GPSNR Working Groups Update: January-February 2023

Share This Post

The strategy and objectives working group

Both the subworking groups under the umbrella of the Strategy and Objectives WG are occupied with some critical milestones. The Risk Subgroup would soon be receiving the final draft for the risk assessment framework by ASI, which it will fine-tune based on the feedback received during the meetings in Singapore and online at the end of January. They are also kickstarting the traceability field trials in Indonesia and Thailand, for which they will soon start evaluating proposals, while hosting some members webinars on different traceability tools available in the market. 

On the other hand, the Assurance Model taskforce is streamlining the category specific KPIs along with the members journey/assurance model blueprint that was finalised during the latest hybrid meetings. You can find more context in the minutes here or reach out for questions on info@gpsnr.org.

The smallholder representation working group: 

Along with the work on the smallholder policy equivalent for which the WG has already sent out an all-member survey and initiating the HCSA-HCVN NR Smallholder Toolkit Field Trials, they are preparing for the decided merger with the capacity building working group. More details on how this will play out can be found here. 

The policy toolbox working group: 

The group is working on a tender to Crosswalk RR framework with CDP Forest and GRI Reporting, while aligning with the Assurance Model taskforce on the KPI on due diligence. 

The capacity building working group: 

The group is overseeing the pilot agroforestry project in Thailand that kicked off last December, as well as ongoing GAP coaching and disease fighting projects in Indonesia. The group is also working with the newly appointed consultants at Koltiva for the pilot Knowledge Sharing Platform for smallholders. Along with working with the smallholder representation working group on the merger, they continue their tasks of overseeing existing field projects, seeking members’ funding for projects in Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia.. 

The shared responsibility working group: 

As per the decisions taken on the next steps during the hybrid meetings in January-February, the group is working with the Tiremaker category on streamlining a proposal on shared investment while also completing the deliverables on the other pillars. They are also aligning with the Assurance Model taskforce on how the KPIs will integrate into the Shared Investment mechanism. 

More To Explore
News

Press Release: GPSNR General Assembly 2021

PRESS RELEASE


In new industry agreement, Global Natural Rubber companies will report annually on their sustainability progress

 

Singapore, 15 December 2021: Members of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) convened their annual General Assembly, which saw the approval of a set of detailed sustainability reporting parameters that all members will be required to complete annually from 2022 onwards. This will standardize sustainability reporting in the natural rubber industry, as many GPSNR member companies have already included strong sustainability commitments  in their natural rubber production and procurement policies.  

As GPSNR member companies account for about 50% of global natural rubber volume, their ability to transparently report on the same sustainability standards will aid a structural change in the industry to ensure harmonised sustainability reporting becomes the norm. 

“This is a tremendous milestone for the Platform and for the natural rubber industry. In our third annual General Assembly, we have moved further towards developing a model that helps our members ensure that their products and services are delivered in alignment with GPSNR’s principles, and can be monitored for continuous improvement. The reporting requirements have been agreed upon by upstream and downstream industry stakeholders as well as civil society players to ensure accountability. This serves as a testament to our model of driving sustainability, equity and fairness through multi stakeholder collaborations.’’ said GPSNR Director Stefano Savi. 

GPSNR’s third virtual General Assembly drew more than 120 attendees, including members of the Platform, partners and invited guests. In addition to voting on resolutions like the reporting requirements, GPSNR members also elected representatives to the 2021-2022 Executive Committee, which comprises representatives from each of the membership categories. 

Access the reporting requirements here. 

END

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

 

GPSNR Staff December 15, 2021

Rubber, representation and reform – What smallholders bring to the sustainability conversation

By Febrius Wibisana, GPSNR Executive Committee Member & Co-Chair, GPSNR Smallholder Inclusion Working Group

For those who do not know me yet, my name is Febrius Wibisana and I have been a rubber smallholder in Indonesia for over 25 years. At GPSNR, I represent the smallholder category at the Executive Committee level. I am also the co-chair of the Smallholders Representation working group.

In June 2022, I was invited by the Partnership for Forests or P4F to the P4F Forum with their partners and projects from across the world. They wanted me to speak about my experience at GPSNR on smallholder inclusion in the sustainability conversation in natural rubber. The experience gave me the opportunity to put some thought into our work over the last three years – the challenges, the successes and carving the path forward.

I am writing this to share some of those reflections with my fellow GPSNR members.

Reflection 1: It is impossible to have holistic sustainability solutions in natural rubber without smallholder participation

GPSNR Impacts & Assurance Associate Si Yuan and myself at the P4F Forum in London

We live in a world where 6 million smallholder farmers produce almost 90% of the world’s natural rubber. In such a world, any conversation on change in this supply chain has to include smallholders. 

In its second General Assembly in 2020, GPSNR members passed a resolution to include smallholders as a category within the membership. We started with 28 odd smallholders, including myself, engaging in conversations on sustainability, capacity building and the meaning of true inclusion and having the smallholder voice heard at various decision making levels. Today, I represent over 130 smallholders across 10 countries in the GPSNR Executive Committee. 

To bring smallholders into each conversation, we work closely with country level champions and local government entities for outreach and engagement. Interpretation facilities and key documents being translated to smallholder languages are some small but significant steps we take at GPSNR to further facilitate smallholder participation.

Reflection 2: Membership does not guarantee active participation

While many of our smallholder members are actively engaged in core decision making and at the working group level, many find it difficult to do so. The digital divide, language barriers and a skewed equation of structural power could be some key reasons for this. Some smallholders simply may not have the time for it. 

Yet, as we embark on transforming the entire supply chain, we need active smallholder voices to join and remain in the GPSNR fold. To this end, the smallholder representation working group has put forward a resolution with proposed changes in smallholder membership structure, where smallholders will have to participate in the General Assembly to take up ordinary membership. All others will be classified as affiliate members by default. You can take a look at the resolution here. 

Reflection 3: Making a supply chain sustainable requires thorough capacity building at all levels

There are more than 2 million smallholders in Indonesia. Yet, despite being the largest producer, it has the lowest productivity in the world. This is because of diseases and poor planting materials. Many other rubber producing nations face similar problems. 

If we are to make this supply chain sustainable, equitable and fair, and achieve the desired state that the GPSNR Theory of Change spells out, smallholders have to be equipped with the skills and resources. The capacity building working group has already kicked-off the first such projects in Indonesia with SNV-Proforest and Koltiva. GPSNR has also received funding pledges from Renault, Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli for other projects, but scaling them requires more. Funding information is available here for any one in the natural rubber industry. 

Capacity building will also equip smallholders to participate further in GPSNR decision making and other processes. 

As we move forward, I am energised by the progress GPSNR has made so far on smallholder participation. In our attempt to move towards more active engagement, we need the support of all our members. Our ability to meet in person will further strengthen this support, and I look forward to working with all of you to transform the supply chain. 

GPSNR Secretariat June 27, 2022

© 2022 All rights reserved

Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber

Scroll to Top