InfoSAWIT, KUALA LUMPUR – Amid the bustle of global sustainability forums, the name Inke van der Sluijs may rarely appear on center stage. Yet behind the scenes, this Dutch sustainability expert has played a key role in reshaping how the world views palm oil.
As Director of Market Transformation at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Inke has pursued a challenging path—aligning global market expectations with the realities faced by smallholders. “We want sustainability transformation to go beyond corporate jargon and truly reach rural communities,” she said during a discussion session at RT2025 Kuala Lumpur in early November 2025.
Her strong academic background underpins her career in environmental governance. Holding a PhD in Biology from Leiden University, Inke specialized in animal ecology and interspecies relationships in tropical ecosystems. She later transitioned into public policy, working on sustainable vegetable oil and fisheries in the Netherlands—experience that shaped her belief in balancing production and conservation.
Joining RSPO in 2013 as Technical Manager for Europe, she focused on building trust between industry players and European markets. Today, she leads RSPO’s global Market Transformation Division, overseeing initiatives across Asia, including Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s two largest palm oil producers.
One of her key missions is empowering independent smallholders, who manage around 40 percent of global palm oil acreage. “Through the Independent Smallholder Standard, we support them in achieving step-by-step certification. Markets then provide incentives by purchasing sustainability credits,” she explained. (T2)
For more details, see InfoSAWIT Magazine, November 2025 edition.
