Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG)

General

Name of initiative Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG)
LPAA initiative No
NAZCA Initiative No
Website address poig.org/
Related initiatives
Starting year 2013
End year
Secretariat POIG Secretariat: info@poig.org

The POIG Secretariat is represented and coordinated by Helikonia, an advisor on strategic sustainability services based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and with staff in London, UK.

Organisational structure POIG is an initiative developed jointly by private-sector representatives and non-governmental organisations, based around a set of formal requirements known as the ‘POIG Charter’. POIG is guided by the Organising Committee (OC), a decision-making body comprising of eight members, including six of the seven founding members of the initiative. The members of the OC currently include: Agropalma, DAABON, Ferrero, Forest Peoples Programme, Greenpeace, Musim Mas Group, Rainforest Action Network, and WWF. The Organising Comittee manages membership approval, suspension and expulsion, governance structures, and the overall evolution of the initiative. The Working Groups, which focus on driving specific work streams and topics within POIG, such as audit and verification procedures or communications, are open to all POIG members.
Geographical coverage Global, Latin America and The Caribbean, North America, Asia and the Pacific, Western Europe
Name of lead organisation No lead organisation. POIG is a multi-stakeholder initiative.
Type of lead organisation
Location/Nationality of lead organisation

Description

Description The Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that strives to achieve the adoption of responsible palm oil production practices by key players in the supply chain through developing and sharing a credible and verifiable benchmark that builds upon the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and creating and promoting innovations. Founded in 2013, the initiative was developed in partnership with leading NGOs as well as with progressive palm oil producers.

POIG was established as a forum for actors along the supply chain to work together and create solutions to major challenges facing the palm oil sector and existing certification systems, including the RSPO. POIG aims to support the RSPO through building on RSPO standards and commitments and by both demonstrating innovation to implement RSPO existing standards as well as with additional critical issues. With a focus on the three thematic areas of environmental responsibility, partnerships with communities including workers’ rights, and corporate and product integrity, POIG members will strengthen their commitments to socially and environmentally responsible palm oil production.

Objectives POIG focuses on leveraging its experience to create innovations in the palm oil industry and acting as an advocate for these innovations. POIG aims to demonstrate that by setting and implementing ambitious standards, the industry can in particular break the link between palm oil production and the destruction of forests and peatlands, the exploitation of communities and workers, and climate change.

POIG is based around a set of formal requirements known as the ‘POIG Charter’. It is fundamental to the integrity, credibility and continued evolution of POIG that all members support, promote and work towards the implementation and promotion of the POIG Charter and its objectives and purposes.

The objectives of the POIG Charter are:

1. to promote and support innovation and improvements in oil palm plantation and extraction mill management and throughout the supply chain on a range of environmental, social, supply chain and governance issues, and seek to have the innovations rolled out across the palm oil industry and reflected in the RSPO standard;

2. create added value for innovative and progressive producers and supply chain partners through increased market recognition and demand for palm oil products from innovative and improved practices;

3. act as a forum for open discussions and sharing of experience with innovations and improvements in: oil palm plantation practices, extraction mill management practices, responsible procurement, and product traceability and verification throughout the supply chain;

4. act as a forum to collectively engage with governments towards achieving recognition and support for innovations, and have them included in regulations and law.

Activities POIG's main activities include:

1. Supporting existing verification/certification frameworks, such as the RSPO, by building on the RSPO standards and commitments. This includes the development, maintenance and sharing of a credible and verifiable benchmark (the POIG Charters and Verification Indicators), which addresses additional critical issues in relation to: no deforestation, no expansion and best management practices on peatlands, and the elimination of labour and human rights violations. POIG’s goal is not to act as a competing certification system to the RSPO, but to advocate for the RSPO and other organisations to integrate the improved practices outlined in the POIG Charters and Verification Indicators into existing standards and verification frameworks.

2. Creating innovations in the palm oil industry and promoting these innovations and those of POIG's members. POIG acts as an innovation space for front-runners within the RSPO’s membership to make improvements in palm oil production practices including, for example, on labour issues facing the industry. POIG is also committed to the exploration and promotion of creative innovations on key issues, such as alternatives to drainage based use of peatlands and mechanisms to strengthen the objectivity and integrity of audits.

One or two success stories achieved Innovations successfully carried out by POIG's members can be viewed at: http://poig.org/further-resources/poig-innovations/

Monitoring and Impacts

Function of initiative Technical dialogue, Political dialogue
Activity of initiative Knowledge production and innovation, Norms and standard setting, Knowledge dissemination and exchange
Indicators
Goals POIG's mission is to achieve the adoption of responsible palm oil production practices by key players in the supply chain through developing and sharing a credible and verifiable benchmark, and creating and promoting innovations.

