TRAINING MANUAL

RSPO PalmTrace – CB Area

Version October 2017
Contents
Introduction to the CB Area ............................................................................................................................................ 2
LOG IN........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
REQUESTS ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
LICENSES ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
SETTINGS .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Request a License ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
SECTION TYPE OF MEMBER & ACTIVITIES ......................................................................................................................................... 7
SECTION QUESTIONNAIRE.................................................................................................................................................................... 14
SECTION CERTIFICATE SETTINGS ....................................................................................................................................................... 14
AUDIT INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14
APPROVED LICENSE REQUEST ............................................................................................................................................................ 15
DENIED LICENSE REQUEST .................................................................................................................................................................. 16
Modify or Withdraw a License Request ................................................................................................................... 17
Manage Licenses ............................................................................................................................................................... 18
SUSPEND A LICENSE .............................................................................................................................................................................. 18
EXTEND A LICENSE................................................................................................................................................................................ 20
REQUEST A SUBSEQUENT LICENSE ..................................................................................................................................................... 23
Request a Member Transfer ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Settings ................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
ADD A USER ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
MANAGE USER RIGHTS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 27
REMOVE A USER ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Check the member’s transactions in RSPO PalmTrace ...................................................................................... 29

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Introduction to the CB Area
Welcome to the CB (Certification Body) Area in RSPO PalmTrace! In this manual you can find a step-
by-step guide on how to request licenses for members and how to manage those licenses. Also, you
will find information on how to audit the members’ activities in RSPO PalmTrace and how to add users
to your account.
All certified members do need a license in RSPO PalmTrace. Their certificate only becomes active
once you have requested, and once the RSPO Secretariat has approved the license. The license
validity is one year and starts on the same date as the certificate. Members who are required to reflect
their trading and processing activities of certified products in the Member Area of RSPO PalmTrace
(cf. Supply Chain Certification Standard for more details) can only do so with an active license. You as
their CB are responsible for requesting their license with the applicable rights to perform transactions
in RSPO PalmTrace.
The right to trade RSPO Credits is not part of the license. Members who want to trade RSPO Credits
have to request access to Book and Claim in RSPO PalmTrace separately with the set-up form for
credit sellers or buyers. However, having a valid license is a prerequisite for independent smallholders,
mills and crushers in order to sell RSPO Credits.
We have a dedicated support team for all your questions regarding RSPO PalmTrace. You can contact
us via email at palmoil.support@utz.org, call us at +31 (0)20 820 8968 or send us a message through
the live chat (see screenshot below). For questions regarding the certification systems, the approval
of license requests or questions related to your accreditation, please contact the RSPO Secretariat.

Log in
Only accredited certification bodies have access to RSPO PalmTrace. If your organisation has been
accredited recently, please request an account at palmoil.support@utz.org. You will then receive
your user credentials.

To log in to RSPO PalmTrace, go to palmtrace.rspo.org. Enter your user name and password and
click on Sign in.

If you have forgotten your password, click on the link below the log in to reset it. In case you need
help, you can directly contact our support team via the Live Chat button. The button is green when
the support team is online. When the team is offline, the button will be greyed out and you can

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contact them by sending an email to palmoil.support@utz.org. The support team will get back to
you as soon as possible.

After logging in, click on the tab Traceability System and enter the CB Area via the link.

Requests
Under the tab Requests you see an overview of your license- and extension requests to the RSPO
Secretariat, and their status. It is organised like an email system with Inbox and Outbox. In the Outbox
you find requests sent to the RSPO Secretariat waiting for reply, in the Inbox you find notifications
once the RSPO Secretariat has approved or denied your request. Also, you will find historic
information on previously completed requests, and you can work further on requests that you have
saved as drafts.
To easily find back a specific request, use the search box. You can print or export your Requests
overview into Excel. Also, you can customize all grids. Hover over the headline of a column and a little
arrow will become visible. You can sort the grid in alphabetical order and you can customize the
columns you want to be displayed.

