Dashboard: Greenhouse Gas
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Reducing Our Climate Footprint in the Palm Oil Sector
This aligns with RSPO’s long-term intended outcome (ToC L4) to ensure effective climate mitigation efforts are implemented, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions reduction and carbon sequestration in the palm oil sector.
The palm oil sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both directly through agricultural practices and indirectly through land use change. The conversion of carbon-rich ecosystems, particularly tropical peatlands and forests, releases vast quantities of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Beyond land conversion, emissions arise from the decomposition of peat in drained plantations, the management of palm oil mill effluent (POME), and the use of synthetic fertilisers.
As climate policy tightens across the sector’s major markets, the pressure to account for supply chain emissions is intensifying for all actors. Buyers, investors, and regulators are increasingly expecting palm oil producers and their downstream partners to demonstrate credible emissions performance, with Scope 3 supply chain accountability becoming a baseline expectation in global trade.
The sector has progressively embraced GHG accountability over the years, supported by tools such as the RSPO’s PalmGHG Calculator, and a growing suite of regulatory frameworks spanning emissions disclosure, carbon pricing, and mandatory climate-related financial reporting. Today, climate action has evolved from environmental aspiration to a commercial necessity. Producers and supply chain actors that act decisively stand to protect market access, attract investment, and lead a more resilient and competitive sector.
How does RSPO Drive GHG Reduction in Practice?
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires more than a pledge. It requires measurable baselines, robust methodologies, independent verification, and continuous improvement. RSPO delivers this through a comprehensive system that applies across all scales of palm oil production, from large corporate growers to smallholders.
Setting the Standard
The foundation of RSPO’s approach to GHG reduction lies in clear, enforceable rules that address emissions at their source.
Under both the 2024 RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C) and the 2024 RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard, the conversion of peatlands, which is among the most carbon-dense ecosystems on earth, is strictly prohibited. RSPO Members’ Units of Certification (UoC) are required to protect existing peat areas, implement responsible water table management on established peatland plantations, and progressively reduce their overall GHG footprint over time with the use of the PalmGHG Calculator to estimate and monitor their GHG emissions on an annual basis.
For new developments, members must also estimate carbon stocks, assess potential emission sources arising from development since 2015, and implement a carbon stock protection plan – including the identification and set-aside of High Conservation Value (HCV), High Carbon Stock (HCS), and peat areas – in line with the RSPO GHG Assessment Procedure for New Development. For scheme or independent smallholders under the P&C Standard, a Simplified GHG Assessment method is available, reflecting their scale and the fact that they do not own or operate mills.
Additionally, the prohibition of fire for land preparation, applied across all RSPO Standards, serves a dual purpose: protecting forest ecosystems and preventing large-scale carbon release from biomass burning. Active fire risk management, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement are required to uphold this commitment in practice.
Certification and Oversight
All GHG-related commitments under RSPO are subject to RSPO Certification. Accredited, independent certification bodies audit RSPO Members against RSPO Standards, verifying the integrity of GHG data, assessments, and improvement plans. The RSPO Secretariat provides additional oversight, technical review, and remote monitoring, including satellite-based detection of fire hotspots via RSPO Hotspot Hub and land cover change, to further strengthen system integrity.
Grievance Mechanism
The RSPO Complaints System provides all stakeholders with a fair, transparent and accessible channel to raise concerns about members who may be failing to meet their greenhouse gas obligations as per RSPO’s requirements listed above. This ensures accountability extends beyond the audit cycle.
Grievance Mechanism
The RSPO Complaints System provides all stakeholders with a transparent, accessible channel to raise concerns about members who may be failing to meet their biodiversity obligations as per RSPO’s requirements listed above. This ensures accountability extends beyond the audit cycle.
From Farm to Market: Supply Chain Accountability
GHG reduction efforts at the production level are reinforced through 2020 RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard. Downstream members, including Processors and/or Traders (P&T), Consumer Goods Manufacturers (CGM), and Retailers, are required to purchase and use Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) that meets RSPO’s traceability and sustainability requirements.
Beyond sourcing, RSPO’s Shared Responsibility framework requires that downstream members maintain their own policies on water and waste management, ensuring that water quality and quantity are preserved through efficient use and protection of shared catchment sources, and that waste is reduced, recycled, reused, or disposed of responsibly based on toxicity and hazardous characteristics.
By doing so, they sustain the commercial conditions that reward growers who invest in responsible biodiversity management. Sourcing CSPO is a signal that the market values palm oil produced in a way that protects not just trees, but the full range of species and ecosystems that productive, intact tropical landscapes support.
Impact Evidence & Data
When you source and support RSPO CSPO, you are contributing to a supply chain that actively measures and reduces its climate footprint.
2.98 million tCO2e/year
in cumulative emissions avoided globally through RSPO’s New Planting Procedure (NPP) since 2015 across RSPO-certified supply chains
Equivalent to taking 694,512 cars off the road, about 2.3 times the registered motor vehicle fleet of Iceland.
1 Based on metrics template from 561 RSPO UoCs as of 31 December 2025. The riparian reserves recorded are not part of the designated High Conservation Value (HCV) areas.
Get Involved
Whether you’re an individual or an organisation, you can join the global partnership to make palm oil sustainable.