In the shorter-term, POIG aims to: -Explore ways to increase the market demand for palm oil products that are produced by innovators within the industry who are operating in accordance with the POIG Charter. - Advocate for the integration of POIG's verification indicators into the Principles & Criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which is currently under revision. - Continue to act as an innovation space for front-runners within the RSPO’s membership to make improvements in palm oil production practices by: 1. coordinating, facilitating and monitoring the progress of POIG members in achieving compliance with POIG's Charters and Verification Indicators (where applicable); 2. building on existing POIG member innovations (e.g. innovation related to labour rights), and; 3. exploring and promoting creative innovations on key issues, such as alternatives to drainage based use of peatlands and mechanisms to strengthen the objectivity and integrity of audits.

Comments on indicators and goals
How will goals be achieved
Have you changed or strenghtened your goals
Progress towards the goals In line with its objectives, POIG has developed an auditable, field-tested framework to enable market recognition for palm oil produced by companies operating in compliance with the POIG Charter and verification indicators, which build on the RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C) to prevent deforestation, expansion on peatlands of any depth, to uphold human and labour rights, and limit climate change. To date, three producers have undergone verification for compliance with the POIG Charter and indicators.

POIG has also developed a Charter for Retailers & Manufacturers (released in November 2015) and a Charter for Traders & Processors (released in November 2017). Members to which these Charters apply, are currently working towards progressing the implementation of these requirements.

POIG has released an innovations publication in 2016, highlighting the labour rights innovations of its producer members. This includes the innovative work that was carried out by POIG members Musim Mas Group and Verite in developing and testing a Social Compliance Assessment. The report for the Social Compliance Assessment conducted for Musim Mas’ Indonesian Palm Oil Operations, was released in 2017.

How are you tracking progress of your initiative Members to whom the Charters apply are required to work towards implementation and verification of compliance, as well as public reporting of progress. Implementation and public reporting progress is currently applicable to all producers, retailers and manufacturers, and traders and processors who are members of POIG. Annual verification of compliance with the POIG Charter and indicators is currently applicable to POIG's producer members.

Producer member compliance towards the POIG verification indicators is carried out through annual assessments by independent third-party verification bodies. The results of these verification assessments are reviewed by POIG and once approved, made available on the POIG website.

Progress of POIG's Retailer and Manufacturer members towards the implementation of the Retailers & Manufacturers Charter is also communicated and reviewed through progress reporting.

The Traders & Processors Charter has only been recently released (November 2017), and therefore, monitoring of progress on implementation by members will begin in 2018-2019.

As a forum/platform for innovation, POIG also continuously facilitates spaces for dialogue among its members with regards to the innovative work they are engaging in, and to identify where POIG can support innovative projects. Members provide updates at least on an annual basis, but also through the Working Group streams.

Available reporting - Verification reports for POIG's producer members are available on the POIG website.

- Innovations Publication Issues. All issues are also available on the POIG website. http://poig.org/verification-reports-and-poig-innovations/

Participants

Participants Number Names
Members 15  
Companies 0
Business organisations 0
Research and educational organisations 0
Non-governmental organisations 15 Agropalma (Brazil),  DAABON (Colombia),  Danone (France),  Ferrero (Italy),  Forest Peoples Programme (United Kingdom),  Musim Mas Group (Indonesia),  L'Oreal (France),  Orangutan Land Trust (United Kingdom),  Rainforest Action Network (USA),  South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership-SEARRP (Malaysia),  Sumatran Orangutan Society (United Kingdom),  Stephenson (United K.),  Verite (USA),  Wetlands International (Netherlands).
National states 0
Governmental actors 0
Regional / state / county actors 0
City / municipal actors 0
Intergovernmental organisations 0
Financial Institutions 0
Faith based organisations 0
Other members 0
Supporting partners 0 The administrative or technical work required to evolve and promote POIG as an initiative is entirely supported by contributions from the POIG membership. All POIG members (as listed above) are therefore contributors in POIG's funding.
Number of members in the years
2019
17
Have only national states as participators No


Theme

Transport Agriculture Forestry Business Financial institutions Buildings Industry Waste Cities and subnational governments Short Term Pollutants International maritime transport Energy Supply Fluorinated gases Energy efficiency Renewable energy Supply chain emission reductions Adaptation Other Resilience Innovation Energy Access and Efficiency Private Finance
No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes No No
Last update: 21 April 2022 09:11:42

Not only have national states as participators