Palm oil production significantly impacts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and biodiversity, prompting many stakeholders to demand Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification. This study provides a comprehensive life cycle assessment comparing RSPO certified and non-certified palm oil production across the five largest producing countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Colombia, and Nigeria, which account for over 90% of global production. Using both consequential and attributional modelling approaches, we analysed production data from 2021. Results are compared with data from 2016 and for smallholders. For certified production, we utilised primary data from RSPO's mandatory GHG calculation database, covering 32–63% of certified cultivation areas across countries. Results demonstrate that RSPO certified palm oil performs significantly better than non-certified, showing 36% lower global warming potential and 37% reduced nature occupation impacts from a market perspective. The environmental benefits of certified palm oil stem primarily from reduced cultivation on peatlands and increased palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment with biogas capture. Global warming impacts range from 1.9 to 11.7 kg CO₂-eq. per kg refined palm oil, varying substantially between production practices and regions. Comparing with data for 2016 showed relatively small differences, while cultivation practises among smallholders showed higher global warming potential and nature conservation impacts. Sub-national analysis reveals considerable regional variation, particularly in Malaysia's Sarawak region where non-certified production on peat results in substantially higher impacts. The study identifies key improvement opportunities including eliminating cultivation on least-yielding peatlands, expanding biogas capture technologies, and enhancing smallholder operational efficiency to further reduce environmental impacts.
Introduction
Palm oil's rapid growth and impacts on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and biodiversity are key area for many large palm oil users and related stakeholders (VanderWilde et al., 2023; Qaim et al., 2020). A frequent action is to demand sustainable certified palm oil, where the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) offers the most influential and well-established certification (Dauda et al., 2021). The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a global partnership certification organisation established in 2004 that aims to ensure environmentally responsible palm oil production (RSPO, 2024). In 2023, certified production reached 16.1 million tonnes, accounting for 20% of global palm oil production (RSPO, 2024, p 96).
