Category: News

Sri Trang Agro-Industry joins 23 other rubber producers, processors and traders at GPSNR to make the industry-wide transition to sustainable natural rubber 

We are pleased to welcome Sri Trang Agro-Industry as the newest member of GPSNR’s growing community.

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) proudly announces the addition of Sri Trang Agro-Industry Public Company Limited (STA) as its newest member in the Producers, Processors and Traders category. STA, a leading fully integrated natural rubber company established in 1987, brings with it a solid commitment to the industry’s transition towards the sustainable and equitable production of natural rubber at scale. With large-scale rubber plantations covering almost 7,000 hectares across 19 provinces of Thailand, STA plays a significant role in the global natural rubber market. The company’s membership in GPSNR underscores its dedication to fostering a more sustainable and responsible natural rubber industry.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sri Trang Agro-Industry Public Company Limited to GPSNR,” said Stefano Savi, Platform Director of GPSNR. “Given the company’s scale and outreach, we look forward to their insights and contributions to important industry-wide processes on sustainable and equitable production currently underway at GPSNR, like our assurance model and shared investment mechanism.”

Nattee Thiraputhbhokin, Chief Marketing Officer of STA, stated, “Joining GPSNR reflects our unwavering commitment to advancing sustainable practices in the natural rubber industry. In addition, to the ever-evolving world of rubber production, STA emerged as a trailblazer with its groundbreaking Sri Trang Ecosystem. This digitalized, transparent, and sustainable framework showcased STA’s unwavering commitment to advancing sustainability in the natural rubber industry. With traceability ingrained in every step, from rubber tree cultivation to the delivery of traceable products, the ecosystem sets a new standard for better accountability. Joined by other industry leaders under the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), STA aims to forge a more sustainable and equitable future for all stakeholders, inspiring a transformation that resonated far beyond their business borders.”

STA joins over 290 GPSNR members composed of tire makers, natural rubber producers, processors, traders, civil society members, and end-users in driving positive change and shaping the future of the natural rubber sector.

About GPSNR: 
GPSNR is an international membership-driven platform set up to define sustainability for the natural rubber value chain. It brings together various stakeholders to a common ground based on fairness, equity and environmental sustainability. More on sustainablenaturalrubber.org

For more information, please contact:
Abby Ng
Membership Outreach and Communications Associate 
Email: abigail@gpsnr.org

Strategy and Objectives Working Group:

The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were successfully agreed upon during the June Hybrid meetings, and are awaiting review and approval for the OEMs KPI. 

In pursuit of defining targets related to member’s water withdrawal within the KPIs, surveys have been sent out. The results from the water withdrawal surveys will be analyzed and integrated into the KPIs.

ASI has been selected to develop the Assurance Model for GPSNR and has commenced discussions. ASI’s assignment for the Assurance Model involves presenting a framework proposal before the 2023 General Assembly.

The completion of the first consultation for the Due Diligence System (DDS) was completed during the June Hybrid meetings. The second round of consultations for the Due Diligence System by ZSL has been initiated. A teleconsultation, scheduled for the end of July, will provide an opportunity to discuss the feedback obtained. 

The Risk Subgroup has been working on the Traceability Pilot Field Trials, and consortiums Agridence and Koltiva have provided their midpoint updates.

ASI has finalized the initial version of the Risk Assessment Framework. Feedback has been collected to further enhance its effectiveness. Risk subgroup has extended an invitation to ASI to disclose the underlying formula of the Risk Assessment Framework. The initial trial of pre-setting Indonesia’s Risk level using the ASI risk tool has been completed. The results will aid in evaluating the feasibility of setting risk levels for 20 countries, with members’ feedback actively being incorporated to enhance user-friendliness.

Discussions between the Basel Institute and the Risk subgroup have commenced, this collaboration aims to investigate corruption risks within the supply chain.

The submission of Agridence and Koltiva’s final reports for the Traceability Enhancement will happen at the end of July. Subsequently, work will commence on fleshing out the Enhancing Traceability Report.

