Secretariat Update – December 2019

Natural rubber faces a similar set of environmental, social and economic issues as other agricultural commodities such as palm oil, but the spotlight on sustainability has only been recently turned towards this key raw material, 70% of which goes into tire production. The launch of GPSNR marked a significant step towards developing sustainable standards for natural rubber, with member organizations making a commitment to 12 Sustainable Natural Rubber Principles. 

The Policy Toolbox Working Group was established to develop a guiding framework for GPSNR members to implement policies and practices that align with the 12 Principles. Two key documents, the Policy Components and Baseline Reporting Requirements, have emerged after a year of discussion and drafting. 

The Policy Components outline specific commitments that GPSNR company members should include in their sustainable natural rubber policies, while the  Baseline Reporting Requirements indicate qualitative and quantitative sustainability data to be reported to the Secretariat for the first year of reporting.

A members webinar was held on 16 June, where the Co-Chairs of the Policy Toolbox Working Group explained the purpose, process and next steps surrounding the two documents. 

Several members have volunteered to participate in an ongoing pilot testing of the Baseline Reporting Requirements. The goal of the pilot is to refine and finalize the Baseline Reporting Requirements based on company feedback.

The proposed Policy Components and Baseline Reporting Requirements are now open for member consultation until 3 July 2020.

What an interesting month has passed us by! As we step closer to the General Assembly of 2021, here’s what the working groups have on their plate:

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

After conducting 2 sessions of the Theory of Change (ToC) Workshop this month, the Strategy and Objectives working group will soon finalise the ToC document and potentially identify new strategies for GPSNR.

Smallholder Representation Working Group

After two successful smallholder onboarding workshops for smallholders from Indonesia and Cambodia, the working group is formally incorporating new smallholders from the two countries as GPSNR members. The group is also conducting onboarding workshops for India at the end of September and Sri Lanka and Thailand in October. 

At the same time, they are developing workshops to onboard more smallholders from Vietnam, Thailand, Ivory Coast, and Ghana and organizing the third Smallholders International Call next month. 

Policy Toolbox Working Group

As the General Assembly of 2021 comes closer, the group is continuing to develop the Implementation Guidance, Reporting Requirements and Compliance Panel Guidance. 

Capacity Building Working Group

As they develop key deliverables and milestones for Thailand National Subgroup and the Agroforestry Task Force, the Capacity Building Working Group is also busy with the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), a system to monitor impacts of capacity building activities and implementation plans for Ivory Coast and Indonesia.

Traceability and Transparency Working Group

This working group has developed a Traceability Benchmark to support member uptake of traceability and provided draft input and received feedback for Implementation Guidance on traceability. They are now working on finalising the draft and conducting member consultations on the Benchmark. 

Shared Responsibility Working Group

The group is currently exploring and discussing detailed  solutions to identified root causes for each focus area of shared responsibility. It is also drafting activities and a framework for Shared Responsibility for integration into other processes such as the Implementation Guidance.