Proforest and Daemeter Consulting are jointly organising a Lead Auditor training course endorsed by the  Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Pekanbaru, Indonesia, in end August 2014.

The five-day course is designed for auditors wishing to carry out auditing for the RSPO producer standard,  for company staff in charge of meeting RSPO requirements, and any interested stakeholders (e.g. NGOs,  government officials) wanting to learn about RSPO standards and systems. The course, to take place on  25-29 August 2014, includes lectures, workshops, a practical audit exercise and a written examination.

Endorsed by the RSPO, the course provides lead auditors and other participants with an in-depth  knowledge of the RSPO Principles and Criteria and their implementation. It focuses on the application of  the RSPO Certification Systems and audit practice requirements to ensure consistent and appropriate  audit decision-making.

The course trainers are themselves qualified Lead Auditors and experts on specific topic areas (e.g. HCV  and FPIC experts) from Proforest and Daemeter with extensive RSPO experience. The course will bring  together their collective experiences in the planning and implementation of the RSPO and builds on the  wealth of local experience we have working in Southeast Asia.

Course overview 

The course will run for 5 days and consists of:

• 3.5 days classroom tutorials, exercises and workshops;
• 1 day practical audit exercise in an oil palm estate; and
• 0.5 day for exam and audit exercise reporting.

The course will be conducted in Bahasa Indonesia. All participants are expected to have some basic  knowledge of the RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C). A questionnaire will be provided and must be  completed before the course.

Course outline 

First endorsed by RSPO in March 2008, the course provides insights to implementation complexities via  real case studies. Key topics covered include an overview of the RSPO P&C and supply chains, as well as  the core environmental and community requirements of the standard, as outlined below:

• Overview of the environmental issues in plantations
• HCV and biodiversity in existing plantations and new developments
• Overview of the social issues within RSPO P&C, Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and  Labour standards
• Supply chain systems and chain of custody requirement for mills
• Others, such as RSPO – Renewable Energy Directive (RED), Best Management Practices

For details of the contact persons, other information, and registration form, please download the brochure  for the workshop here.