Glossary

Glossary

# 3-monochloropropane diol (3-MCPD) – Organic chemical contaminant found in some processed foods and vegetable oils.
B Biodiversity – The number and variety of species of plant and animal life within a region.
C Conservation and Biodiversity Areas (CBA) – Designated areas that receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values.
Crude palm oil (CPO) – The edible oil extracted from the pulp of fruit of oil palms.
Conservation set aside (CSA) – A conservation area of ecological/environmental importance. Designated as such to fulfil legal requirements or based on a management decision.
E Ecology – The study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, eco-system, and biosphere level.
Effluent – Water, such as mill process water, discharged from one source into a separate body of water.
F Fresh fruit bunch (FFB) – The raw material for palm oil harvested from an oil palm tree and processed into crude palm oil and palm kernel, where a slightly different oil is extracted.
Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) – The principle that a community has the right to give or withhold its consent to proposed projects that may affect the lands they customarily own, occupy, or use.
G GenomeSelectTM – SDP-developed oil palm seeds engineered to increase yield and be resilient to climate change impacts.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – A multi-stakeholder standard for sustainability reporting, providing guidance on determining report content and indicators.
Glycidyl fatty acid esters (GEs) – Contaminants formed from edible oil during high-temperature refining processes.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) – Gases in the atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Scope 1 GHG emissions are emissions released into the atmosphere as a direct result of an activity, or series of activities, at the facility level. Scope 2 GHG emissions are those released into the atmosphere from the indirect consumption of an energy commodity. Scope 3 emissions are emissions as a result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organisation. The assets are owned by suppliers in its value chain, which indirectly impacts its value chain.
H High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA) – A global methodology used in agricultural land development planning and currently applied in fragmented tropical landscapes on mineral soils in the humid tropics. The methodology distinguishes between HCS forest areas that require protection and degraded lands with low carbon and biodiversity values that may be considered for development.
High Conservation Value (HCV) – Natural forest ecosystems of outstanding significance and critical importance due to their high biological, ecological, social, or cultural value. There are six types of HCVs, and these areas must be carefully managed and protected to maintain their identified value.
I Identity Preserved – An RSPO supply-chain model wherein sustainable palm oil from a single identifiable certified source is kept separate from ordinary palm oil across every link in the supply chain.
ILO Indicators of Forced Labour – A set of 11 indicators based upon the definition of forced labour specified in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).
Independent smallholders – Small growers who cultivate up to 50 hectares, are self-financed, managed, and equipped, but are not bound to any one mill.
Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) – The mandatory national sustainable palm oil standard in Indonesia.
Integrated pest management (IPM) – The careful consideration of all available pest-control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations. It also promotes the growth of healthy crops with the least possible disruption to agroecosystems and natural pest control mechanisms.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – Based in Switzerland, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (also known as The World Conservation Union) is an organisation dedicated to the preservation of natural resources. IUCN publishes the Red Data Book, the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
M Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) – Malaysia’s nationally mandated certification system for oil palm plantations, independent and organised smallholders, and palm oil processing.
Man-to-land ratio – In the context of this report, the amount of land in hectares that can be managed by a single worker.
N NDPE – Commitment on No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation.
NDPE Implementation Reporting Framework (IRF) – A reporting tool that helps companies understand and systematically track progress in delivering on their NDPE commitments in their palm oil supply chains.
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) – In the context of this report, a grassroots or campaigning organisation focused on environmental or social issues.
P Palm oil mill effluent (POME) – A by-product of processed FFB which in the course of treatment can produce significant quantities of methane
Palm oil refinery effluent (PORE) – A by-product of refined CPO.
Peat – An accumulation of partially decayed vegetable matter. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. When undisturbed, it stores a large amount of CO₂.
R Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) – An international multistakeholder organisation that has developed a certification scheme for sustainable palm oil. All RSPO members must comply with the RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C), a set of stringent standards that governs the production of sustainable palm oil.
S Segregated – A supply-chain model assuring that RSPO-certified palm oil and its derivatives delivered to the end-user originate only from RSPO-certified sources. It permits the mixing of RSPO-certified palm oil from a variety of sources.
Scheme smallholders – Smallholders operating under a program initiated by the Indonesian Government to encourage the development of smallholder plantations, where plantation companies (nucleus estates) assist and support surrounding community plantations.
Stakeholders – Any group or individual who is affected by – or can affect – a company’s operations.
Sustainability – A term expressing a long-term balance between social, economic, and environmental objectives. Often linked to sustainable development, which is defined as “development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations”.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Also known as the Global Goals, the United Nations’ global goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity through specific targets to be achieved by 2030.
T Traceability – the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable. Traceability in palm oil helps define a link between producers of sustainable products and end users of these products.