Prof. Najam Presents Keynote at RSPO in Kuala Lumpur

The Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Prof. Adil Najam, was invited to present the keynote address to the 7th Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO-RT7) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Nov. 2-4). With over 800 palm growers, business executives, environmental and social activists and government functionaries in attendance, Prof. Najam’s keynote remarks focussed on the need for creating alternative governance structures, which are truly global in outlook and involve a multitude of stakeholders. The meeting was opened by the Malaysian Minister of plantations.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. RSPO is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry – oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs – to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with a satellite office in Jakarta.

Press coverage of Prof. Najam’s speech in The New Straits Times, Malaysia, here.