Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Scheme (MPOCC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Sanath Kumaran as acting CEO of MPOCC beginning 1st April 2018, taking over from Mr. Harnarinder Singh who had completed his two and half term on 31st March 2018.
2. Dr Sanath Kumaran age 51, has 21 years of experience in oil palm sector ranging from oil palm plantation management, agronomic practices, auditing, dispute resolution, stakeholder engagement to consulting and sustainability certification. He graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia in 1990 and embarked his career as a Trainee Assistant Manager with Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd., before moving to Golden Hope Plantations Bhd. as an Agronomist. After several years in the plantations, he moved to further his studies to obtain his Master of Philosophy (Environmental Management). He then joined WWF-Malaysia and Wetlands International for a duration of 10 years, working on many projects related to certification, protected area management, hydrology, wildlife assessment and wetlands management. After completing his PhD, he worked as a consultant supporting many oil palm and forestry companies to become certified in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Cambodia. Prior to joining MPOCC, he served RSPO as the Head of Impacts and currently holds the position of Senior Manager with MPOCC.
3. MPOCC is grateful to Mr. Harnarinder Singh, the first CEO of MPOCC, for his invaluable support and contribution in guiding MPOCC in developing and implementing the MSPO Certification Scheme. MPOCC takes this opportunity to wish Mr. Harnarinder and his family all the best in all their future endeavours.
4. The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme will be made mandatory by December 2019. The timeline for implementation of mandatory MSPO certification will be implemented in three stages. Plantation companies that are already certified under other schemes such as the RSPO and ISCC will have to obtain MSPO certification by December 31, 2018. Other companies without any sustainability certification will have to obtain MSPO certification by June 30, 2019 while smallholders, both independent and organised, need to obtain MSPO certification by December 31, 2019. To spur the uptake of MSPO certification, the Malaysian government has made available financial assistance to oil palm smallholders, growers and processing facilities. The incentives ranges from 30% to 100% of the total MSPO audit cost.
5. As of March 2018, the total planted area that has been certified under the MSPO Certification Scheme is 802,623.56 ha. The certified area includes 792,274.03 ha under plantation companies, 19,110.12 ha under organised smallholders, and 10,349.53 ha under independent smallholders. In addition, a total of 78 palm oil mills have also been MSPO-certified.
6. Please contact MPOCC for more information on the implementation of the MSPO Certification at www.mpocc.org.my or your nearest MPOB TUNAS office at www.mpob.gov.my for more information on support for smallholder and incentives for MSPO Certification.
Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council
9 April 2018