Embracing our Shared Responsibility: GPSNR’s newest Working Group

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Before the second General Assembly on 23 September 2020, the GPSNR Executive Committee had approved the creation of a Shared Responsibility Working Group that would be tasked to define the principles of shared responsibility for GPSNR.

The term ‘shared responsibility’ is relatively new to the sustainability scene, and as such, there is currently no commonly accepted definition for it. In general, shared responsibility is a value-driven concept which recognizes that supply chains are structurally imbalanced in terms of value and benefit, risk, burden of compliance, climate change impacts, power of negotiation, and access to information and resources. A shared responsibility approach strives for value, benefits, risks and improvement investments to be equitably distributed across all actors within the supply chain.​

In order to establish the foundational work that would enable the creation of the Shared Responsibility Working Group, the Executive Committee formed a Task Force comprising several of its members. Over a series of weekly calls, the Task Force has developed a Terms of Reference (ToR) and a set of Guiding Principles to inform the work of the new Shared Responsibility Working Group.

It is envisioned that the Shared Responsibility Working Group will draw from the Guiding Principles for Shared Responsibility (currently being developed by the Executive Committee’s Shared Responsibility Task Force), as well as the GPSNR Equity Definition and the studies launched by the Equity Working Group, to develop an implementation framework for the platform with respect to shared responsibility.

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Secretariat Update – November 2019

About BCSD Singapore Ltd

Since its inception, GPSNR was in the need of a host and BCSD Singapore Ltd. was chosen because its mission is very much aligned with that of GPSNR. From October 2018, BCSD Singapore Ltd. acted as the legal entity under which GPSNR operations were conducted. This role was formalised with the approval of GPSNR’s Statutes in March 2019. The services provided to GPSRN were about all administrative aspects of the platform which include but not limited to invoicing, accounting, procurement, and HR services. 

About WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd

WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd. has been established as a non-profit legal entity in Singapore in January 2019. This entity is an affiliate of WBCSD and its purpose is to support more effectively global WBCSD Members and projects in the region. With a regional office in Singapore, WBCSD is in a better position to understand regional and national specificities, business priorities and practices, political and regulatory landscape and learn from cultural diversity and perspectives of local communities.

What will change ? 

  • This transition will not result in any changes of the day to day activities of GPSNR. 
  • The organizational and governance structure of the platform remains the same as decided in the last General Assembly.  
  • Future incoming and recurring GPSNR membership would be invoiced through WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd (instead of BCSD Singapore Ltd) as of 1st December, 2019.
  • WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd would act as the legal entity and host for the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) as of 1st December, 2019 until the platform decides to change hosting or create its own legal entity.

If you have any questions on the transition, please contact GPSNR Director, Stefano Savi (stefano.savi@gpsnr.org). 

News

Message from the Director: Updates on COVID-19

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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