Category: News

With the input from the workshop in Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil (and soon Cote d’Ivoire and Vietnam), the smallholders representation working group is finalizing the definition of ‘smallholders’ which will be needed to open up a new category of membership. Recognizing the experience and effort that IRSG/SNRi had already invested in this work, Smallholders Representation Working Group invited IRSG to discuss the definition of ‘smallholders’.  

While many countries have their own definition of ‘smallholders’ based on the size of their land, the Smallholders representation Working Group agreed other characteristics of smallholders (such as income provenance, level of dependency on family labour, economic constraints, etc) should also be considered. 

As the definition of ‘smallholders’ are affiliated to the work scope Strategy 2 – Capacity Building Working Group, the Smallholders Representation Working Group members are working closely with Strategy 2 – Capacity Building Working Group members to ensure that there is alignment in definition between smallholders in the natural rubber supply chain and smallholders that will become GPSNR member.

In the meantime, a successful third workshop in Brazil concluded this week, with a series of learnings for GPSNR on the organisation of farmers in the region, and their expectations from the future collaboration with the Platform. The workshop also achieved good progress on the identification of potential candidates for membership in GPSNR, both by single farmers and producers associations.

Desired state V1-0 and Theory of Change documents were circulated among Strategy & Objectives Working Group in November. Comments from the members were consolidated and will be responded to in the next version.  Theory of Change will be finalized and submitted to the Executive Committee in order to be approved at the General Assembly in March 2020.

Strategy 1 ‘Policy Toolbox’ Working Group primarily agreed on the scope of work. The desired state V1-0 serves as a baseline document which will be cross referenced with Accountability Framework initiative in order to come up with policy framework that will be applicable to GPSNR members.  The drafters volunteers will present the first draft of a policy framework to the working group members in December 2019.

Strategy 2 ‘Capacity Building’ Working Group members worked on defining priority geographical areas based on current production volume and emerging trend of natural rubber production.  The existing stakeholders and capacity building activities in those countries are being identified in order to design the plan for GPSNR on capacity building.

Strategy 3 ‘Traceability and Transparency’ Working Group members were requested to list down traceability tools that are currently in use and/or traceability tools that could be potentially used for natural rubber supply chain.  In December they will analyze the attributes of each tool to see the compatibility and applicability for transparency and risk assessment.

All the 3 working groups including Strategy & Objectives and Smallholders Representation Working Group members are given access to GPSNR discussion forum which aims to increase transparency and synergy among the working groups. You will be able to see the discussions and the documents of all the working groups but will be able to contribute only to the groups you signed up for.  Please contact nigel@gpsnr.org for your log-in credentials.

Strategy 1 – A team led by Liza Murphy with the support of Proforest has been selected to lead the work on the Assurance Models study, which is expected to be finalised in January 2020 for review by the working group before Executive Committee approval, prior to the General Assembly in March. The working group is now fully staffed with members volunteers looking into identifying co-chairs for the group.

Strategy 2 – After the first working group call, the Capacity Building working group will start working on identifying the priority countries and capacity gaps needed, a work expected to be completed in the months of October – November.  Following that, the action plan will be developed and consulted before being submitted to the Executive Committee in March 2020.  

Strategy 3 – Enhancing Transparency and Traceability working group composition is currently being finalized to ensure balance amongst the different categories of ordinary members with the expectation to kick-off the first call in November. 

All three working groups will be reporting directly to the Executive Committee while keeping regular contact with the Strategy & Objectives working Group to ensure the consistency of work. The Strategy & Objectives working group remains active to review the desired state to include the identified impact metrics, finalise the theory of change, and look at the financial model for GPSNR in coordination with the Strategy 1 – Policy Toolbox working group.

