RSPO supply chain misalignment: mill-level bottlenecks and smallholder inclusion

The roundtable on sustainable palm oil (RSPO) promotes sustainability through market-based certification, yet smallholder participation remains limited. This study examines whether limited uptake of RSPO supply chain certification (SCC) at the mill level constrains smallholder inclusion. Using certification data from Indonesia and Malaysia, company-level supplier records, and qualitative field evidence from West Kalimantan, the analysis identifies supply chain misalignment between farm certification and certified downstream channels. While large plantations show substantially higher certification rates, a majority of mills remain uncertified, limiting smallholders' access to physically certified markets. Field evidence further shows that the book and claim (B%C) model only partially compensates for this gap under prevailing trading conditions. The findings suggest that mill bottlenecks arise from uneven market incentives and broader institutional misalignment across certification stages.