Licenses
Under the tab Licenses, you can request a new license for a certified member that has been audited
by you. You can also access the details of licenses previously issued and request time-, volume- and
site extensions, monitor their expiry or suspend a license.
To easily find back a specific license, use the search box. You can print or export your License overview
into Excel. Also, you can customize all grids. Hover over the headline of a column and a little arrow

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will become visible. You can sort the grid in alphabetical order and you can customize the columns
you want to be displayed.

Settings
The Settings are only accessible to primary users of your account. Here, you can add colleagues as
users and define the users’ rights, manage your company’s details and see a log of the activities
performed by the different users.

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Request a License
In order to request a license for a member, go to the tab Licenses and click on the button Start New
License Process. During the whole license process, you can save the request as a draft and continue
working on it later on. You will find it back under the tab Requests, and under the subtab Draft.

For those members that you have licensed earlier, you can click on Start New License Process next to
their license information in the overview. Here, you will have the option to copy the details from the
previous license. In this way, you do not have to fill in all the details again and you only need to make
the necessary adaptations.

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The new license process form will appear in a new window. First, fill in the Member ID of the member
you want to request the license for.

This number is generated when the member registers in RSPO PalmTrace and can be provided by the
member, or you can search for it yourself in the Member Directory (accessible after logging in, outside
of the CB Area). Click on the member’s name to see their Member ID.

Next, you need to fill in the Audit Date in the newly appearing section. This should be the last date of
the audit.

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Section Type of Member & Activities
Now you need to fill in the Inspection Results and give the member the appropriate rights to perform
transactions in the Member Area, according to their certificate.

Click on Section 1 Type of Member & Activities to define the role of the member in the supply chain
and to give them trading and processing rights.

Select first whether the member has an individual, group or multi-site certification. Please note that
multi-group is currently not applicable. Then, indicate the activities the member performs. Based on
the answers to these questions, you will be able to give the member a certified volume (applicable for
mills and independent smallholder groups) or processing rights (applicable for crushers and refiners).
See the below advice on how to answer these questions:

Does the Certificate Holder produce certified products?

For mills and an independent smallholder groups: Yes
For all other supply chain actors: No

Does the Certificate Holder process its own produce?

For all supply chain actors: No

Does the Certificate Holder trade certified products (both purchase and sell)?
For mills and independent smallholders: No
For all other supply chain actors: Yes

Does the Certificate Holder process for other Certificate Holders and/or products purchased from
other members?
For mills and independent smallholders: No
For crushers and refiners: Yes
For all other supply chain actors: No (as they do not have to report their processing activities in RSPO
PalmTrace)

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Depending on your answers, the applicable sections will open.
Mills and Independent Smallholder Groups
If you have answered the first question (Does the Certificate Holder produce certified products?)
with Yes, the Produced Products section will open. Click on Add to indicate the applicable certified
volume for the member.

For mills, specify the volume of CSPO and CSPK, along with the certified supply chain model. The
mill will be able to trade this certified volume during the validity period of the license as physical or
as RSPO Credits (if they apply for becoming a credit seller).

For independent smallholder groups, specify the volume of IS-CSPO, IS-CSPKO and IS-CSPKE,
along with the certified supply chain model. For more information on the conversion rate from Fresh
Fruit Bunches (FFB) to IS-CSPO, IS-CSPKO and IS-CSPKE, please contact the RSPO Secretariat. The
group will be able to trade this certified volume during the validity period of the license as RSPO
Credits (if they apply for becoming a credit seller). Physical sales of FFB as RSPO certified will not be
recorded in RSPO PalmTrace. Please note that even groups who do not want to trade RSPO Credits,
a license request needs to be done in RSPO PalmTrace.

Once you have entered the certified volume, click on Save Section to proceed with the license
request.

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RSPO NEXT
Members who voluntarily implement the RSPO NEXT standard on top of the Principles & Criteria,
need to be licensed and given an additional volume to be sold as RSPO NEXT Credits.

