Colombian-based Daabon Group are the first in the world to become certified under RSPO NEXT, a voluntary add-on module engaging Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) member companies to exceed the RSPO’s internationally recognised sustainability standard. RSPO NEXT was developed in response to the increased market commitments for no deforestation, no development on peat, no fires, and no human rights violations.

According to RSPO, the six-day, five-man team audit, reviewed Daabon’s four palm oil estates in Northern Colombia and included certification of the 122 smallholder farms who supply the mill, for compliance with RSPO NEXT requirements. "This achievement reconfirms our commitment to sustainability and RSPO. We are especially proud to be the first group globally, together with our 122 small farmers, to show that RSPO NEXT Certification is challenging but doable, also for smallholders," said Manuel Julian Dávila, CEO, Daabon Group, in a statement.