GPSNR Working Groups Update: November 2023

Share This Post

Strategy and Objectives Working Group: Following the approval of the Assurance Model resolution (5b), the Assurance Model Task Force is working with ASI in developing the Assurance Model including aligning with current normative documents, engaging members for consultation, and pilot testing.

In parallel, the Risk Subgroup hosted a webinar focused on traceability and shared findings from their traceability pilot projects. 

The Risk subgroup has decided to temporarily pause its activities until December, allowing time for ASI to complete the Assurance Model alignment. ASI has commenced its task of aligning key GPSNR documents. These documents aim to lay a solid foundation for the complete Assurance Model. Upon the completion of this alignment process, the fully drafted Assurance Model will be presented to the members for consideration and approval.

Smallholders Representation and Capacity Building (SCB) Working Group: The Indonesian subgroup presented their quarterly reports for two GAP Coaching projects and one Disease Fighting project on October 27, 2023. In addition, GPSNR secured a joint collaboration letter with RAOT and invited all member companies to participate in the Thailand GAP coaching project in Bueng Kan and Chiang Rai provinces. The Thailand agroforestry project also received additional funding for further sub-projects.

The Digital Knowledge Sharing Platform (KSP) task force conducted a pilot user acceptance test and initiated socialisation sessions and training for smallholder farmers in Indonesia. They also announced a Request for Proposal (RFP) for KSP’s third phase, focusing on content development, with submissions due by November 24, 2023.

Rubber agroforestry workshops were held in Côte d’Ivoire from October 25-27, 2023, and information on capacity-building projects open for funding was shared with all members. The SCB WG will continue to oversee all ongoing projects, with efforts to plan logistics for smallholder representatives attending events in Thailand and France. The Thailand agroforestry subgroup is working on a supplemental agreement for additional projects.

Members interested in the Thailand GAP project in Chiang Rai and Bueng Kan are encouraged to contact cheewei@gpsnr.org for more information. The KSP task force plans to continue socialisation sessions and training in Indonesia and Thailand, aiming for the final user acceptance test by the end of November 2023. By the end of November, the task force will begin evaluating proposals for KSP’s third phase.

The Income Diversification and Rubber Agroforestry task force is preparing for its second Indonesian agroforestry workshop of 2023, scheduled for November 22-24. Additionally, a webinar is planned for November 30, 2023, to present findings from the HCSA-HCVN field trial.

Policy Toolbox Working Group: On November 22nd, WG1 met to discuss the  quantification of the RR, data aggregation methodologies, and updates relating to the RR in the context of the Assurance Model. During the meeting, operational timelines and survey to gather information were set up.

Currently, Agridence is developing the digital platform, and the Secretariat plans to provide updates on the RR to ensure the platform is operational before the 2024 reporting cycle.

WG1 is also working on revising the Code of Conduct to include non-conformance measures for failing to update the Reporting Requirements, in line with the non-conformance measures approved by the Executive Committee in 2022.

Lastly, following the approval of the revised reporting requirements, the WG will proceed to develop the disclosure requirements for the Year 3 reporting cycle.

Shared Responsibility Working Group: The Assurance Model will be meeting with ASI to provide feedback on the proposed Assurance Model under development. Additionally, the Working Group has an open co-chair seat and is calling for volunteers to fill this position.

More To Explore

News

GPSNR Working Groups Update: January-February 2023

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. 

RubberWay Contributes to Achieving GPSNR Goals

By Nicole Tan, Project Manager, RubberWay

A couple of months ago, RubberWay was proud to introduce its contributions to sustainable natural rubber to members of GPSNR. 

Data obtained through RubberWay contributes to helping users meet the GPSNR Reporting Requirements. A crosswalk analysis done by the RubberWay team showed that it provides 89% coverage of the 37 GPSNR Policy Components, of which 18 Policy Components are directly satisfied by RubberWay while 15 are partially contributed to.

 

RubberWay meets 33 out of 37 GPSNR Policy Components through direct and indirect contributions.

 

The webinar hosted by GPSNR gave RubberWay the chance to provide an overview of its solution from the perspective of both tire makers and processors. 

The sharing by tire makers highlighted the motivations for their participation in RubberWay and the ways in which RubberWay’s results have enabled them to engage in efforts on the ground. 

Similarly, natural rubber processors are able to apply data from RubberWay to implement field actions while also using the tool as a channel to facilitate communication directly with smallholders.

 

Users are able to utilise data generated through RubberWay to inform risk mitigation measures. RubberWay also provides its users with a channel for supplier engagement. 

 

More detailed information on how RubberWay contributes to achieving GPSNR’s goals for sustainable natural rubber can be found in the RubberWay white paper. Access to the complete crosswalk analysis is also available upon request.

ABOUT RUBBERWAY

RubberWay is a digital risk mapping solution that helps upstream actors to detect environmental and social risks across the natural rubber supply chain. Risk data obtained through RubberWay generates actionable insights for users like tire makers and processors to drive change towards sustainability within the industry. 

With over 50,000 questionnaires completed to date, the RubberWay dataset is set to increase with growing participation of users, enabling expansive reporting of sustainability risks across sourcing countries globally. 

Find out more about RubberWay here

Scroll to Top