First, select that the member is RSPO NEXT compliant. Then, add RSPO NEXT as a produced product
and add the according volume.

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Crushers and Refiners
If you have answered the third (Does the Certificate Holder trade certified products (both purchase
and sell)?) and the fourth question (Does the Certificate Holder process for other Certificate Holders
and/or products purchased from other members?) with Yes, the Processing, Trading and Processing
Program Level, Certified to Process Products and Trading Products sections will open.

First, choose the processing activities for which the member is certified. Make sure that you select
all applicable activities, as the member otherwise will not be able to perform the activities in RSPO
PalmTrace that they are requested to do. However, these activities must be in accordance with the
member’s certificate, e.g. for a crusher, ‘Crushing’ should be chosen, but not ‘Refining’ and/or
‘Fractionation’.

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Please note that the 1 to 1 conversion rights should only be given to members who purchase volume
at level IP and/or SG (cf. SCCS Module C – Mass Balance). The right to perform 1 to 1 MB for MB
certified should only be given to members who do buy IP and/or SG volume, but are only certified
for Mass Balance themselves. Incoming volume will be automatically downgraded to MB for those
members by the RSPO PalmTrace system. Therefore, this activity gives them the possibility to still
make use of the 1 to 1 conversion for their purchased IP/SG volume. Please always check during the
next audit if the member made correct use of the 1 to 1 conversion. If you have questions regarding
the 1 to 1 conversion, please contact the RSPO Secretariat.

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Then, select the supply chain model(s) the member is certified for.

The corresponding Processing Products will now be automatically added for all indicated supply
chain model(s). The member will by default be allowed to trade all products available in RSPO
PalmTrace, for the applicable supply chain model(s).

Click on Save Section to proceed with the license request.

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Other supply chain actors
Only supply chain actors between mill and refinery need to register their sales and processing
activities in RSPO PalmTrace. However, other certified supply chain actors also do need a license in
order for their certificate to become active.

If you have answered the third question (Does the Certificate Holder trade certified products (both
purchase and sell)?) with Yes, the Trading Program Level and Trading Products section will open.

Select the supply chain model(s) the member is certified for. The member will by default be allowed
to trade all products available in RSPO PalmTrace, for the applicable supply chain model(s). Click on
Save Section to proceed with the license process.

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Section Questionnaire
This section will only appear if you are licensing a mill or an independent smallholder group. Please
fill in the total certified area in ha and then click on Save Section to proceed with the license process.

Section Certificate Settings

This section is the same for all members. Indicate here the details of the member’s certificate and
select the start- and end date of the license. The start date needs to be the same date as the starting
date of the certificate. The end date is 365 days later. For example, if the license start date is on the
1st of October, the end date should be the following year on the 30th of September.

Upload the certificate, indicate the date of the first RSPO certification and the key attention points
for the next audit. These points will also be visible to the member in their license summary report.
Also, please indicate the other certification schemes the member is certified for, if applicable.

Audit Information
After saving the last section, you can fill in all the dates of the audits, indicate the name(s) of the
auditor(s) and the lead auditor. Confirm that your license request is conform to the Protocol and the
RSPO program.

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If you need to add information at a later stage, save the request as draft. Otherwise, you can now
submit the license request for approval to the RSPO Secretariat.
You will find the request under the tab Requests in your Outbox where you can monitor the status of
the review. Once the RSPO Secretariat has approved or denied your license request, you will get a
notification in your Inbox.

Approved License Request

Once the RSPO Secretariat has approved your license request, you will get a notification in your
Inbox with the status Approved by TP (Traceability Provider, refers to the RSPO Secretariat).

By acknowledging it, you move the request to the subtab Request Completed and you keep your
Inbox clean.

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Denied License Request
In case the RSPO Secretariat has denied your license request, you will get a notification in your Inbox
with the status Denied by TP (Traceability Provider, refers to the RSPO Secretariat).

Click on the Request ID and scroll down to see the reason for denial as given by the RSPO
Secretariat.

