GPSNR Working Groups Update: August 2024

Share This Post

Strategy and Objectives Working Group: Hubert has completed his updates to the Assurance Model documents, which are now being consulted with the membership through the Assurance Model Task Force. Members should provide written feedback through the feedback form, and those who wish to be more actively involved in finalising these documents are encouraged to write to the Secretariat to join the Task Force. Additionally, a webinar will be conducted to share these updates and initiate further feedback from the membership. To register for the webinar, click here.

Smallholders Representation and Capacity Building (SCB) Working Group: The following projects have been endorsed by SCB WG members: the Indonesia GAP Coaching (Phase 1) by Koltiva, and the Income Diversification and Rubber Agroforestry Project by Dr. Eric (CIRAD) and Dr. Maria. Continued oversight of ongoing projects, including the Indonesia GAP Coaching Project (Phase 2), is being maintained. Koltiva has submitted a mid-term report, with SCB WG members requested to review and provide feedback by 26 August 2024.

Goodyear has expressed interest in extending the Indonesia GAP Coaching Project into Phase 3, with Koltiva’s proposal currently under review by the funder and the Secretariat planning to circulate it to SCB WG members for review once finalised. The Knowledge Sharing Platform is on track, with Koltiva scheduled to deliver the outcomes by 20 August 2024 and a presentation to the SCB WG on 22 August 2024. The Thailand Agroforestry Project is proceeding smoothly, with the contract for an additional project to develop a local marketing system being finalised with RAFS. Additionally, the resolution on the Shared Investment Mechanism (SIM) was approved during the EGA in July 2024, and the Secretariat is facilitating the creation of a Project Management Sub-group within the SCB WG, which will be responsible for reviewing and monitoring projects under the SIM. The Terms of Reference (TORs) for this sub-group have been drafted and are pending approval from the GPSNR Executive Committee.

Shared Responsibility Working Group: The Shared Investment Mechanism has been approved by the General Assembly following the July Extraordinary General Assembly vote. The Secretariat will work on establishing the Shared Investment Mechanism and operationalising all aspects of the Shared Investment Framework. Additionally, the Secretariat will continue to develop the value transfer initiative through discussions with members.

More To Explore
News

In favour of disagreement

Why conflict is crucial for meaningful sustainability initiatives

— Aidan Mock, Impacts and Assurance Manager

Since joining the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber in July 2020, I have spent about 3,000 hours working for the organization. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the controversial idea that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something which means that I still have a long way to go. Reflecting on these two numbers at the end of last year, I started to wonder how much time it takes GPSNR as a whole to demonstrate progress. I was most curious about our brand new Reporting Requirements (RRs) which were approved at the General Assembly last year. The RRs will ensure that all GPSNR members have standardised sustainability data which can be tracked, monitored, and analysed to meet our goals on sustainability and equity. Needless to say, this is a crucial piece of work for the global rubber industry.

 In June 2021, ZSL conducted 1.5-hour long focus group calls with each stakeholder category within GPSNR on the RRs. On average a total of 72 work hours were spent on this segment alone, with 12 people attending each of the four calls (12 x 4 x 1.5). In July, the Working Group convened its first meeting to discuss the proposed RRs in detail,  resulting in another 43.5 work hours spent on the RRs. 

The truly difficult months were October and November, where members met almost daily. An average of 19 people joined each of the 22 calls, which lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes each time. In these two months, members spent a staggering 750 work hours discussing and negotiating the questions. 

By the time Reporting Requirements were sent out for General Assembly vote, GPSNR members had spent more than a thousand hours discussing the RRs at the working group level. The actual number is likely higher as I didn’t include the time spent in category-specific meetings, executive committee discussions, and meetings that ran over their intended time limit. The time taken to complete the RRs eventually amounted to a third of the time that I’ve been working at GPSNR.

Image 2: A screenshot of the tabulation on hours spent discussing the RRs

With members all across the world, these meetings meant sacrificing hundreds of hours of family dinners, early morning sleep, and mid-afternoon siestas! Yet members made the choice to show up for meetings day-after-day, demonstrating remarkable commitment to the mission of GPSNR.

From an outside perspective, one thousand work hours of meetings were needed to create 100 questions, which means we had a progress rate of 10 work hours per question! Sceptics of GPSNR would be quick to point out this “slow progress”, and I will admit that there are faster ways to formulate a hundred questions. However, if you want to get more than 100 members across different stakeholder categories to agree on reporting questions for the entire industry, this is the fastest that it can go. I observed something similar at a grand scale at the COP 26 negotiations in Glasgow in October. Parties spent hours discussing the choice of wording in key phrases and some even used valuable time to simply express disagreement with the text. 

If we are to achieve multi-stakeholder progress, we must adopt the same philosophy and spend time listening to the concerns and disagreements of all parties before we collaboratively develop  solutions to address these concerns. This process of listening to each other and finding solutions will take time, maybe even a thousand hours, but this is the fastest and most thorough way to do it while still honouring the multi-stakeholder principles of the platform.