Smallholders Representation and Capacity Building (SCB) Working Group:

The discussion on Agroforestry Workshops for 2023-2024 has been successfully finalised. The Agroforestry-Income Diversification Taskforce will complete the contractual signing and then proceed to kick-start the preparation for agroforestry workshops in 2023-2024.

The HCSA-HCVN Field Trials task force has reviewed and provided feedback on the final report submitted by Daemeter. Additionally, the HCSA-HCVN Field Trials task force will revise and prepare to submit their final report.

The Thailand Agroforestry project has presented a progress report covering March to May 2023. The team is actively preparing for upcoming training sessions with smallholders.

The Indonesia National Subgroup will present quarterly progress reports to the SCB WG for the GAP Coaching and Disease Fighting projects in early August. The Thailand National Subgroup is currently evaluating proposals for Thailand GAP Coaching.

The Smallholders Policy-Equivalent (SPE) Taskforce is aiming to obtain endorsement from the SCB WG for the final recommendations of their report in early August.

Policy Toolbox Working Group:

The Transparent Reporting Requirements (TRR) for Year 2 have been successfully agreed upon and are now pending review and approval for the OEM category.

Petra Westerlaan, the selected consultant for the Working Group (WG), proposed a quantitative orientation for the reporting matrix. This quantification approach will simplify data aggregation and streamline the evaluation of annual progress. The WG has received Petra’s proposed reporting matrix and is all set to initiate teleconsultations in the first week of August. These sessions will facilitate valuable discussions on the feedback received, ensuring achievement of the most effective reporting system.

In addition, Agridence has presented their proposal for a new reporting requirements platform. They will keep the Working Group informed about its testing, launch, and any subsequent updates.

Shared Responsibility Working Group: 

During the face-to-face meeting, the Governance and Guiding principles were presented, highlighting their importance in shaping the future direction of GPSNR. Manufacturers are now required to seek internal approval regarding the Governance Framework and subsequently provide a final version for approval to the GPSNR Executive Committee (EC) and General Assembly.

The SR WG is actively engaged in defining an inclusive shared investment framework, encompassing various forms of contribution such as in-kind support, financial contributions, and external funding. The outcomes of discussions at the Manufacturers category level will play a crucial role in shaping this framework.

Collaborating with the Secretariat and other WGs, the SR WG is committed to revamping discussions on data sharing and value transfer, recognizing their significance in achieving our objectives. These discussions will seek to optimize the sharing of data and the value derived from it.

To provide clarity and transparency, the WG aims to define the value and benefits associated with each category within GPSNR, ensuring that all stakeholders are aware of the advantages and opportunities available.

Furthermore, the WG, in collaboration with the Capacity Building WG, is working on developing a protocol to filter and evaluate proposals based on the Equity definition and the stakeholders identified by the EC. This process will ensure fair and comprehensive evaluation of proposals.

Lastly, an open co-chair position is available, and volunteers are welcomed to contribute their expertise and leadership to drive the WG forward. If you are interested in taking on this role, please step forward and join us in this important endeavour.

On Wednesday, 19 April 2023, the European Union approved the upcoming Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) to prevent companies from placing products linked to deforestation onto the EU market. As part of the wider vision of the EU Green Deal, it will demand companies who import rubber or rubber-based products (e.g., tires) to verify that their supply chain is deforestation-free. It’s a push towards an era of environmental accountability, yet it also sparks debates about the path forward for the rubber industry.

The EUDR requires companies to have traceability to the farm level, including geo-location data and proof of land legality. According to the regulation, every plot below 4 hectares requires at least a GPS point coordinate, while plots above 4 hectares must have a polygon.

Fulfilling these traceability requirements is no small feat. There is concern from the industry that smallholder farmers may be unintentionally excluded from global sustainable supply chains. Ensuring smallholder farmer inclusion requires a holistic sustainability approach.  There is no doubt that the rubber industry has begun moving towards sustainable rubber sourcing through combined industry efforts like the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). However, the reality is that most imported rubber to the EU currently does not meet the regulatory requirements as the industry lacks traceability to the farm level. As 85% of the global natural rubber supply is supplied by approximately 6 million smallholder farmers, the implications of this regulation could be far-reaching and severe, particularly for these smallholder farmers.

