Cargill has pledged that the palm oil products it supplies in markets including Europe and the US will be certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) or originate from smallholder growers by 2015.

The US agribusiness said the commitment also covered customers in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It added that the pledge would be extended across all of Cargill's oil and trading businesses to cover 100% of its palm oil products and all customers worldwide, including China and India, by 2020.

"Cargill is an active supporter of sustainable palm and has been a member of the RSPO since it was founded. We hope this commitment will encourage more participation across the supply chain and help RSPO palm oil become the mainstream", said Cargill vice chairman Paul Conway.

"This goal will help us meet the rising demand for sustainable palm oil products amongst manufacturers and retailers, while continuing to encourage palm oil producers to adopt more sustainable practices."

Cargill said that it already offers RSPO certified palm oil products to its customers and its refineries in Europe, Malaysia, the US and Australia have received RSPO certification. Its oil palm plantation at PT Hindoli in Sumatra, Indonesia has also been certified and smallholder farmers at this location became the first to be certified under the RSPO's Smallholder Principles & Criteria in 2010.

It said it also has policies in place for responsible palm production in its own plantations, including not planting on high conservation value forests, not developing new plantations on deep peat land or land that would threaten biodiversity and a strict no-burn policy for land preparation.