Sustainability Ambassador

Background

Since 2018, CRB has been working in partnership with Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to promote the uptake of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). Through the partnership, CRB has been able to promote awareness amongst relevant stakeholders including businesses, downstream players, associations, international organisations, policy actors, media and youth. Through these projects, CRB has also worked on increasing capacity and knowledge of relevant stakeholders on sustainable palm oil along with supporting multistakeholder platforms and dialogues related to opportunities and facilitating increased commitment and uptake of CSPO in India.

Current Project

2024 -25

As a part of the ongoing partnership with RSPO for 2024-25, CRB will be undertaking the following activities:

Providing support to the Sustainable Palm Oil Coalition for India (I-SPOC) for Institutional Governance and Management
I-SPOC will be conducting the following activities to strengthen its engagement with the Steering Committee, Founders, Members, and Observers:
- Organize Steering Committee and Members’ meetings (bi-annually) and Founders’ meetings (once every two months).
- Reach out to existing and potential Members.
- Organize Capacity-Building Workshops on relevant topics.
Engagement with the Government
I-SPOC will engage with a state government to improve understanding and implementation of the centrally sponsored National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) and sustainable practices among stakeholders. The main objective of this engagement is to raise awareness among stakeholders about the opportunities and benefits of integrating sustainability elements into ongoing palm oil production in the state.
Engagement with Financial Institutions
I-SPOC, with the support of RSPO, will engage with 2-3 financial institutions to build the capacity of various financial sector actors through targeted bilateral outreach. The outreach will aim to explore how financial institutions mitigate risks related to climate finance, with special reference to agro commodities.

Past Projects

2024-25

As a part of ongoing partnership with RSPO for 2024-25, CRB will be undertaking the following activities:

1. Providing support to the Sustainable Palm Oil Coalition for India (I-SPOC) for Institutional Governance and Management

a. Steering Committee Meetings: The first I-SPOC Steering Committee (SC) meeting of 2025 was convened on 16 January 2025. Key highlights of the meeting included the official launch of the I-SPOC Annual Report 2024 and a presentation on the annual highlights.
b. Members Meeting: The 12th I-SPOC Members Meeting was held in Mumbai on 23 April 2025. The meeting opened with comprehensive updates from the I-SPOC Secretariat, covering key developments in the domestic palm oil production landscape, ongoing efforts to advance palm oil traceability, I-SPOC’s policy engagement initiatives, and continued engagement with financial institutions.

c. Capacity Building Session: I-SPOC launched the Traceability Masterclass Series on 6 May 2025, aimed at building awareness on the importance of traceability and equipping stakeholders in the palm oil value chain with the knowledge to implement traceable supply chain systems.

The objectives of the Masterclass Series were:

To raise awareness on palm oil traceability among key stakeholders
To build understanding on how traceability can be achieved using existing tools and practices

The first session was held as a webinar on 6 May 2025 on ‘prisma by RSPO’ and was attended by 34+ participants from various organizations.

I-SPOC hosted the second session of the Masterclass on Traceability Series on 25 August 2025. This interactive webinar, ‘Palm Oil Traceability: Tools and Approaches Explained by Earthworm Foundation’, brought together 35+ stakeholders from across the palm oil value chain to deepen their understanding of practical traceability tools.

d. Outreach: Engaging with Existing and Potential New Members
To broaden outreach, I-SPOC hosted an exhibition booth at the Home and Personal Care Ingredients Exhibition and Conference India (HPCI), held in Mumbai from 17–19 February 2025.

2. Engagement with the Government:
The Capacity Building Workshop on Sustainable Palm Oil Production in Hyderabad, Telangana was organized by Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) with the support from the National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NI-MSME).The primary objective of the workshop was to facilitate a multi-stakeholder dialogue on sustainable palm oil production in Telangana, with a particular emphasis on recognising and strengthening the State’s ongoing efforts in integrating sustainability into its oil palm sector.

3.Engagement with Financial Institutions

I-SPOC conducted a capacity-building workshop RBL Bank on Advancing Sustainable Finance in Agro-Commodities. Led by sustainable finance expert, the session leveraged the CRB–RSPO Practitioners’ Guide on risk mitigation in agri-commodity financing. The training targeted mid-to-senior level officers from risk, finance, credit, and investment teams, and touched upon climate-related risks, principles of sustainable finance, and the role of RSPO standards in enhancing sustainability-linked decision-making within financial institutions.

