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Partnership aims to align national certification with global supply chain expectations, with smallholder inclusion at the core
KUALA LUMPUR, April 18, 2025 – Nestlé Malaysia and the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme have entered into a landmark collaboration to elevate responsible palm oil sourcing — combining MSPO’s inclusive national certification framework with Nestlé Malaysia’s commitment to responsible procurement and global sourcing experience.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed today and witnessed by YB Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Minister of Plantation and Commodities, marks a significant step toward advancing sustainability, traceability, and inclusivity across the Malaysian palm oil sector.
“This collaboration reflects more than the signing of an MoU — it brings together two entities with shared values and complementary strengths,” said Datuk Seri Johari. “MSPO, with its inclusive national mandate, ensures that sustainability is accessible and credible for all producers, including smallholders. Nestlé Malaysia has shown consistent leadership in responsible sourcing. Together, they reflect the convergence of principled certification and practical supply chain leadership — the kind of collaboration that strengthens MSPO’s global recognition and Malaysia’s role in sustainable palm oil.”
As part of its Creating Shared Value approach and ESG agenda, Nestlé Malaysia has long embedded sustainability into its sourcing practices, including direct engagement with producers, suppliers, and smallholders. The company has already achieved significant milestones in sustainable palm oil sourcing, with all palm oil and palm oil-based products being RSPO-certified and 100% deforestation-free. Backed by Nestlé’s global experience in supply chain transformation, the company brings deep insight into how responsible sourcing can be implemented at scale.
“At Nestlé Malaysia, sustainability is at the heart of how we do business. We recognise that meaningful change requires collaboration, and this partnership with MSPO strengthens our ability to drive responsible practices and inclusivity across the palm oil supply chain,” said Mr. Juan Aranols, Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Malaysia. “This collaboration deepens our work with local producers, especially smallholders — ensuring they are part of a more resilient, transparent, and sustainable palm oil supply chain. These efforts will not only contribute to a more responsible palm oil industry but also create lasting benefits for the communities who depend on it."
The MoU sets the stage for technical knowledge exchange, capacity-building initiatives, and efforts to improve traceability and smallholder certification readiness. Initial areas of focus will include supply chain mapping and training support — laying the groundwork for broader alignment with global sustainability requirements, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The MSPO, as Malaysia’s national certification scheme, provides an enforceable, scalable, and locally grounded framework for sustainable palm oil. Its inclusive structure enables both estates and smallholders to participate in certified supply chains and access sustainability-linked markets.
What sets MSPO apart is its commitment to inclusivity at scale — ensuring that sustainability is not limited to large plantations or export-focused operations, but is accessible to smallholders, organised groups, and local producers across the entire ecosystem. This broad-based approach ensures that sustainability does not come at the expense of equity, and that Malaysia’s palm oil transformation is both market-driven and socially grounded.
“This MoU reflects MSPO’s continued evolution — not only as a national standard, but as a bridge to international expectations,” said En. Haris Arshad, Chairman of MSPO. “It demonstrates how MSPO can collaborate with leading companies such as Nestlé Malaysia to create meaningful impact — by supporting producers on the ground, strengthening supply chain assurance, and ensuring sustainability is both credible and inclusive.”
The collaboration also supports the rollout of the MSPO Strategic Plan 2024–2026, including the implementation of MSPO 2.0 from 1 January 2025. The enhanced standard introduces Social Impact Assessments, greenhouse gas reporting, a deforestation cut-off date, ILO-aligned labour indicators, and full traceability requirements.
The MoU also serves as a precursor to the MSPO Impact Alliance — a new multi-stakeholder platform designed to explore and test innovative models that extend the value of certification. Through collaboration with NGOs, financiers, technology partners, and multinational FMCG companies, the Alliance will enable MSPO to pilot ideas such as green financing for certified producers, digitised traceability solutions, deforestation monitoring tools, and inclusive sourcing incentives for smallholders. Nestlé Malaysia will join as a founding member, contributing to shared learning and collaborative implementation that will inform MSPO’s next phase of impact.
In the medium term, this partnership supports MSPO’s broader ambition to enhance global recognition, increase market demand for MSPO-certified palm oil, and position the standard as a preferred certification of choice for responsible, inclusive sourcing — both within Malaysia and across international supply chains.
“This collaboration reflects the value of working together — across standards, supply chains, and local ecosystems — to raise the bar for sustainability,” added En. Haris. “It is a purposeful step forward in reshaping how sustainability is delivered, measured, and shared.”
About Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO)
The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) started as a voluntary scheme for sustainable palm oil certification in Malaysia before the Malaysian Government announced in May 2017 the mandatory implementation of MSPO beginning 1st January 2020. This means that all oil palm plantations, organised smallholdings and palm oil mill must be certified against the requirements of the MSPO Standards by aforementioned date. The MSPO 2022 standards have improved and strengthened the environmental, social and economic requirements to be in line with global sustainability norms. The MSPO 2022 standards include certification requirements for smallholders, plantations and mills, processing facilities and dealers to become certified and part of the MSPO traceability.
About Nestlé Malaysia: Nourishing Malaysians for Over a Century
Since 1912, Nestlé has been dedicated to nourishing Malaysians and building their trust through our high-quality brands and products. We contribute to food security as well as to the health and well-being of the Rakyat through our trusted brands and a long-term commitment to Malaysia in the form of investments, employment, and various initiatives that uplift local communities. Today, we operate six factories, employing over 5,000 Malaysians, and we are the Halal Centre of Excellence for Nestlé globally. We are committed to providing halal, nutritious, and high-quality products with sustainability at the heart of our business practices - Made in Malaysia, by Malaysians, for all Malaysians.
As the world's largest food and beverage manufacturer, with our headquarters based in Switzerland, Nestlé operates in over 180 countries. With a workforce of over 270,000 dedicated employees, we are driven by our purpose to unlock the power of food, enhancing the quality of life for everyone, both today and for future generations. Our commitment to nutrition, health, and wellness guides our performance, ensuring we deliver on our promise of GOOD FOOD, GOOD LIFE.
To discover more about our century-long journey of nourishing Malaysians, please visit our website at https://www.nestle.com.my/ask-Nestlé/we-are-nestle.
For Media Inquiries, Kindly Contact the Corporate Communications Team:
Ahmad Zaki Nawawi
Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO)
E-mail: [email protected]
Shaheen Zaffar
Nestlé Malaysia
Tel: (+603) 7965 6456
E-mail: [email protected]