Click on Modify and Resubmit to perform the necessary changes. You can then submit the license
request again for approval by the RSPO Secretariat. If you do not want to proceed with this license
request, you can acknowledge the denial of the request and move it to the subtab Request
Completed.

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Modify or Withdraw a License Request
Until the RSPO Secretariat has reviewed your license, you can still modify or withdraw the license
request. Once the request has the status Review in Process, you will not be able to perform any
changes anymore.
Go to the tab Requests and to the subtab Outbox. Here you will find your submitted license requests
that are pending to be approved.

Click on Recall & Modify in order to make changes in the license request. After saving it, the adapted
version of the license request will be submitted to the RSPO Secretariat.
Click on Withdraw if you want to take back your license request completely. After confirmation, the
request will be deleted. You can find the request back under the subtab Request Completed.

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Manage Licenses
Under the tab Licenses you have an overview of all approved licenses you have issued for members.
Here, you can view the details and manage the licenses.

Suspend a License
The suspension of a license can be necessary, if the member’s certification has been suspended or if
a license does not contain the correct details, for example incorrect processing rights. Once
suspended, the member does not have the possibility to record transactions in RSPO PalmTrace
anymore. All unconfirmed transactions will be automatically cancelled and will only be resubmitted
by the system once a new license has been approved – and only if the new license still matches the
requirements for the pending transaction (e.g. an Announcement of a product at level Identity
Preserved will not be resubmitted if the new license is only valid for Mass Balance).

In order to suspend a member’s license, click on the link Suspend next to the member’s license.
Confirm, and choose whether the member should be informed by email about the suspension. You
can also add remarks about the reason for suspension. Click on OK to suspend the license.

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Lift a Suspension
If the (same) license of the member should be activated again, click on Lift Suspension next to the
member’s license in the overview. Also here you can choose whether the member should be
informed by email about the reactivation of their license. Once the suspension has been lifted, the
member will be able again to perform transactions in RSPO PalmTrace.

Issue a new License

In case you suspended the license, because it contained incorrect details, you need to issue a new
license. Click on Start New License Process next to the member’s license in the overview.

For your convenience, you copy the details of the previous license. You only need to adapt the
details that were incorrect in the previous license and submit the license request for approval to the
RSPO Secretariat.

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Extend a License
There are three types of extensions that you can request for active licenses: Time extension, Group
extension and Volume extension. In order to request a license extension, click on the link Extend
next to the member’s license in the overview. All requests for extensions will be submitted to the
RSPO Secretariat for approval.

Time Extension
Licenses are valid for one year and a new license needs to be requested and approved before expiry,
so the member does not have a gap between their licenses and can register their transactions in
RSPO PalmTrace without interruption. If, however, the audit date is delayed, or if the process takes
longer than expected, you can request a time extension to the license. This extension can be
requested for a maximum of three months.

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First, choose Time as type of extension. Then choose the new end date of the license, upload any
documents related to the extension, and indicate the reason for the extension. Add any comments
and then click on OK to submit the request to the RSPO Secretariat.
You can find back the request in your Outbox where you can modify or withdraw it, until the RSPO
Secretariat has reviewed it. Once reviewed, you will receive a notification in your Inbox about the
approval or denial of the extension request.

Group Extension
If the member has a group certification and the group should be extended, you can add group
members by requesting a group extension.

Indicate the new group size, upload any documents related to the extension, and indicate the reason
for the extension. Add any comments and then click on OK to submit the request to the RSPO
Secretariat.
You can find back the request in your Outbox where you can modify or withdraw it, until the RSPO
Secretariat has reviewed it. Once reviewed, you will receive a notification in your Inbox about the
approval or denial of the extension request.

Volume Extension
An extension of the certified volume can only be requested for mills and independent smallholder
groups. If during the license period it turns out that the member has produced more volume than
expected, you can request a volume extension.

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Enter the additional volume and indicate the reason for the extension. Add any comments and then
click on OK to submit the request to the RSPO Secretariat.
You can find back the request in your Outbox where you can modify or withdraw it, until the RSPO
Secretariat has reviewed it. Once reviewed, you will receive a notification in your Inbox about the
approval or denial of the extension request.

