Bibliometric Mapping of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58812/wsis.v3i10.2356Keywords:
RSPO, Sustainable Palm Oil, Bibliometric Analysis, Sustainability Governance, Certification, Smallholders, Deforestation, Global CollaborationAbstract
This study use bibliometric and network analysis to delineate global research on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) from 2010 to 2025, utilizing the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Findings indicate that RSPO literature predominantly encompasses issues of sustainability, certification, deforestation, and smallholder involvement, highlighting its dual emphasis on ecological preservation and social fairness. Co-authorship and international collaboration networks exhibit robust connections across institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, and Indonesia, while demonstrating diminished engagement from local Southeast Asian colleges. The findings indicate a transition from normative governance research to outcome-oriented empirical investigations, reflecting a theoretical change towards performance legitimacy in sustainability norms. This study offers significant insights for policymakers, academics, and practitioners aiming to reinforce evidence-based decision-making, improve inclusivity, and promote equitable international collaboration within the RSPO research ecosystem.
References
[1] E. M. H. Mark, “Enhancing sustainable palm oil production: a roundtable on sustainable palm oil (RSPO) jurisdictional approach in Sabah and Central Kalimantan,” 2024.
[2] M. Baker-Médard, C. Gantt, and E. R. White, “Classed conservation: Socio-economic drivers of participation in marine resource management,” Environ. Sci. Policy, vol. 124, pp. 156–162, 2021.
[3] B. Sun et al., “The recycling potential of unregulated waste electrical and electronic equipment in China: Generation, economic value, and cost-benefit analysis,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 402, p. 136702, 2023.
[4] J. Chen, K. Liu, and Y. Liu, “Synergistic molecular mechanism of degradation in dye wastewater by Rhodopseudomonas palustris intimately coupled carbon nanotube-Silver modified titanium dioxide photocatalytic composite with sodium alginate,” J. Environ. Manage., vol. 351, p. 119913, 2024.
[5] A. M. Alhaji, E. S. Almeida, C. R. Carneiro, C. A. S. da Silva, S. Monteiro, and J. S. dos R. Coimbra, “Palm Oil (Elaeis guineensis): A Journey through Sustainability, Processing, and Utilization,” Foods, vol. 13, no. 17, p. 2814, 2024.
[6] A. Johnson, “The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and transnational hybrid governance in Ecuador’s palm oil industry,” World Dev., vol. 149, p. 105710, 2022.
[7] R. Ostfeld and D. M. Reiner, “Seeing the forest through the palms: developments in environmentally sustainable palm oil production and zero-deforestation efforts,” Front. Sustain. Food Syst., vol. 8, p. 1398877, 2024.
[8] I. Suhardjo and M. Suparman, “Sustainable human resources practices in Indonesian family-owned listed companies,” 2024.
[9] T. O. Veriasa, M. Nurrunisa, and N. Fadhli, “Revisiting the Implications of RSPO Smallholder Certification Relative to Farm Productivity in Riau, Indonesia,” For. Soc., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 123–139, 2024.
[10] A. D. Ismael, M. Sassen, M. Slingerland, D. Sheil, and C. van Oosten, Investing in oil palm: balancing investor objectives and concerns. Wageningen University, Plant Production Systems, 2025.
[11] M. Camino et al., “Indigenous Lands with secure land-tenure can reduce forest-loss in deforestation hotspots,” Glob. Environ. Chang., vol. 81, p. 102678, 2023.
[12] M. A. HASIM, W. A. N. F. W. A. N. YUSOFF, W. A. N. MUHAMMAD, I. W. A. N. MAHDI, and A. K. MUSLIM, “ASSESSING INDEPENDENT SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’AWARENESS OF ROUNDTABLE ON SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL (RSPO): A STUDY IN OIL PALM EXPORTER NATIONS,” J. Sustain. Sci. Manag., vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 657–675, 2025.
[13] N. Donthu, S. Kumar, D. Mukherjee, N. Pandey, and W. M. Lim, “How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 133, pp. 285–296, 2021.
[14] J. A. Moral-Muñoz, E. Herrera-Viedma, A. Santisteban-Espejo, and M. J. Cobo, “Software tools for conducting bibliometric analysis in science: An up-to-date review,” Prof. la Inf., vol. 29, no. 1, 2020.
[15] M. Aria and C. Cuccurullo, “bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis,” J. Informetr., vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 959–975, 2017.
[16] N. J. Van Eck and L. Waltman, “Citation-based clustering of publications using CitNetExplorer and VOSviewer,” Scientometrics, vol. 111, no. 2, pp. 1053–1070, 2017.
[17] A. Kanwal and S. Chandrasekaran, “2dCNN-BiCuDNNLSTM: Hybrid deep-learning-based approach for classification of COVID-19 X-ray images,” Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 11, p. 6785, 2022.
[18] M. J. Page et al., “Updating guidance for reporting systematic reviews: development of the PRISMA 2020 statement,” J. Clin. Epidemiol., vol. 134, pp. 103–112, 2021.
[19] B. C. Stahl, L. Brooks, T. Hatzakis, N. Santiago, and D. Wright, “Exploring ethics and human rights in artificial intelligence–A Delphi study,” Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change, vol. 191, p. 122502, 2023.
[20] R. H. V Corley, “How much palm oil do we need?,” Environ. Sci. Policy, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 134–139, 2009.
[21] B. D. Solomon, “Biofuels and sustainability,” Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., vol. 1185, no. 1, pp. 119–134, 2010.
[22] G. Schouten and P. Glasbergen, “Creating legitimacy in global private governance: The case of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil,” Ecol. Econ., vol. 70, no. 11, pp. 1891–1899, 2011.
[23] G. Schouten, P. Leroy, and P. Glasbergen, “On the deliberative capacity of private multi-stakeholder governance: the roundtables on responsible soy and sustainable palm oil,” Ecol. Econ., vol. 83, pp. 42–50, 2012.
[24] K. M. Carlson et al., “Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., vol. 115, no. 1, pp. 121–126, 2018.
[25] D. Dentoni, V. Bitzer, and G. Schouten, “Harnessing wicked problems in multi-stakeholder partnerships,” J. Bus. Ethics, vol. 150, no. 2, pp. 333–356, 2018.
[26] C. Brandi, T. Cabani, C. Hosang, S. Schirmbeck, L. Westermann, and H. Wiese, “Sustainability standards for palm oil: challenges for smallholder certification under the RSPO,” J. Environ. Dev., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 292–314, 2015.
[27] W. F. Laurance et al., “Improving the performance of the roundtable on sustainable palm oil for nature conservation,” Conserv. Biol., vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 377–381, 2010.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Loso Judijanto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Facebook 
Instagram 
Twitter 
Youtube 
westscience.journals@gmail.com