All minutes of the working groups will be available in the members section of the GPSNR website www.gpsnr.org

Several challenges of sustainable natural rubber production were brought up and discussed among rubber farmers and GPSNR members, but front and foremost was the issue of livelihoods and future of labour. After the field visit and 3 days workshop, the rubber farmers both in Indonesia and Thailand agreed that to solve such issues, smallholders should be put at the center of the solution.  They agreed that including smallholders’ representatives in the new governance model is the way forward to achieve this.  As for the criteria of the organizations, apart from having a personnel with extensive knowledge around rubber from cultivation, transportation to processing, the farmers also said that it is important that any representing organization should have a democratic governance. The smallholders also pointed out to a few farmers from different regions that could directly represent smallholders in GPSNR.  A few organization names were also proposed which will then be followed up by Smallholders representation working group to ensure active engagement for further collaboration.

“I am happy to hear that the downstream of natural rubber users like tire makers wish to establish a direct relationship with the upstream natural rubber producers like us. Personally I believe that sustainable supply chain will work only when every actor in the chain work together to find potential solutions together.” said one rubber smallholder in Thailand. Smallholders also emphasised on the importance for engagement to be long term if results are to be achieved.

The dates for the last 3 smallholder workshops have been confirmed and will be held in Brazil (20 – 21 Nov), Cote d’Ivoire (26 – 28 Nov) and Vietnam (16 – 18 Dec) respectively. The aim of the workshops is to gain a better understanding of smallholders, how smallholders can be meaningfully represented within GPSNR and to further explore the future of sustainable natural rubber production from a smallholders perspective at local level.

We will keep you posted on our progress in our upcoming newsletters. Stay tuned !

In attendance were farmers, processors, tire companies, apparel and footwear brands, NGOs and governmental representatives, all together over 100 participants. 

 The event offered a space for the diverse set of attendees to discuss the challenges and opportunities experienced by the rubber sector in the adoption and implementation of individual and global commitments to sustainable and ethical rubber with a focus on solutions. What set the workshop apart from the regular workshop we all know, was the addition of a field-excursion to two rubber-plantations operating under differing production models: a farm applying agro-forestry with a mix of native hardwoods and rubber trees and one fully developed diversified community agro-forestry farm. Additionally, instead of solely focusing on NGOs, companies and governmental representation (as the regular workshop often does), delegations from a number of farmer associations representing various countries also attended and provided key input to inform discussions from the farmer’s perspective.

Days 2 and 3 of the workshop were focused on forming partnerships and generating solutions to begin working towards a transformed natural rubber supply chain which delivers value to all actors from the farm to the end user.  Break out groups comprised of farmers, processors, brands, NGOs, tire companies and government representatives discussed topics such as traceability, policy implementation and capacity building for smallholders. Each break out group then categorized their discussions into short term actions, long term actions, barriers and learning curves which will be summarized into a collective call to action by the organizing team.  One of the most powerful outcomes was an overall agreement amongst all stakeholders in attendance that to truly bring about positive transformation we must all work together towards a shared vision.

A public summary of the event will be shared in the coming days, please contact Samantha Morrissey (smorrissey@ra.org) or Margaret Kran-Annexstein (margaret@mightyearth.org) with any questions.

In the August newsletter we have informed you that we will organize smallholders workshop in 5 different countries with the primary objectives of:

1. Understanding the local needs and motivations of the smallholder farmers;
2. Understanding and recommending solutions to the barriers for smallholders and their representative organizations to join and actively participate in the GPSNR;
3. Observing and explaining the interaction and chemistry between farmers and representative organizations.

Now we are proud to tell you that we are ready to launch the first smallholders workshop in Jambi, Indonesia on October 7th – 9th. 20 smallholders and smallholder representative organizations that have been nominated by several local partners on the ground such as SNV, WWF Indonesia, Kirana Megatara, etc. will meet up in Jambi with various categories of GPSNR working group members to further explore the future of sustainable natural rubber production.  The participants from GPSNR side is limited to 6 persons to ensure the discussions are organically contributed by smallholders.

