Diving into MSPO Trace

Written by Azim Aziz, MPOCC

MSPO Trace was developed by MPOCC to monitor certification audited by Accredited Certification Bodies (ACBs) and traceability of the MSPO supply chain. It was launched in November 2019 and envisioned as a solution to all MSPO and trading activities of Malaysian palm oil. It is available for free via mobile application in both the App Store and Google Play.

How Does MSPO Trace works?

It comprises of 4 modules, which are;

• Certification

  Accredited Certification Bodies (ACBs) are companies that input data in MSPO Trace. They need to ensure that audited entities comply with the MSPO Standard, which includes Oil Palm Management Certification (OPMC) or Supply Chain Certification Standard (SCCS). Examples of ACBs are CARE Certification International (M) Sdn Bhd, Bureau Veritas Certification (M) Sdn Bhd, Control Union (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Trans Certification International Sdn Bhd (TCI) and etc.

  The ACBs shall upload the audited reports and certificates of their respective clients after 7 working days of audit date. All information in the trace are up-to-date including the information in the reports and certificates attached for the respective entities. All the entities which are publicly available in the MSPO Trace was certified by MSPO and can be found in the ‘active’ status. The entities which cannot be found in MSPO Trace can be clarified as not certified (suspended or withdrawn).

  In MSPO Trace, users can view and extract any demanded data for the certified entities. The available data such as ACBs carrying out the audit, company name, entity name, MPOB number, number of smallholders in SPOC or Group Manager, located state, certified area, planted area, audit stage, MSPO/SCCS certification number, issue date, expiry date, GPS location, latest audit report, and certificate. These data can be found in the ‘OPMC Certified list’, ‘SCCS Certified List’ and/or ‘Smallholder List’ tabs in the MSPO Trace.

• Traceability

  Traceability is a module to trace Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) starting from smallholding and/or plantation, onwards through the supply chain, from milling, refining, processing, and manufacturing. Tracing works through the combination of individual profiles of all entities, suppliers and buyer databases, sales announcements, and transaction records which connects the entire value chain.

  Sales Announcement - Any sale that requests for MSPO certified products and is mentioned as such in the sales contract. Sellers must make MSPO sales announcement within 30 days after transaction occurs in MSPO Trace.

  Monthly Declaration - A monthly report by all mills for the cumulative total of MSPO certified CPO and PK production volume. The data shall be reported before the 7th of the following month in the MSPO Trace.

To find suppliers and buyer list, users can copy the MSPO logo license number from the ‘Logo Usage Application’ tab, for example, FGV IFFCO Sdn Bhd (logo number - MSPO/3-1-0032) and paste in the box of ‘Traceability’ tab.

After that, the page will show the suppliers and buyer list for the logo number filled in, and user also can find the details for each suppliers and buyer listed. Moreover, user can view the all listed in the map form by clicking the logo as per the picture;

• Logo

  MSPO logo is a way of promoting, supporting, collaborating, and acting as an indicator where the organisation is certified with MSPO certification. MSPO logo can be categorised into Group A (Scheme Owner), Group B (Oil Palm Management Certificate Holders), Group C (Supply Chain Certificate Holders), and Group D (Certification Bodies and Other Organisations). MSPO logo users can use the logo for On-Product Usage and/or Off-Product Usage.

  Users can apply for the MSPO Logo by filling in the applicant details in ‘New User Registration’ under the ‘MSPO Logo Usage Application’ box. Users can also find more details of registered logo applicants in the ‘Logo Usage Application’ tab by clicking either one of the eight boxes. The boxes showing the different category of applicants such as independent smallholders, organised smallholders, plantations, palm oil mill, supply chains (individual), supply chain (multi-site), certification bodies, and others.

• Complaints and Grievance

  Any user which like to file a complaint or grievances, they can log in into MSPO Trace website in ‘Lodge New Complaints’ box under ‘Complaints & Grievances’ tab. The complaint reported will be reviewed, investigate, appeal and present to Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC).

  The complainant will be notified that the complaint has been addressed after the closure date. In the meantime, users may find the status of complaint in the ‘Check Your Complaint Status’ box in the same tab. There are different categories of complaints which can be lodge. Which are logo misuse, MSPO Trace, non-compliance to MSPO certification scheme, non-compliance of national laws and regulations, and others. The complainant may also request whether to maintain confidentially of their identity or not.

Any issues or queries about MSPO Trace can be written officially to mspotrace@mpocc.org.my

and for a complaints, complaints@mpocc.org.my