However, there is a lot of hope.

Firstly, even though it might seem challenging, traceability to the farm level is doable – even for the rubber industry. This has been demonstrated in a GPSNR-funded farmer training and coaching project primarily focused on supporting smallholders to apply Good Agriculture Practices (GAP). Koltiva, the company I am working for and who was selected to be the implementing partner for this project, has mapped more than 4,000 farmers and their farms to help them to prepare for the EUDR in less than a year.

Secondly, we believe that traceability to the farm is scalable. In our work with clients in 51 countries, we were able to map almost 1 million smallholder farmers through our KoltiTrace platform. Platforms such as KoltiTrace allow companies to map and verify their supply chain, including transaction traceability from Seed to Tire and deforestation-free analysis.

Finally, EUDR could have a long-term positive impact on smallholder farmers. Currently, many rubber farmers do not have proper land titles. Due to the EUDR geolocation requirements, many smallholders will, for the first time, have access to a map of their own plantation, allowing them to legalize their land.

And it doesn’t stop there. Smallholders have largely been invisible in global supply chains. Traditional development programs have tried to engage them, but they have not reached the expected results. Many smallholders still have no access to knowledge, no access to capital,  and soon will also be excluded from the carbon economy.

I believe that it’s possible to bridge these gaps. Traceability to farm level and digitalizing the first mile of agricultural value chains can lay the foundation for holistic sustainability interventions. Enabled by technology and data, the sector can equip farmers with critical knowledge, improve their access to finance, actively support farmers to apply low-carbon practices and enable them to reap the benefits of the growing carbon economy.

While traceability cannot be achieved overnight, the rubber industry is in a unique position. At GPSNR, the major industry players are sitting at one table. Through combined efforts and data-sharing agreements of shared supplier data, the rubber industry can become a leading example of how to meet the EUDR.

About the Author:
Luca Fischer is Koltiva’s Program Manager, leading Koltiva’s boots-on-the-ground implementation projects in the rubber sector globally. He bridges the gap between the client, product, and field teams.

Luca has over five years of work experience in sustainable sourcing, smallholder livelihood, and climate-smart agriculture development. He graduated with an M.Sc. in Sustainable Resource Management from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

About Koltiva (click here for more information)
Established in 2013, Koltiva is a leading agritech company for enterprises to make their global supply chains traceable, inclusive, and climate-smart. Backed by Koltiva’s human-centered technology with boots-on-the-ground professional service, Koltiva supports some of the largest multinational companies by digitizing and verifying global supply chains, focusing on enhancing traceability, inclusiveness, and sustainability. Koltiva combines triple-tech (AgriTech, FinTech, and ClimaTech) to improve producers’ outcomes and profitability while building more sustainable supply chains.

Earlier this year, I joined the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) to work with smallholder farmers, civil societies, manufacturers, processors and end users on capacity building for those at the bottom of the natural rubber (NR) supply chain. The primary goal was to equip them with the necessary skills for sustainability reform, with the ultimate goal of cultivating better quality raw materials and fostering greater economic mobility. This journey provided me with valuable insights, enabling me to learn from industry professionals and gain an understanding of sustainability issues from diverse perspectives. In this short article, I would like to share some of my key takeaways from being exposed to GPSNR’s initiatives for a sustainable NR industry and interacting with those from other commodities on similar journeys.

To begin, the adoption of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is widely celebrated as a significant step in combating climate change and demonstrates the EU’s commitment to ensuring a sustainable supply chain. However, my interactions with smallholder members of GPSNR shed light on the concerns raised about the shifting of compliance costs to producers. One smallholder member I work with has often highlighted the challenge of balancing the cost of implementing sustainable practices against revenues. They expressed their desire for tangible benefits, such as receiving premium prices for their products, if they were expected to adopt sustainable farming methods. To truly ensure a sustainable supply chain, it is important for governments and industry players to support and assist the vulnerable groups along the supply chain in overcoming the financial barriers they face. This will help ensure that the burden of compliance costs is not disproportionately placed on their shoulders.