One of our greatest strengths at GPSNR is that members can disagree with each other openly. I believe that disagreement and healthy negotiation is a sign of a diverse membership that trusts each other to listen and address their concerns. Being able to work towards solutions across “category lines” is also a sign that GPSNR is maturing as we approach our 10,000 work hours of collective practice. I hope we can carry forward this momentum and growth into the new year. I hope we continue to treat the disagreements that will inevitably arise as opportunities to listen, demonstrate empathy, and build trust. I hope we come to see the multi-stakeholder enterprise as one that is conflicting by design and slow by default.

This year, we will work to define the Implementation Guidance and the Transparency Roadmap for the reporting requirements and I expect these topics to involve extensive discussions and quite possibly extensive disagreement. For members already part of this work, I look forward to speaking with you on our calls. If you are not yet part of these discussions but feel  excited by the idea , feel free to write to us and we will ensure that you are included in the meetings that are soon to follow.

See you on a Zoom call soon!

GPSNR Staff January 25, 2022

GPSNR Working Groups Update: September 2023

Strategy and Objectives Working Group:
The Traceability Pilot Field Trials consortiums Agridence and Koltiva have presented the final reports, which have been distributed within the Risk Subgroup. 

The Risk Subgroup has extended an invitation to ASI to share the formula behind the Risk Assessment Framework. This ensures that the framework is malleable to fit the dynamics of the Natural Rubber Industry. 

Furthermore, the Risk Subgroup has solidified plans for an initial pilot trial in collaboration with ASI, focusing on the establishment of Indonesia’s national risk assessment.

The resolution for the Assurance Model has been finalised and is currently in circulation among the wider membership for voting. The Member’s Journey Model and Assurance Model Timeline are slated for voting at GA 2023. The following items have been included in the Resolution as a strong basis for future consultations and discussions following GA 2023: Shared Investment Mechanism, Assurance Model Framework, and KPIs.

The Risk Subgroup is awaiting proposals from the Basel Institute in addressing corruption within Rubber Supply Chains from the ASI Risk Tool, Reporting Requirements and doing a qualitative corruption data analysis. 

Furthermore, the Risk Subgroup anticipates developments in the Assurance Model in December 2023, before proceeding with the expansion of the Risk Tool and the pre-setting of national risk levels. This ensures that the Risk Tool is not developed in silo and is in alignment with the other components of the Assurance Model.

Lastly, the Risk Subgroup intends to conduct an analysis of the Risk Tool with the Policy Framework to further understand how granular should Risk Assessment reach. For example, is Risk Assessment sufficient on a theme level or would it be necessary to deep dive into the Policy Component level.  

Smallholders Representation and Capacity Building (SCB) Working Group:
The Thailand Agroforestry subgroup conducted a KPI workshop before the Agroforestry training in October 2023. The subgroup is gearing up to conduct the inaugural set of Agroforestry training sessions, benefiting 100 farmers in Songkhla in October 2023.

Additionally, a productive knowledge exchange session took place involving the Agroforestry-Income Diversification task force, Pak Febrius, and the Thailand Agroforestry Subgroups.

Meanwhile, the Thailand GAP subgroup successfully finalised a contractual agreement with Koltiva and will hold its kick-off meeting, marking the first meeting since the start of the project.

The HCSA-HCVN Field Trials task force presented its final report to the SCB WG for endorsement.

The Digital Knowledge Sharing Platform (KSP) task force has conducted two pre-pilot development meetings and the Rubber Wiki app was officially launched on the Google Play Store. The task force is planning a training session tailored for task force and secretariat members, focusing on the effective management of Rubber Wiki. Following the app’s official launch, the KSP contractor will organise group socialising events in Indonesia and Thailand, aimed at introducing the app and gathering valuable user feedback.

Lastly, the SCB WG is gearing up for both national and international calls with smallholder members, an essential part of the preparations leading up to GA2023.

Policy Toolbox Working Group:
During the Year 1 Reporting Review process, input on the reporting process was gathered from members through a survey and stakeholder-specific meetings. This feedback will be used to inform revisions to the Reporting Matrix and disclosure requirements for reporting Years 2 and 3, aligning with the Transparent Reporting Roadmap (TRR).

The WG selected consultant Petra Westerlaan to propose a quantitative orientation for the reporting matrix and conducting a crosswalk with other established reporting frameworks such as CDP Forest, GRI, and ZSL-SPOTT. This quantification approach is expected to facilitate data aggregation and will make evaluating annual progress easier.

The Resolution for the Disclosure Requirements for Reporting Requirements has been finalised and is will be presented to the membership for voting. 

Lastly, quantification from Petra Westerlaan has been completed and the Working Group will embark on further consultations with the Working Group to prepare the updated Reporting Requirements to be approved at an extraordinary GA.

Shared Responsibility Working Group: The Shared Investment Mechanism (SIM) Resolution has been subsumed under the Assurance Model Resolution for approval in the 2023 GA, as a strong basis for further consultation and discussion after the GA. This is due to the integral role of the KPIs, which has not been finalised, in the implementation of the SIM. 

Value and benefits per category to be defined.

The Secretariat is looking into the development of guidance for the operation of the SIM.

Additionally, there is a co-chair seat open, and we are calling for interested volunteers.

GPSNR Secretariat September 27, 2023

© 2022 All rights reserved

Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber

Scroll to Top