The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) developed the Sustainable Palm Oil Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT) to provide information regarding the sustainability of oil palm operations to stakeholders and the public.

The SPOTT scorecard ranks the top 50 palm oil companies according to 50 indicators, divided into several categories relating to:

• the availability and transparency of company reports
• efforts to adhere to the sustainability guidelines set out by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
• a company's landbank, environmental management and land development methods
• policies for zero burning and no planting on peat
• greenhouse gas emissions
• traceability of palm oil products.

In October 2016, REA increased its SPOTT score by three points, resulting in a ranking of 9^th out of 50 companies.  This compares with ranking 7^th in 2015, as other companies also increased their overall score in 2016.  Points were gained for transparency by providing concession maps as well as from encouraging smallholders to adopt policies for zero burning and no planting on peat soils. 

For more information on ZSL's SPOTT and how company scores are calculated, please visit the website here.

 Monday, December 19, 2016