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Request a subsequent License
For members that you have licensed before, you can start a new license request by clicking on the
link Start New License Process next to the member’s license in the overview. This will save you time
as you can copy the details from the previous license and you will only need to make the applicable
adaptations, for example the audit details. Please do not forget to make changes to the license if the
scope of the certificate has changed.

The further process is identical to the one described in the chapter Request a License.

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Request a Member Transfer
In case a member changes certification body and you are the new CB, you will need to request a
member transfer before you can request a new license for them. First, click on Start New License
Process and fill in the Member ID.

An error message will appear informing you that this member has been licensed by another CB or TP
(Traceability Provider, refers to the RSPO Secretariat). Check the Member Details if this is the
correct member you want to transfer and then click on Transfer Member.

The request will be submitted to the RSPO Secretariat for approval. Once approved, you will receive
a notification in your Inbox.

After you have audited the member, you can start the license request from here. Please note that
even if you have requested a member transfer, the member’s current license can only be managed
by the old CB (suspension, extension, etc.). In case the old CB is going to be terminated and will not

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be able to manage the member’s license anymore, they should suspend it, so you can request a new
license immediately. Please be aware that when suspending a member’s license, all unconfirmed
transactions will be automatically cancelled and will only be resubmitted by the system once a new
license has been approved – and only if the new license still matches the requirements for the
pending transaction (e.g. an Announcement of a product at level Identity Preserved will not be
resubmitted if the new license is only valid for Mass Balance). Therefore, please communicate with
the member about this procedure.

In general, when transferring a member, we strongly advise you to stay in close communication with
the old CB, the member, our support team and the RSPO Secretariat to facilitate this process as
smoothly as possible.

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Settings
As a primary user of your RSPO PalmTrace account you have access to the Settings. Here you can
add colleagues as users to your account, manage their rights and find a history log of the user
management. Also, you can edit your company address and view your company information.

Add a user
Click on Settings and make sure you are in the User Management. Below the list of existing users,
click on the button Add User.

Fill in the form with the details of the new user. Decide whether the user should become a primary
user (with access to the Settings) or a normal user (for whom the rights can be restricted, for
example read-only rights). Upon clicking on Add, the user will receive the password at the email
address as indicated by you.

The new user will now appear in the overview where you can manage their rights, in case they are a
normal user.

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Manage user rights
To adapt a user’s rights in your RSPO PalmTrace account, click on Modify next to their name.

Here, you can indicate to which tabs the user should have access, and whether this should be full
access or read-only.

The user in this example has full access to the tab Requests, and can for example acknowledge
incoming notifications, but the user cannot request a new license or an extension under Licenses, as
the rights for this tab are read-only.

Remove a user
Users that do not longer work in your organisation, or should not have access to RSPO PalmTrace
anymore, can be removed. Click on Modify next to a user’s name.

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Here, you can remove the user.

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Check the member’s transactions in RSPO
PalmTrace
During the audit, you need to check whether the member has reflected the required sales and
processing activities in RSPO PalmTrace. For more information on the activities members can / need
to perform, please refer to the RSPO’s certification standard (SCCS) for more details on the control
points.

In order to check the member’s transactions, you have several possibilities:

1. To prepare the audit, you can ask the member to provide you with an extract of their
a) Transactions (Inbox, Outbox, Finalized Transactions): Overview of (Shipping)
Announcements and traced volumes
b) Stock Management Log: Conversions, Downgrades, Allocation to credits (if
applicable)

2. To prepare the audit, primary users of your account can download the member’s Trading
and Transactions Report. Click on the link Start New License Process next to the member’s
name in the overview and indicate the (planned) audit date. The link to download the report
will become visible.

3. During the audit, you can ask the member to log in to the Member Area of their RSPO
PalmTrace account to show you their sales and processing activities. Check especially the
tabs Transactions, Trading & Stock and Log.

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