonesian palm oil industry. The Indonesian government developed the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification standard in 2011 to ensure sustainable palm oil production in Indonesia. The certification standard is mandatory for all oil palm plantation business actors.

To further enhance the certification standard, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, on 13 March 2020, signed the Presidential Regulation Number 44 of 2020 on the Certification System of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Plantation. The ISPO certification standard is now mandatory for smallholders who need to attain it by November 2025.

The ISPO promotes sustainable palm oil production globally, and through their certification, aims to establish legality, transparency, protect the environment, and promote labour and human rights.

Our Journey Towards an ISPO-Certified Palm Oil Supply Chain

Musim Mas was one of the first companies to undergo the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification process, with two mills being awarded the ISPO certificate in 2012. As of July 2023, all 17 of our PTs (mills and plantations) are ISPO-certified. In March 2022, Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) audits for our scheme smallholders, the Kredit Koperasi Primer Anggota (KKPA) units commenced. The aim is to obtain ISPO certification by 2025 to meet Indonesian government requirements.

As part of our certification support programs, we have also helped 1,600 independent smallholders as of 2022 to become certified against the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Ministry of Agriculture Decree No.38 of 2020 (ISPO 38/2020) standard. These smallholder plantations collectively comprise over 3,564 hectares of land.

In addition to tracking suppliers’ NDPE commitments, we monitor their adherence to recognized sustainability certification schemes such as the ISPO amongst other certification standards.

Led the ISPO Greenhouse Gas Working Group

Beyond adherence to ISPO certification, we took an active role in ISPO as co-lead of the ISPO’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Working Group, where we shared our experiences of leading GHG reduction and monitoring practices through collaborative platforms.