KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd’s (SD Plantation) estates are now fully Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certified, reflecting best practices of balancing the needs of People, Profits and Planet.
As the largest producer of MSPO-certified palm oil to date, Sime Darby supplies 1.2 million tonnes of crude palm oil from its 124 estates and 33 mills.
The government-driven MSPO scheme was developed as the national certification scheme in 2015.
In a statement today, Sime Darby said it supported the MSPO certification because it reinforced the fact that the industry is constantly improving its credentials.
SD Plantation executive deputy chairman and managing director Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh said it was able to achieve this ahead of the December 2018 deadline set by the government.
SD Plantation is also currently the world’s largest producer of RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO), accounting for around 20 per cent of the world production by capacity.
"We believe the MSPO scheme will be a success as more and more players within the supply chain become certified. This would further strengthen the Malaysian Palm Oil brand envisaged by the government," Bakke said.
He noted Sime Darby will continue to work with the Malaysian Palm oil Board (MPOB) to facilitate the MSPO certification for smallholders who supply fresh fruit bunches to its mills.
“This is truly in line with our Responsible Agriculture Charter commitment to bring together all stakeholders towards SD Plantation’s sustainability standards by 2020,” he added.
In the same statement, Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council chief executive officer Harnarinder Singh applauded SD Plantation’s commitment and unwavering drive to have all its estates and mills fully MSPO-certified, ahead of the industry deadline.