The 3 days workshop will start with self introduction, understanding each other, understanding the current and future trends of rubber market.  It will spread out to what the platform is and how the platform can work for and with smallholders to create a win-win solution.

Four more workshops to be organized this year after Indonesia will be held in Thailand, Vietnam, Cote d’Ivoire and Brazil.  After the 5 workshops are finished, we will recommend the smallholder representations to the Executive Committee during the General Assembly in March 2020.

Stay tuned for the dates and venues of the upcoming workshops. For more information please contact kobrat@gpsnr.org.

Strategy 1 “Policy Toolbox” working group will work on:

Establishing a Policy Toolbox that defines the environmental, social and economic criteria that members should be required to include in their policies along with a Policy Implementation Template, and Policy Checklist for those with existing policies to ensure they incorporate all appropriate aspects of a natural rubber sustainability policy;

Making a recommendation on the required timeline for members of GPSNR to establish their sustainability policies, the implementation plan for their policies, and what the reporting requirements should be for policy implementation;

Identifying the appropriate Assurance Model for GPSNR to implement to monitor progress of members and the industry to achieving the mission of GPSNR.

Strategy 3 “Enhancing Transparency and Traceability” working group will work on recommending tools to trace, assess the risk, and achieve transparency of any given natural rubber product buyer’s supply chain.

Strategy 1 and Strategy 3 working group members recruitment is open now until end of September.  Ideally we expect to have a combination of at least 1 car maker, 2 tyre makers, 2 producers and 2 CSOs per working group.  The participation of the core working group is limited to the ordinary members only but the experts and/or affiliate members will be invited upon the topic.  

Please feel free to drop us an e-mail on the topic you would like to contribute, the expertise you would like to share with the working group members. For more information, please contact kobrat@gpsnr.org.

This update was prepared by Assel Mussagaliyeva, Industry Relations and Academic Projects Manager, Essec Asia Pacific.

ESSEC Asia Pacific partnered with the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber for their first Global Manager in Asia (GMA) project. The GMA Project included diverse multinational companies and startups with strong Asian core: International Finance Corporation (IFC Fintech Group), Grab for Business, ACT Genomics, Creatella Ventures and GPSNR. Involving 148 ESSEC Master in Management students, the Project took place on 1 July – 11 September 2019, followed by the Final Jury.

The project results were in line with GPSNR priorities in the three Asian markets. The 6 student teams under the close guidance of Stefano Savi and Kobrat Sawasdivorn explored the challenges of the smallholder farmers affecting equity of the rubber supply chain in Thailand, China and Indonesia. The results of the student research will be presented to the GPSNR Working Groups.

Assel Mussagaliyeva, Industry Relations and Academic Projects Manager, said it was a good project both from a teaching perspective as well as practical experience for the students. Firstly, it was hands on experience challenging students to think ‘out of the box’ as it involved multiple layers: a variety of stakeholders, unfamiliar context, lack of industry knowledge and limited country data. Secondly, it was a great chance for the students to work on a big picture issue, especially in today’s world of climate change challenges. The project itself was well focused and narrow enough for the students to have an opportunity to make a tangible difference.

“ESSEC Asia Pacific is grateful to GPSNR for our collaboration on multiple levels,” said Mussagaliyeva. In March 2019, GPSNR participated at the ESSEC APAC Talent Day and offered internship for the Global BBA student Tanmay Daga. Following that, Stefano Savi participated in the first ESSEC APAC student-led TedX event as an invited speaker on sustainability. Soon after, the GMA Project scope was discussed.

“We look forward to working with GPSNR in the future,” said Mussagaliyeva. The mission of ESSEC Business School is to create and disseminate cutting-edge knowledge, to train and develop bold pioneers and influential leaders for both the business world and society. We encourage the students and programme participants to anticipate – and meet – the economic, managerial, social, environmental and ethical challenges of an increasingly uncertain world. These values align with GPSNR mission as sustainability is an integral part of responsible innovation. 