2023 -24

In the year 2023-24, RSPO, together with CRB, undertook the following activities :

1) Strengthening I-SPOC: CRB and RSPO conducted following activities to strengthen I-SPOC:

Coordination, institutional and governance systems (CRB as I-SPOC secretariat)
Awareness generation and capacity building through knowledge products
Engagement with policymakers

Knowledge products released in 2023-24 partnership to engage with the policymakers:

2) CRB’s 10th Annual Sustainability Conference (ISS 2023): RSPO hosted a session on ‘Innovative Strategies for Advancing Sustainable Palm Oil Production in India’ at ISS 2023. The brief objective of the session was to promote sustainability within the Indian palm oil industry by showcasing innovative practices, sharing success stories, and emphasising the importance of environmental and social responsibility. To view the session summary report, click here.

RSPO Session at ISS-2023

3) Awareness Generation: I-SPOC hosted the ‘Exploring EUDR: Building Awareness’ event, attracting over 100 participants. The workshop featured a panel discussion on the global value chain of palm oil, highlighting risks and opportunities for India. Click here to read the summary report of the workshop.

4) Engagement with Financial Institutions

I-SPOC developed a module based on the Practitioners’ Guide – ‘Mitigating Potential Risks in Financing Agro-Commodities in India-The Case of Palm Oil’
I-SPOC organised a capacity-building workshop with a financial institute on ‘Mitigating Potential Risks in Financing Agro-Commodities in India: Navigating Climate Change and Advancing Sustainable Finance’

2022 -23

As part of the 2022-23 partnership, CRB undertook the following activities:

1.Strengthen I-SPOC : CRB and RSPO conducted following activities to strengthen I-SPOC:

Coordination, Institutional and Governance systems (CRB as I-SPOC secretariat)

Strategic Outreach to Industry Actors like FMCG Industry

Engagement with Ecosystem Actors (Policy Makers and Financial Institutions)

Knowledge product developed for engagement with policy makers

Knowledge product developed for engagement with Financial Institutions

2.Partnership for ISS 2022: RSPO organized a session on SPOD-India at CRB annual sustainability conference–ISS 2022 held from 2 to 4 November 2022 in New Delhi. The session aimed to highlight the leadership role that the Indian Industry can play in mainstreaming the trade of sustainable palm oil along with identifying pathways for integration of sustainability principles in the cultivation of oil palm in India.

RSPO Session at ISS-2022

To read about the activities in details, please click on the Annual report link

2021-22

As part of 2021-22 partnership, CRB looked at the following areas:

Business Engagement
Engagement with Financial Institutions by highlighting certain key strategies to enable greater attention among the banks and investors on sustainable palm oil
Policy & Strategic Engagements on specific Policy Input Notes developed to recommend key policy pointers to the respective Ministries/public agencies on sustainable palm oil production
Strengthen I-SPOC

2020-21

As part of the 2020-21 partnership, the following activities were undertaken:

Engagement with Businesses for Commitment and Actions on Sustainable Palm Oil
Offering learning and sharing opportunities through I-SPOC platform
Development of training modules (Module 1 and Module 2) for awareness and capacity building on sustainable palm oil
RSPO hosted a Sustainable Palm Oil Dialogue for India during CRB 7th Annual Conference – ISS 2020

To read more on the activities please click the Annual Report Link

RSPO Session at ISS 2020

2019-20

As a part of 2019-20 partnership, the following activities were undertaken:

Engagement with Sustainability Ambassadors (industry and organisations)
Media Engagement
Youth Fellowship for Sustainable Palm (Y4S)
Multi stakeholder Awareness and Dialogues: RSPO led two sessions at CRB’s 6th Annual Conference on Sustainability – ISS 2019
- Market Transformation towards Sustainable Palm Oil in India
- Sustainable Palm Oil Dialogue in India

To read more about the activities please click the Annual report Link

RSPO Session at ISS 2019

2018-19

RSPO and CRB came together in mid-2018 through a partnership to examine challenges/opportunities for uptake of sustainable palm oil in India.

CRB had conducted following activities under the partnership

Created the ‘India story’ on Responsible shopping
Enhanced visibility through social media to highlight the need/benefits from transition towards sustainable palm in India
Development and dissemination of IEC related to the ‘India story’ highlighting Responsible shopping
Initiated discussions, interactions and meetings with journalists from both Hindi and English press for engaging on the subject of sustainable palm oil
Created Champions ( Sustainability Ambassadors)

To read more on the activities, please click the Annual report Link