Set up in 2004, the RSPO involves growers, processors, food companies, investors and NGOs.

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

Vengeta Rao, secretary-general of the RSPO, says most of the 2m tonnes produced has been sold in recent months.

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

For years, worries about palm oil have been contained within an organisation called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

It was a smallish buyer and a member of the RSPO, with a palm-oil policy in line with the industry standard.

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

Another problem is that the RSPO has struggled to create any effective action on setting standards for greenhouse-gas emissions associated with palm-oil plantations.

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

TFT's executive director, Scott Poynton, says his group fills a gap that the RSPO cannot do as it is free to criticise any bad practice.

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

However, the RSPO's Mr Rao says that if hard evidence is found by independent auditors investigating allegations against RSPO members, such as digging up rainforests, memberships may be terminated.

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

The NGO made fresh allegations: that SMART, a palm-oil producer, a member of the RSPO and a part of Sinar Mas, an Indonesian conglomerate, was involved in illegal deforestation and clearance of peatland.

ECONOMIST: The campaign against palm oil

In 2010, he prodded the Sara Lee Corporation to commit to purchasing palm oil from suppliers that are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm (RSPO), an international organization of producers, distributors, conservationists and other stakeholders, formed in 2004 to promote the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products.

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