InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – What appears to be a technical regulation—Minister of Industry Regulation (Permenperin) No. 38/2025—actually signals a major shift in direction. Palm oil sustainability is no longer confined to plantations; it must now extend through factories and the entire supply chain. The message is clear: if palm oil is to endure, downstream sectors must also go green.
That morning, a meeting room in a Jakarta hotel was filled with civil society organizations discussing how sustainable palm oil practices are expanding downstream.
Government representatives were present to explain the relatively new policy. Behind the structured explanation lies a crucial message: Indonesia is shifting the burden of sustainability from merely a “plantation responsibility” to an “industry responsibility.”
The regulation—officially titled Minister of Industry Regulation No. 38 of 2025 on Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification for the Palm Oil Industry—may sound administrative. However, it reflects a fundamental shift in the state’s mindset: sustainability can no longer be treated as an upstream issue alone, limited to plantations, smallholders, or plantation companies.
Sustainability is now being extended to downstream sectors, including mills, refineries, biodiesel, oleochemicals, and even animal feed.
At the time, Citra Rapati from the Directorate of Chemical, Oleochemical, and Feed Industry (IKOP) stated that the regulation is a key component in fostering Indonesia’s national palm oil industry.
She explained that the initiative is closely linked to a broader policy revision. The previous Presidential Regulation No. 44/2020 has now been updated to Presidential Regulation No. 16/2025, with a clear focus on expanding ISPO’s scope. (T2)
