Ten Years of FONAP – Milestones

The idea for FONAP originated in 2011 following a trip to Malaysia by REWE, WWF, and Henkel. After two years of negotiations, they founded the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil in 2013 with 16 other organizations—a precursor to the current association. Two years later, on November 11, 2015, the official founding of the association finally took place in Berlin, at which time FONAP already had 43 members and four guest members.

In 2016, FONAP strengthened its structures: members now independently verified whether their suppliers’ certificates were still sufficient. New working groups worked on solutions for derivatives and the further development of certification systems. In addition, a new self-commitment and revised statutes were published. Resolutions at RSPO and ISCC provided impulses for greater transparency and effectiveness.

FONAP grew to 52 members in 2017 and introduced the new “Supporter” category. Two additional NGOs, Solidaridad and Borneo Orangutan Survival, joined the forum. The first progress report was published, and the implementation of a member project in Malaysia with WWF and Wild Asia was approved. At the Future Workshop in Berlin, members discussed the strategic direction of the forum.

The focus of 2018 was the start of the FONAP member project in Malaysia, a cooperation between FONAP, WWF Germany, and Wild Asia. In the Perak region, smallholders tested the feasibility of the FONAP add-on criteria, including, for example, the reduced use of pesticides.

In December 2019, the second phase of the FONAP member project started in the Perak region of Malaysia, again in cooperation with WWF Germany and Wild Asia. The focus was on chemical-free production, training on demonstration farms, and the use of digital tools such as the FarmGate app for traceability. Initial results from phase one showed that soil biodiversity, organic farming methods, and crop diversification can increase yields and pave the way for organic production.

In 2020, FONAP jointly managed a stand with the Forum for Sustainable Cocoa at the International Green Week, providing information on ecologically and socially compatible palm oil production. In addition, a study was published with the German Institute for Human Rights. It analyzed the extent to which certification systems such as the RSPO comply with human rights standards and made it clear that due diligence obligations must be actively implemented beyond mere certification.

In 2021, the second phase of the FONAP member project in Malaysia was completed. Furthermore, the study “Analysis of the Palm Oil Sector in Germany in 2019” was published. It highlighted the growing demand for ecologically and socially compatible palm oil and shed light on challenges regarding traceability and substitution. The results were presented at a press conference and complement a series of publications from 2015 and 2017.

In March 2022, FONAP launched a pilot project in the buffer zone of the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park on Sumatra with the Indonesian palm oil forum FORTASBI and the NGOs CAPPA and Setara Jambi, which was voluntarily funded by members. The goal of the project “From Sustainable Palm Oil to Sustainable Landscapes” was to promote ecologically and socially compatible landscape management through social forestry. In addition, FONAP developed new add-on criteria that emphasize the shared responsibility of all market actors along the supply chain and demand concrete measures for biodiversity protection, the integration of smallholders, and the fulfillment of human rights due diligence obligations.

In the spring of 2023, the first phase of the Indonesian project was completed. In September, the project entered a second phase with the additional cooperation partner KOLTIVA. The goal was to support smallholders in mapping their cultivation areas using GPS and polygon data as a basis for certification and compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

In September 2024, the second phase of the FONAP project in Indonesia was successfully completed. An important step was the founding of a women-led cooperative to manage the tree nurseries. In addition, over 2,000 trees were planted to advance the renaturation of the region. By the end of the project, GPS data from 1,347 smallholders had been recorded. Furthermore, the former Indonesian Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno gave a keynote speech at the FONAP General Assembly and subsequently invited FONAP to a dialogue forum at the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin. Additionally, a pilot survey of the new add-on criteria took place for the first time.

Eventful years lie behind FONAP, during which we have achieved important milestones together with our members and partners. Now we look to the future with confidence: two new member projects started in April 2025; they address current challenges such as human rights due diligence obligations and regenerative agriculture. The internationalization of our network is progressing, and we look forward to continuing to shape the future of the important raw material palm oil together in the coming years.