All member companies in FONAP have committed to using exclusively certified sustainable palm oil. Under certain conditions, organic certification is now also recognised.
Organic palm oil as a niche product
Worldwide, organic palm oil still occupies a niche. From an ecological perspective, however, it offers a number of advantages. Farmers refrain from using pesticides in cultivation. As highly hazardous chemicals are used on some conventional farms, this is a considerable plus. Biodiversity and soil health also benefit from organic cultivation methods.
FONAP wants to take these advantages into account – by including them in its self-commitment.
Self-commitment of FONAP members
Upon joining the association, all members commit to using exclusively certified sustainable palm oil. Until now, three systems were recognised for this: Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) and Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). This self-commitment forms the basis for FONAP’s credibility.
Including an additional option was intended to create incentives for member companies to opt for organic. How this can work in practice was examined by a task force over the course of the past year.
Organic plus social
It quickly became clear that organic alone is not enough. Organic certification provides no information about the social conditions under which palm oil has been produced. It should therefore always be combined with an additional standard.
After lengthy discussions in the task force and the commissioning of an expert, FONAP has now decided: organic certification is recognised in combination with RSPO Mass Balance or Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT).
For palm oil and palm kernel oil, the requirement for RSPO certification is thus lowered if organic is used at the same time. The combination with UEBT was recognised on the condition that UEBT does not lower its existing standards when expanding its certification to organic palm oil.
The changes will take effect from the 2026 monitoring round for the year 2025.