Derived primarily from the African oil palm, and its variants, palm oil is an edible vegetable oil, that now forms the basis of Malaysia’s palm oil industry. The palm tree, Elaeis guineensis was introduced to then Malaya in 1870 as an ornamental plant and by 1917, the oil palm started to be cultivated commercially.
The oil palm is one of the most efficient oilseed crop in the world. According to Oil World 2013, oil palm can produce up to 10 times more oil per hectare than other oilseed crops, potentially achieving yields of up to 8 tonnes per hectare. In 2013, it produced 32.0% of global oils and fats output but only accounted for 5.5% of global cultivated land globally.
As a vegetable oil, palm oil can be turned into processed food, cosmetics
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If applied properly, these criteria will, according to RSPO, help minimise the negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the environment and communities in palm oil-producing regions.
In addition to RSPO, there are now other international sustainability standards for palm oil and palm oil-based products such as the International Sustainability Carbon Certification (ISCC). It serves mainly as a global standard for certification of sustainable biomass and biofuels to prove sustainability and greenhouse gas emission requirements. It focuses on criteria such as greenhouse gas reduction through the value chain, sustainable land use, protection of natural habitats and social sustainability for the feedstock production .
Officially accepted by the German Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE) as the first certification system for sustainable Biomass and Biofuels in accordance with the German Biomass Sustainability Ordinances (Biokraft-NachV) in 2010, the ISCC is also recognised by the European Commission to be compliant with the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) requirements . It currently certifies over 2,500 operations around the world, of which 300 are palm related. These constitutes among others, plantations, mills, refineries, biogas plants, warehouses, trading and waste management