The Secretariat has also published the executive summary of minutes of each working group in the “News and Publications” section of the website. All members of the platform can login to the website to view the documents under the Members Only section. There are currently 2 working groups, the Strategy & Objectives working group chaired by James Laimos of Goodyear and the Smallholders Representation working group chaired by Ulrich Antoni of Pirelli. The executive summary of each working group will be updated on a bi-weekly basis. If you have any issues accessing the website, please send us an email at info@gpsnr.org.

Smallholders account for 85% of world rubber production. To come up with sustainable rubber production solutions, it is crucial for GPSNR to include the voice of rubber smallholders into our governance model. Realizing the challenges in language and cultural differences, the power game between different players in the rubber value chain, the perception of and by smallholders, the working group has decided to organize regional workshops. The 5 workshops to be held in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Africa (TBC) and Latin America (TBC) will be tailor made to ensure that smallholders can play a meaningful role within GPSNR.  A combination of smallholders, smallholder organizations, smallholder representation working group members (reflecting the mix of the group members) and, where possible, a representative of the GPSNR Strategy & Objectives Working Group will come together to join those regional workshops. Main aim of the workshop is to be a 2-way communication platform for conducting research, with the farmer’s needs at the center.

The primary objectives of the workshops will be to:

• Understand the local needs and motivations of the smallholder farmers;
• Understand and recommend solutions to the barriers for smallholders and their representative organizations to join and actively participate in the GPSNR;
• Observe and explain the interaction and chemistry between farmers and representative organizations.

Translation and moderation will be available to ensure a smooth communication.

Those first 5 workshops are to be held between October and November 2019 and possibly extended to other regions in a second step.  

If you are a rubber smallholder or an organization that represents rubber smallholders, promoting the interests of rubber smallholders, having a mission/vision that aligns with GPSNR’s 12 principles, believing in a bottom-up approach as a solution to solve the issues, please feel free to contact the GPSNR Secretariat.  For more information, contact kobrat@gpsnr.org.

We have already had the chance to discuss some updates on the work of the GPSNR Strategy and Objectives working group in our first newsletter in July 2019, available here.

Since then, the Strategy and Objectives Working Group has continued to build out the scope and desired deliverables for the first 3 strategies that GPSNR should implement, namely: 1) Natural Rubber Sustainability Policy Toolbox and Best Practices Guidance; 2) Capacity Building for Smallholders and Rubber Plantations supplying Natural Rubber; 3) Improving Transparency and Traceability within the Natural Rubber Supply Chain.

Strategy 1, “Sustainability Policy Toolbox and Best Practices Guidance”, has now been finalized within the Strategy and Objectives Working Group members. The estimated timeline for the completion of this work has been laid out to ensure that the final approval by the Executive Committee is granted in time, and the deliverables of this strategy can be put forward for consideration by the General Assembly in March 2020. In order to achieve this, the first step will be for the strategy document to be submitted to the GPSNR Executive Committee for approval in August, so that the recruitment to form the sub-working group for Strategy 1 can start as soon as possible.

While the Working Group is still in the initial stages of clarifying the scope for Strategy 2, “Capacity Building”, Strategy 3, “Improving Transparency and Traceability” is under the final revision process by the Strategy and Objectives Working Group members. Once this document is agreed internally, it will be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval. The work on Strategy 3 will also be informed by a study GPSNR plans to commission in the next weeks, to better compare and understand transparency and assurance tools that are currently available, that can be applied to the Natural Rubber supply chain.

The Strategy and Objectives Working Group members are holding bi-weekly catch-up calls to progress the work on these strategies, and ensure that GPSNR has a system that benefits smallholders and and all stakeholders in the natural rubber value chain, adding a credible assurance model which enhances transparency. Every voice is crucial to accomplish this mission, so we welcome you to hop on board and help GPSNR being a better, more inclusive platform. For more information on how to join GPSNR or the Working Groups, contact kobrat@gpsnr.org.