The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in partnership with Malaysia’s pioneer tertiary education institution in agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) have agreed to launch a course on Auditing Certification Schemes on Sustainability.
The collaboration will leverage on the global network of an organization like the RSPO in enabling student communities within UPM to:
1. Build their intellectual capital and knowledge on sustainability via direct access to the RSPO and its comprehensive array of resources, network and expertise;
2. Increase direct participation of successful, young graduates via opportunities in the workforce within the sustainability sector by tapping into the international footprint of the RSPO and its stakeholders;
3. Enhance the participation and engagement of the RSPO in the local Malaysian context amongst future youth leaders.
Darrel Webber, Secretary General of RSPO, the not-for-profit organisation that unites stakeholders from the palm oil industry to develop and implement global standards on sustainable palm oil, said “We are very pleased on recurring collaboration opportunities with UPM, specifically with the Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies (IKDPM). Influencing the youth is paramount if we want to enable future generation to leave and think sustainably”.
IKDPM is the leading agriculture and food policy center in the country and their services include conducting professional training for institutional and individual capacity building.
The “Auditing Certification Schemes on Sustainability” course which will be conducted in UPM early 2015 over a 10-week duration is designed for professionals and young graduates who have strong interests in auditing of sustainable certification schemes in the agriculture and forestry sectors. Lectures and workshops will be conducted over the weekend and will be facilitated by leading academics and also established industry professionals.
About RSPO:
In response to the urgent and pressing global call for sustainably-produced palm oil, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with satellite offices in Jakarta, London and Zoetermeer (NL).
RSPO is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
Such multi-stakeholder representation is mirrored in the governance structure of RSPO such that seats in the Executive Board and project-level Working Groups are fairly allocated to each sector. In this way, RSPO lives out the philosophy of the "roundtable" by giving equal rights to each stakeholder group to bring group-specific agendas to the roundtable, facilitating traditionally adversarial stakeholders and business competitors to work together towards a common objective and make decisions by consensus.
For further information contact:
Stefano Savi
Acting Communications Director
Email: [email protected]