Attending the Partnerships for Forests (P4F) Forum 2023 in London. P4F’s invaluable support has played a pivotal role in empowering GPSNR’s smallholders and fostering sustainable engagement.

Additionally, while initiatives to combat deforestation remain crucial, we must not overlook the importance of addressing social issues and the potential economic consequences of such regulations. At the Amsterdam Declaration Partnerships in May 2023, I had the opportunity to hear a minister from a producing country emphasize the importance of consuming nations recognizing the economic and social consequences. Failing to consider economic and social consequences can have far-reaching effects such as increased poverty levels and inequality. Therefore, a holistic approach that balances all three pillars of sustainability is necessary to safeguard the well-being and livelihoods of those affected while protecting the environment.

Lastly, drawing from my experience during the National Initiatives Strategy meeting, an initiative to enhance social, environmental, and economic welfare on a global scale, it became clear that national initiatives have certain limitations when it comes to supporting multiple commodities simultaneously. Therefore, these initiatives need to prioritize specific commodities in order to ensure practicality and effectiveness. During the meeting, it was collectively acknowledged that national initiatives do not need to take the lead in every solution, but rather offer support to industry and government-led initiatives while fostering effective collaboration to avoid duplication in allocation of resources. This also highlights the significance of industry-led solutions, which can complement the work of national initiatives. Industry players’ proactive measures can help anticipate and mitigate potential risks in the supply chain more effectively, promote sustainable practices, and contribute to the overall goal of combating climate change and complying with EUDR.

As I reflect on my experience with GPSNR, it is evident that sustainability in the NR supply chain has been a longstanding commitment even prior to the introduction of the EUDR. Various initiatives have been taken to promote sustainable practices within the NR industry, including the approval of reporting requirements and the adoption of the GPSNR policy framework. These initiatives aim to encourage GPSNR members to align their practices with GPSNR Policy Framework and thus, establish strong sustainability commitments across the NR supply chain.

This year marks a significant transition for GPSNR as we move from commitment to implementation, focusing on four key fronts. Firstly, our efforts are dedicated to finalizing the GPSNR assurance model, an encompassing framework that establishes sustainability guidelines and standards for the entire supply chain. Additionally, GPSNR is also actively working on implementing the shared responsibility mechanism, wherein the manufacturers collaborate to share the costs of capacity building, fostering an equitable and sustainable NR industry.

Furthermore, GPSNR is expanding its capacity building initiatives in essential areas such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), agroforestry, and disease management. These efforts aim to empower local communities in key NR producing regions, particularly in Thailand and Indonesia. GPSNR also implemented a smallholders-inclusive strategy, whereby smallholders members can participate in the decision-making processes, become part of the Executive Committee of GPSNR, and have the voting rights at the General Assembly. This ensures that the voices and perspectives of smallholders are taken into account in the development and execution of sustainable natural rubber initiatives.

Lastly, GPSNR is actively striving to fine-tune decisions that support a smoother implementation of the EUDR, which include shared due diligence systems, joint deforestation analysis tools, and common traceability tools, all funded by manufacturers. These measures will enhance transparency and accountability within the NR supply chain.

Members of the Smallholder Representations and Capacity Building Working Group, which include smallholder members from Thailand and Indonesia,  come together in Singapore, bringing their invaluable perspectives to GPSNR workshops in June 2023.

In conclusion, my journey with GPSNR as a passionate sustainability advocate has underscored the significance of collaboration in forging a sustainable NR industry. As we navigate the path forward, it is crucial to address the challenges ahead while maintaining a delicate equilibrium between environmental, social, and economic considerations. The initiatives undertaken by GPSNR, including capacity building, smallholder inclusion, and strategic decisions to support EUDR implementation, reflect a steadfast commitment to sustainability. Together, we can make a positive impact on the global NR supply chain and create a sustainable future.