Message from the Director: Updates on COVID-19

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Dear Members,

Since our last update to you, the COVID-19 situation has escalated into a global pandemic, with Europe and the US some of the hardest hit areas. The implications for us as a multi-stakeholder platform, are many. Today, I am taking the opportunity to update you on how we have addressed the issues within our control.

Secretariat Operations
For the health and welfare of our staff, we have instituted a work from home recommendation. We are also complying with the local government travel advisory to defer all non-essential travel. Rest assured that these measures will have minimal disruption to the operations of the Secretariat, and we remain only an email or a teleconference call away.

Working Groups
All our Working Groups remain active and continue to make progress in their respective areas of focus despite the situation. They are taking the extra time to enhance their deliverables, and I am confident that we will have many sound proposals and resolutions to consider and approve as a Platform. I encourage you to read the updates on the News and Publications page of our website, so that you are aware of the achievements to date of our Strategy & Objectives and Smallholders Representation Working Groups.

General Assembly
The severity of this pandemic has caused inevitable delays to our 2nd General Assembly (GA). As the safety and wellbeing of our members is our utmost priority, we will not be able to hold the GA within the first half of the year as we had anticipated. Nevertheless, the Executive Committee is in ongoing discussions on plans for the GA, and, where necessary, will assist all Working Groups to finetune their proposals to ensure a smooth and productive GA. 

Finally, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued contribution and teamwork even in these trying times. I also appreciate your understanding and patience as we decide on the best way forward for the Platform in these unprecedented times. 

Our thoughts are with the natural rubber farmers and producers, and their families, whose livelihoods are being mostly impacted by COVID-19. To those whose family, friends or co-workers have been directly affected by the virus, our thoughts go out to you.

I urge you all to stay safe, stay vigilant, and stay positive.

All my support,

Stefano Savi
Director

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Members

Updates from the Working Groups (Members Version)

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

The study on Human Rights and Labour Rights’ Risk Mapping in the Global Natural Rubber Value Chains conducted by independent consultants James Griffiths & Associates Sàrl has been submitted to the Working Group. The full study will be published on the GPSNR website shortly, and the document will be open to stakeholders for comments.

Meanwhile, the Strategy and Objectives Working Group has started to engage with the rest of the Working Groups on aligning with the Theory of Change, and developing platform KPIs. 

The Equity sub-Group has collected comments from the Strategy and Objectives Working Group on the proposed definition of equity. The sub-Group is also exploring engaging consultant James Griffiths to conduct research into equity risks along the natural rubber supply chain, with the plan to have the findings of this study feed into the definition. The sub-Group is currently in the process of establishing an operational plan to define the various workstreams, processes, timelines, and  responsibilities for the Living Income study. The first phase of the study will involve collecting existing benchmark data and doing desk research on national poverty lines, minimum wages, and other relevant information. For greater alignment with the Capacity Building Working Group’s scope, the Equity sub-Group has decided to focus on the same four countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. 

‘Policy Toolbox’ Working Group

The proposed Policy Components and Baseline Reporting Requirements are open for member consultation until 3 July 2020. Find out more here. 

‘Capacity Building’ Working Group

The regional sub-Groups described the various findings and recommendations in a presentation to the larger Working Group at the end of May. Eight initiatives were proposed to be shared across the four focus countries, each corresponding to a critical issue identified through stakeholder interviews. These eight initiatives are: access to pure certified (re)planting material, promote the CO2 compensation scheme, promote value rubber wood, improve access to finance, disease fighting, dissemination of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), income diversification, and improve reach and quality of extension services. Depending on the initiatives recommended for each country, three priority actions have been suggested, forming the basis for a 3-year programme.

The sub-Group for Thailand organized a call with some of Thai smallholder members to seek their opinion on the proposed initiatives. The discussion proved to be a fruitful one, with the smallholders providing advice and suggesting alternative initiatives for the sub-Group to consider. The subgroup for Côte d’Ivoire, which has a smallholder member who is a representative from a local producer association in participation, has also contextualized the proposed initiatives to the local conditions of smallholders and industrial plantations.

