SGS : Accreditation of Certification Bodies under the MSPO Certification Scheme and Conversion of MSPO Certificates

The Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC), as the owner of the MSPO Certification Scheme, has come to a decision on the requirements and procedures that must be followed by Certification Bodies (CBs) intending to operate oil palm management certification under the Scheme against the requirements of the MSPO Standards.

So far, seven CBs (DQS CFS Certification (M), SGS (Malaysia), BSI Services Malaysia, SIRIM QAS International, Bureau Veritas Certification (M), TUV Nord (Malaysia) & Control Union (Malaysia) have issued MSPO Certificates prior to the launch of the accreditation program by DSM.

These MSPO certificates are still regarded as valid MSPO certificates under the MSPO Certification Scheme. However, these CBs will have to apply to DSM for accreditation by June 30, 2017 in order to carry out audits under the MSPO Certification Scheme. In the event that any of the CBs fail to apply for accreditation by that date, the MSPO certificate holder will have to engage an accredited CB to conduct any surveillance or recertification audit of the certified entity.

SGS in Malaysia successfully completed the stage 1 and stage 2 compliance audit in September 2016 with a witness audit planned in November 2016. SGS aims to be the first CB in Malaysia accredited by the Department of Standards Malaysia for the MSPO Accreditation Scheme.

Note: About 400,000 oil palm smallholders in Malaysia are yet to be certified. The MSPO scheme was launched to support them in becoming certified sustainable palm oil producers under the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification standard initiated by the Government.