Mesa Redonda sobre Aceite de Palma Sostenible (RSPO)

¿Quién es una parte interesada?

An individual or group with a legitimate and/or demonstrable interest in, or who is directly affected by, the activities of the unit of certification (e.g. palm oil plantation being audited) and the consequences of those activities. SCS Global Services Europe B.V. weighs the comments received from stakeholders outside the local region of operations differently from those stakeholders located directly adjacent to, or nearby the operational area.  We will sometimes refer to the latter as directly affected stakeholders. SCS Global Services Europe B.V. will generally place greater weight on their comments, than those received from groups based internationally, or nationally but in a city outside the zone of influence of the operations.

We would like to take this opportunity to clarify SCS Global Services Europe B.V.’s role in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria (P&C) Certification process. In so doing, we also aim to identify how stakeholders and civil society groups can best constructively engage in and be informed of the RSPO Principles and Criteria Certification process.

SCS Global Services Europe B.V. is a Neutral Third Party, Honest Broker of Information

SCS Global Services Europe B.V. is a certification body, an independent entity that operates under the guidelines set by the standard owners and according to set protocols for how our work is to be conducted.  In the case of RSPO, Certification Bodies are guided principally by ISO/IEC 17021-1 Requirements for Bodies Providing Audit and Certification of Management Systems and the RSPO Systems Document, which together, provide the framework for how we conduct our work. SCS Global Services Europe B.V.’s scope of work is limited to assessing the unit of certification’s compliance with the RSPO Principles and Criteria. The assessment (a.k.a. audit) covers legal, environmental, economic, workers’ health and safety, and social aspects as required by the RSPO Principles & Criteria.

SCS Global Services Europe B.V. recognizes that some stakeholders may feel that RSPO standards are insufficient to fully address and remediate the environmental and social issues of the palm oil industry. As a neutral third party and honest broker of information, it is not the role of SCS Global Services Europe B.V. to hold a position on the standard or advocate for changes to it, except for asking for interpretations when requirements are not clear. The RSPO’s theory of change is that once a company engages in the certification process, it will necessarily drive continuous improvement within the company, due to increased oversight and by the standard itself gradually raising the bar of sustainability for those companies that participate in it.  SCS Global Services Europe B.V. subscribes to this belief.

SCS Global Services Europe B.V.’s Role in Certification Audits

Nuestra función consiste en evaluar las operaciones de plantación/molienda de palma del cliente con respecto a los Principios y Criterios de la RSPOque establecen los requisitos para obtener la certificación. Evaluamos las plantaciones de palma con visitas in situ, realizamos entrevistas con las personas adecuadas, buscamos la opinión de las partes interesadas, redactamos informes sobre los hallazgos, emitimos acciones correctivas cuando es necesario y evaluamos los hallazgos según los requisitos de el Estándar para determinar la certificación.

Las partes interesadas son una parte fundamental de la auditoría

SCS Global Services Europe B.V. relies upon and appreciates information provided to us by the NGO and Civil Society community. Stakeholders are invited to provide comments on the social and environmental impacts of the unit of certification via email, WhatsApp, phone, or in-person meetings. If you wish your comments to be treated confidentiality or remain anonymous, please indicate this to SCS Global Services Europe B.V.. Generally, comments received within 30 days from the date of notification are considered during the certification audit.

La evidencia de auditoría más útil, en la mayoría de los casos, es la información que es específica (por ejemplo, el relato de primera mano de un incidente, incluyendo la ubicación y la fecha) y verificable (por ejemplo, corroborada por documentación, fotos, partes adicionales). Las alegaciones de violaciones de las Estándars RSPO que se basan en pruebas anecdóticas sin pruebas documentales son generalmente menos útiles para establecer el incumplimiento de el Estándar. Mientras que todas las partes interesadas están invitadas a Enviar comentarios, especialmente a aquellos con un historial de trabajo en la región, ponderamos los comentarios de las partes interesadas directamente afectadas (es decir, aquellos basados localmente en el área del sitio operativo) más fuertemente que aquellos que están indirectamente afectados. 

Informar e involucrar a las partes interesadas en las auditorías de P&C de la RSPO

Stakeholders can learn about upcoming audits on RSPO’s Principles and Criteria Assessment Public Announcement webpage. Per RSPO requirements, SCS Global Services Europe B.V. sends the RSPO Secretariat a copy of the announcement at least five days before the scheduled public announcement (i.e., one month and five days) for posting. The announcement, available in official national languages, includes details on the entity(ies) to be audited, their location(s), the dates of audit, contact details for both the company and SCS Global Services Europe B.V. and instructions for providing comments to SCS Global Services Europe B.V..

When SCS Global Services Europe B.V. identifies operations with greater complexity, we have also taken additional measures to support stakeholder consultation, including placing advertisements in local media (e.g., newspaper, radio), posting bulletins in local community centers, and spending additional time during community stakeholder meetings to build trust with community members. SCS Global Services Europe B.V. recognizes the importance for all stakeholders to have sufficient time to provide comments and makes considerable efforts to ensure that is the case. If there are additional comments that were missed during an audit, we welcome stakeholders to submit them outside of a formal meeting directly to our auditors via WhatsApp or by email to SCS Global Services Europe B.V. headquarters.

While SCS Global Services Europe B.V. makes every effort to visit with and hear from as many stakeholders as possible, it is not always possible to visit with all communities and groups during every audit.  Nevertheless, SCS Global Services Europe B.V. seeks to ensure that as much as possible, representative groups are consulted (i.e., chiefs, elders, opinion leaders, women groups, and youth leaders). In particular, people who can speak to relevant issues based on direct knowledge and experience with the issues are targeted for consultation.

Any complaints are thoroughly documented, and any concerns raised are thoroughly investigated during the audit. If there is any specific and verifiable evidence related to groups or persons that SCS Global Services Europe B.V. did not interview, we welcome that information so we can look into it during the next surveillance audit.

Estamos comprometidos con una relación comprometida y positiva con la comunidad de ONGs y de la sociedad civil, pero no podemos comprometernos a informar siempre a todas las partes interesadas cuando se toman las decisiones de certificación de la RSPO debido a las limitaciones de apelaciones.