The other sub-Groups are also planning to get smallholder members’ input on the capacity building initiatives for their respective countries of focus.

‘Traceability and Transparency’ Working Group

The Working Group has started discussions on risk assessment, and will be linking up with the Policy Toolbox Working Group as well as consultant James Griffiths on the results of the social risks study.

The terms of reference for the two pilot proposals have been finalized after several rounds of additional revision. The documents will be submitted soon to the Executive Committee. 

Smallholders Representation Working Group

The Working Group continues to plan and prepare for the smallholders programme prior to the General Assembly. In particular, terms of reference are being drafted for a professional facilitator to manage the smallholder workshop sessions for the pre-GA programme.

GPSNR Staff June 26, 2020
News

GPSNR Working Groups Update: October 2024

Assurance Model Task Force: The Executive Committee (EC) has reviewed the Assurance Model documents and approved them to be submitted to the General Assembly for a vote. The EC has also identified several topics that will require further discussion and finalisation next year. These include minimum requirements, the mechanism for third-party oversight of assessor accreditation, the format and content of assessment result disclosures, the process for assigning third-party assessors, claims, refinements to the classification system for major non-conformities, and a risk-based approach to assessment scheduling. These topics will be presented for a vote at the 2025 General Assembly. For further context, here is the link to the compilation of feedback on the Assurance Model documents received since June, along with responses and changes made based on these comments: https://rubberplatform.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/GPSNRMembers/EWLmS86xDkxMtce9wKEuLjwByB6hU_QXrROu_XJ9DuK0kA?e=ZYYike

Additionally, the EC has agreed that the first three years of assessments (2027-2029) will be conducted annually, with mandatory public disclosure of a category-level summary of the assessments, while company-level disclosure will be optional for those being assessed.

 

Smallholders Representation and Capacity Building (SCB) Working Group: 18 members from Ghana were approved this month, with an onboarding call held on 10 October 2024. Additionally, the EC Election Campaign call for smallholders took place on 29 October 2024.

Koltiva submitted the final report for the Indonesia GAP Coaching Project (Phase 2) and delivered a final presentation on 17 October 2024. The third phase of the Indonesia GAP Coaching Project is now underway and is currently in the preparation stage. For the Thailand GAP Coaching Project, Koltiva presented the first full-year project results on 22 October 2024. Meanwhile, RAFs completed training for 1,000 farmers ahead of schedule in the Thailand Agroforestry Project. Furthermore, a curated content list and promotional poster for Rubber Wiki have been created to engage smallholders through the Knowledge Sharing Platform.

Looking ahead, a Pre-GA Webinar for smallholders is scheduled for 18 November 2024, and 10 new Cambodian smallholders have applied for membership and are awaiting approval.

For Capacity Building Projects, SCB WG members are requested to review and provide feedback on the final report for the Indonesia GAP Coaching Project (Phase 2) by 28 October 2024. Koltiva will also submit agricultural calendars and training materials for the third phase of this project for SCB WG review by the same date. For the Thailand GAP Coaching Project, Koltiva is revising the full-year review report based on feedback from SCB WG members. Additionally, the Project Management Subgroup will hold its kick-off meeting on 23 October 2024.

 

Shared Responsibility Working Group: The Shared Investment Panel (SIP) has officially been established following approval from the GPSNR Executive Committee.

The Secretariat is continuing to support the implementation of the Shared Investment Mechanism, with the Project Management Subgroup currently reviewing the proposals received. The SIP will select its co-chairs and plans to hold its kick-off meeting early next month.

Regarding the Value Transfer mechanism, the Executive Committee will form a task force with one representative from each ordinary member category. This task force will work on the next steps to finalise a revised proposal, with the aim to present it at the in-person meeting in February 2025.

GPSNR Secretariat October 30, 2024

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