GPSNR Working Groups Update: October 2020

All GPSNR working groups have begun planning the year ahead. Here are all their updates: 

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

After finalising the Theory of Change, the group is working on developing next steps for itself based on the ToC and updating its own Terms of Reference and membership.It is also busy with developing the RFP for the Economic Risk Study, which will be published soon.

Smallholder Representation Working Group

Apart from onboarding workshops in Ghana, Liberia, Malaysia and Colombia, the group is focussed on its newly formed task force to develop the GPSNR Smallholders Policy Framework before the General Assembly of 2022.   

Policy Toolbox Working Group

The group saw a major milestone in the approval of the reporting requirements at the 2021 General Assembly. In the coming months, they will be developing guidance for the reporting requirements and a transparency roadmap before the reporting cycle begins in mid-2022. At the same time, the group continues to refine the Implementation Guidance before the General Assembly of 2022 while supporting the smallholder working group with the Smallholder Policy Framework. Additionally, this group is busy with finalising the compliance panel operational guidance.

Capacity Building Working Group

The group recently closed two RFPs for the assessment of the Knowledge Sharing Platform and GAP coaching for Indonesia respectively. While finalising and appointing service providers from the applicants, the group will also review and finalise the strategy and approach for capacity building in Thailand, including integration with Agroforestry Task Force workstream. To this end, the recently formed Thailand capacity building national subgroup had its first meeting in January 2022. 

The working group is also working on capacity building plans for Indonesia and Ivory Coast. 

Traceability and Transparency Working Group

Having received members’ input on the traceability benchmark, this working group is now refining the benchmark based on the feedback. They will also be providing a summary of tools based on traceability studies conducted in 2021 to the EC.

Shared Responsibility Working Group

The Shared Responsibility working group has appointed a consultant from New Foresight to support the Shared Responsibility (SR) framework development. The consultant is now working on completing the preliminary interviews to gather perspectives on the SR Framework, as well as a data collection exercise. After this, the group will work on drafting the SR framework and policy and preparing a resolution for it by the General Assembly of 2022. 

In driving forward the progress on the Theory of Change (ToC) and Desired State, the Chairs of the Strategy and Objectives Working Group are expected to lead discussions with the other Working Group Chairs. These discussions will focus on mapping the areas of work currently undertaken by the respective groups to the relevant sections of the ToC. Pulling together the detailed thinking within each group will enable the Working Group to flesh out the elements of each strategy and the linkage between each individual component. To package the ToC in a more user-friendly format, the Secretariat has developed a visual representation of the ToC, which gives a broad overview of the concept while allowing for a deeper dive into the details. The Working Group has reviewed the first draft of this document, and will be working with the Secretariat to finetune it. 

Following the initial survey that had gone out, consultant James Griffiths has started interviewing stakeholders on social risks priorities and mitigation solutions as part of the study on Human Rights and Labour Rights’ risk mapping in the global natural rubber value chain. 

The Equity sub-Group had their inaugural meeting this week. The members of the group agreed on the need to work with urgency and consider the approach of having a different work plan, one which would enable a move towards recommendations on a rapid basis. The importance of engaging governments was also highlighted in the discussion. The sub-Group will be meeting again next week to continue the conversation on equity.  

‘Policy Toolbox’ Working Group

The policy components and baseline reporting requirements are being circulated for comments among the various membership categories. The Producers, Processors and Traders had a teleconference organized by Socfin and Southland Global, and will also be collecting comments via email. The Tire Makers are submitting their inputs through an online survey and emails. The OEM members have also discussed the documents in a call and have consolidated their comments. Civil Society Organization members are engaged in discussions on these elements as well. The Working Group anticipates that it will be able to submit the deliverables to the Executive Committee for approval in May.

‘Capacity Building’ Working Group

In recognition of the need to prioritize an inclusive and pragmatic approach towards capacity building, the Working Group has decided to establish several regional sub-Working Groups, each of which will be responsible for developing country-specific capacity building objectives. The Working Group is exploring getting smallholders involved in some of these regional sub-Working Groups, which would be the first instance of smallholder participation at the working group level, and would be informative in the ongoing discussions on ways to integrate smallholders into the activities of GPSNR. The terms of reference for the regional sub-Working Groups are in the process of being finalised. 

The Working Group hopes to achieve greater alignment with the Theory of Change (ToC) developed by the Strategy and Objectives Working Group, through the establishment of ToCs at the working group and sub-working group level. This would allow each working group to contribute to the design of GPSNR’s ToC, with the aim to achieve the Desired State. Working groups can delve into more precise levels of identifying capacity building objectives and developing implementation plans to address the gaps in various target groups within a specific country.

‘Traceability and Transparency’ Working Group

After consulting with the Policy Toolbox Working Group on areas of risk, the finalized terms of reference for the two pilot proposals are being circulated for final feedback within the Traceability and Transparency Working Group.

The pilot study on satellite mapping and machine learning aims to make use of historical and current data and new technology to determine the risk of potential deforestation, along with other social and environmental risks that are the result of deforestation.

The traceability and transparency tool comparison study will assess, among others, the ability of the tool to identify risk and/or contribute to a risk assessment in the social, environmental and legal categories. 

The proposals will be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval in April. Moving forward, the Traceability and Transparency and Policy Toolbox Working Groups will work closely together on understanding risks in the natural rubber supply chain..