In May EPOA released a position paper welcoming EU-wide regulatory measures on sustainable palm oil sourcing and production. EPOA formulated its position in response to the European Commission’s communication, ‘Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests’. The regulatory measures should create a level playing field in the EU for all vegetable oils and players involved, and aims to make sustainable deforestation-free palm oil the norm in Europe.

Also the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) released a position paper in which the multi stakeholder platform welcomes the introduction of different measures and initiatives that aim to reduce the climate impact of European consumers across various commodities, including palm oil, and to work towards the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN COP21 Paris Climate Agreement.

A third position paper was release by the French Alliance for Preservation of Forests called for European legislation against imported deforestation. This EU legislation should be based on a mandatory due diligence approach, aiming to ensure that products imported into Europe are free from deforestation and human rights violations.

Speaking of EU regulatory measures, recently FoodNavigator interviewed EPOA chairman Frans Claassen. Main question was: ‘What would mandatory due diligence look like?’. On behalf of EPOA Frans gives his opinion about how EU-wide regulatory measures can create a sustainable deforestation-free palm oil market.