GPSNR unveils first ever collective grievance mechanism in the natural rubber industry

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

The working group includes both the Risk subgroup and the Assurance Model task force and is currently working on some exciting stuff!

The Risk subgroup has been busy, with consortiums Agridence and Koltiva having kick started their pilot field trials on the traceability tools. They are actively pursuing the next steps for the deliverable from ASI on the Risk Assessment Framework. This includes conducting internal piloting and cross-walking the tool with GPSNR commissioned studies to identify gaps. Lastly, second in an ongoing series, the Traceability Tools Webinar will be occurring on 26th April and you may register for it here. 

The Assurance Model taskforce will be meeting to discuss updates on KPI alignments, due diligence system and the members progress model. 

Smallholders Representation and Capacity Building (SCB) Working Group

The SCB Working Group has proposed a new structure with three co-chairs and this has been officially endorsed. The next Working Group meeting will take place on 27th April, where they plan to formally endorse the Terms of Reference. 

Updates on the Income Diversification and Rubber Agroforestry taskforce, the strategy for 2023-2024 has been endorsed, and the taskforce will continue their work on planning the schedule and sequence of workshops and finalising the contractual plan. 

On the Digital Knowledge Sharing Platform front, Koltiva will work together with the taskforce to start developing the app and its features. In upcoming news, the Thailand Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) subgroup will publish the tender soon. 

 Policy Toolbox Working Group

Input has been collected on the reporting process from members through the Year 1 Reporting Review Survey. As part of this review, stakeholder- specific meetings will be conducted to collect more feedback on the reporting process. Based on the Year 1 Reporting Review results, any changes will be assessed to the reporting framework and its details (i.e., Process, Extensions, Questions), and disclosure requirements will need to be agreed on for reporting Years 2 and 3 (Transporting Reporting Roadmap- TRR). Future actions will require the reporting guidance for Year 2 to be improved according to changes proposed to the reporting matrix.

An RFP for consultants has recently been published to look into proposing a quantitative orientation for the reporting matrix and do a crosswalk with other reporting frameworks (CDP Forest, GRI and ZSL-SPOTT). On news of the Assurance Model front, what follows would be to finalise Compliance Panel Terms of Reference and operational guidance based on the Assurance Model.  

Shared Responsibility Working Group

During the physical meeting in January- February, the Governance and Guiding Principles were presented, Manufacturers will provide a revised document of said principles by April. 

Next phases for the Working Group are pending the outcomes of discussions on shared investment principles, which are currently happening on the Manufacturers category level. The Working Group will revamp data sharing and value transfer discussions once the proposal from the Manufacturers is available.

PRESS RELEASE

Global Rubber Industry kickstarts a plan for equitable distribution of costs and benefits of sustainability in their supply chain

Singapore, 14 July 2022: Members of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), who represent 55% of the rubber value chain, convened their annual General Assembly yesterday, where they defined and charted out a path for a concept they call shared responsibility. This concept acknowledges the lack of equity in the natural rubber supply chain and charts out a mechanism where the costs and benefits of the platform’s sustainability initiatives will be equitably distributed across all actors within the supply chain.

To this end, GPSNR members passed a resolution that binds them to a shared responsibility framework with 3 pillars – Shared Investments, Value Transfer & Target setting, and Knowledge & Data sharing – which will help share the costs and benefits across all actors in the value chain. Each stakeholder group has a different role to play to contribute to a sustainable natural rubber sector and within the three pillars. By the third quarter of 2023, each of the three pillars will be in the testing, implementation or pilot stage of their specific goals.

According to GPSNR director Stefano Savi, “Systemic change does not happen overnight. While we have been putting together pillars on the sustainability side of our vision, this is our first pillar that also requires commitment to an equitable supply chain. With this shared responsibility framework, parties from across the natural rubber value chain are agreeing to take accountability for sustainability in an equitable and fair manner. As we work to translate this to actionable outcomes, I hope more stakeholders will join us, and existing ones will be inspired to accelerate the process of changing our supply chain.’’

In addition to voting on resolutions like the shared responsibility framework, GPSNR members also voted in a guidance for implementation of the policy framework that they all abide by, which includes some stringent commitments on deforestation and human rights. They also voted on some procedural resolutions on their statutes and elected representatives to the 2022-2023 Executive Committee, which comprises representatives from each of the membership categories.

Access the Shared Responsibility Framework here.

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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:

Bani Bains

Communications Manager

Email: bani.bains@gpsnr.org

Ph: +65 97268165