The Centre Becomes a Member of the RSPO

We're pleased to share that The Centre for Child Rights and Business has joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

As expectations around human rights and child rights due diligence continue to grow, we see RSPO as an important platform for collaboration, learning and collective action across the palm oil sector. Through our membership, we aim to contribute practical insights from our work with businesses, suppliers and communities to help strengthen approaches to child rights, child labour prevention and remediation.

Our relationship with RSPO spans several years. In 2019, The Centre, in collaboration with Proforest and commissioned by RSPO, contributed to the development of four child rights guidance documents for the palm oil sector, targeting producers, smallholders, certification bodies and downstream actors.

More recently, RSPO participated as a panel speaker at the launch of the Child Rights Action Hub Malaysia in 2024, an initiative by The Centre to tackle child rights risks (including child labour) in Malaysia’s palm oil sector through a practical, private-sector-driven approach. They also co-facilitated a workshop on forced labour guidelines in 2025 as part of the MY Voice project, a USDOL-funded project, which The Centre was implementing alongside SAI, Proforest and Our Journey.

A key reason for joining RSPO is the opportunity to bring evidence and lessons learned from our work in Sabah and through the Child Rights Action Hub Malaysia into wider industry discussions. By sharing practical experience from supporting children and families affected by child labour and other child rights risks, we hope to contribute to stronger, more effective approaches across the sector.

We look forward to engaging with fellow members and supporting efforts to advance child rights throughout palm oil supply chains.