Sustainable by design. Certified by law.

Malaysia remains committed to its 1992 Rio Summit pledge to keep at least 50% of its land under forest cover. Today, over 54% of the country is still forested — a higher share than most Western nations. Growth in palm oil production is increasingly driven by yield improvements, replanting, and better agronomic practices, rather than expansion into new land.

The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) is the national sustainability certification scheme for palm oil produced in Malaysia. It became mandatory from 2020 onwards, and covers environmental management, worker rights, governance, smallholder inclusion, and traceability. More than 90% of Malaysia’s oil palm planted area is now MSPO-certified (as of April 2026).

MSPO 2.0 strengthens Malaysia’s national palm oil sustainability standard with more comprehensive environmental, social, and governance requirements aligned with global expectations.

It introduces a “No Deforestation” cut-off date of 31 December 2019, stronger requirements for High Conservation Value (HCV) and Social Impact Assessments (SIA), enhanced labour and governance standards, and improved supply chain traceability through the eMSPO traceability platform.

Implemented from 2025 onwards, MSPO 2.0 provides a more rigorous and traceable certification framework covering the entire industry, including smallholders and dealers.

MSPO supports alignment with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) through strengthened requirements that reinforce Malaysian palm oil’s deforestation-free production and supply chain traceability.

MSPO applies a “No Deforestation” cut-off date of 31 December 2019, which is one year earlier than the EUDR cut-off date of 31 December 2020, and prohibits conversion of natural forests, protected areas, and HCV areas for new plantings after this date.

To support compliance and due diligence expectations, MSPO is also reinforced by mandatory legal compliance requirements covering land, environmental, and labour regulations; the eMSPO digital traceability system; inclusion of smallholders within the national framework, supported by tailored MSPO requirements; and ongoing development of a national palm oil traceability platform via the soon-to-be-launched Sistem Kebolehjejakan Nasional (SKN).

These elements collectively strengthen Malaysia’s ability to provide structured information relevant to EUDR due diligence requirements. More EUDR FAQs and information can be found on MPOC’s EUDR Resource Hub: https://www.mpoc.org.my/eudr-central-info/

Malaysia protects orangutans and other wildlife through a combination of national policy, mandatory standards, and industry-led initiatives. The National Policy on Biological Diversity guides efforts to conserve ecosystems, strengthen ecological corridors, and integrate biodiversity into land-use planning. In the palm oil sector, the mandatory Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil standard requires the protection of High Conservation Value areas, conservation of wildlife habitats and corridors, and prohibits conversion of natural forests after 2019. Complementing this, the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF) drives industry-led conservation programmes, including wildlife protection, habitat restoration, and human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Research shows that orangutans can persist in well-managed landscapes where forests are protected and connected, with populations in parts of Malaysia remaining broadly stable under current management.

Oil palm occupies only about 6 to 10% of global oil-crop land while contributing approximately 35 to 40% of global vegetable oil supply, demonstrating significantly higher productivity and land-use efficiency compared with other vegetable oil sources.

Yes. Smallholders represent roughly 28% of Malaysia’s planted area, and around 450,000 families depend on the sector. MSPO was designed from the start to include smallholders, with tailored certification requirements, government-funded certification support, and dedicated smallholder modules. Malaysia’s framework is one of the few that treats smallholder inclusion as a core requirement rather than an afterthought.

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires traceable, deforestation-free commodities for imports into the European Union. Malaysia is well prepared: the soon-to-be-launched National Traceability System (SKN) links production data down to the plantation plot and integrates with MSPO certification. MPOC and the Malaysian Government engage directly with the European Commission. In September 2025, EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall publicly described Malaysia’s framework as “credible and robust.” More EUDR FAQs and information can be found on MPOC’s EUDR Resource Hub: https://www.mpoc.org.my/eudr-central-info/

Malaysia’s oil palm sector is now focused on yield improvement and replanting, with planted area remaining stable and no expansion into new plantation licences under the current policy framework.

Reliable comparative figures for the carbon footprint of palm oil against other vegetable oils are not currently available. MPOC does not publish or endorse comparative estimates because the published data does not yet support a defensible cross-oil comparison. We will update this position as peer-reviewed life-cycle assessments at the comparable-methodology level become available.

Oil palm is a highly resource-efficient crop in commercial agriculture. The fruit yields oil, while most milling by-products are recovered and reused: empty fruit bunches are used as mulch and organic fertiliser, and in some systems are also processed for further use; palm kernel shells and fibre are used as boiler fuel for energy generation; palm trunks are utilised in plywood and bio-composite products; and palm oil mill effluent is increasingly captured for biogas production. Overall, the industry continues to move towards a zero-waste position within integrated processing systems.