History
The inaugural meeting of the Roundtable took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 21 - 22 August 2003 and was attended by 200 participants from 16 countries. The key output from this meeting was the adoption of the Statement of Intent (SOI) which is a non-legally binding expression of support for the Roundtable process. As of 31 August 2004, forty seven organisations have signed the SOI.

On 8 April 2004, the "Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)," was formally established under Article 60 of the Swiss Civil Code with a governance structure that ensures fair representation of all stakeholders throughout the entire supply chain. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, the Secretariat is based in Kuala Lumpur with a RSPO Liaison office in Jakarta.