GPSNR Working Groups Update: December 2020

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Strategy and Objectives Working Group

The Working Group has received several bids in response to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for a study on environmental impacts, and risks, in the natural rubber value chain that was published in November. The Working Group has shortlisted three candidates and, as part of the evaluation process, will be conducting with these candidates in January 2021 before awarding the bid to the successful candidate. 

The Working Group is also starting on the Theory of Change document update, an exercise which will involve all other Working Groups. This will take place in January 2021. The Equity sub-Group is preparing summary documents for the living income studies and is planning to present the studies to GPSNR members in early 2021.

‘Policy Toolbox’ Working Group

The Working Group has finalized the Baseline Reporting Requirements and these will go to the Executive Committee for review. The Working Group is also developing a Request for Proposal for a consultant to work on the implementation guidance and reporting requirements.

‘Capacity Building’ Working Group

Since the last update, the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Task Force has had their first kickoff call and is beginning the work to identify and/or refine guiding principles for GAPs appropriate for the sustainable production of natural rubber.

The Working Group is also engaging the Executive Committee on their comments regarding the proposed capacity building strategies for four focus countries.

‘Traceability and Transparency’ Working Group

In early December, the Working Group onboarded smallholders from Indonesia and Côte d’Ivoire into the group, with the smallholders participating in their first meeting on 10 December. 

Aside from reviewing the Working Group’s Terms of Reference (ToR) and its objectives moving forward, the Working Group will also be starting to develop recommendations for members on traceability and transparency tools in early 2021.

Smallholder Representation Working Group

The revised ToR for the Working Group is undergoing a final review, following which it will be sent to the Executive Committee for approval. 

The Working Group has also formalised a document that defines the role and key tasks of a Country Champion. So far, Country Champions have been actively involved in organizing and arranging national calls, supporting smallholder engagement, and providing technical and linguistic assistance.   

As part of the Working Group’s revamp, it will be undergoing a membership refresh. Part of this will also involve smallholders being onboarded into the Working Group in 2021.  The Working Group is also looking into onboarding smallholders from Cambodia. Any GPSNR members who have operations in Cambodia or partners working in Cambodia who can help to identify potential smallholders for an onboarding workshop are welcome to reach out to the Working Group’s Co-Chairs, Ulrich Antoni and Julian Oram.

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GPSNR Policy Components: Demonstrating a Commitment to Sustainable Natural Rubber

The Member Consultation period for the proposed GPSNR Policy Components and Baseline Reporting Requirements closed on 3 July 2020. All comments received as part of the consultation exercise were discussed by the Policy Toolbox Working Group over several rounds of calls. There has also been healthy dialogue between various membership categories and the Working Group on the alignment of the Policy Components. 

Meanwhile, pilot testing for the Baseline Reporting Requirements is in progress, with 10 GPSNR member volunteers participating in the exercise. The Secretariat will be interviewing each of the volunteers in the coming weeks to gather feedback on their experience in submitting the Baseline Reporting Requirements data. More updates will be shared in due course.

At this stage, finalized versions of the Policy Components and related documents have been submitted by the Policy Toolbox Working Group to the Executive Committee for review and further discussion at the Executive Committee level. The Policy Components will then be brought to the GPSNR General Assembly for voting.

The formulation of Policy Components is a critical piece in fulfilling GPSNR’s vision of a fair, equitable and environmentally sound natural rubber value chain. 

All GPSNR members, at the time of joining the Platform, committed to this very vision, as well as 12 principles of sustainable natural rubber as defined by GPSNR. The Policy Components were developed to provide more specificity to the 12 Sustainable Natural Rubber Principles. Within the proposed Policy Components are key commitment details to no deforestation/ conversion/ degradation, upholding human rights, supply chain transparency and monitoring and reporting. 

If approved, the Policy Components will act as a clear and guiding framework for GPSNR company members to establish or update supply chain commitments through their natural rubber purchasing policies. 

Adopting a policy allows a company to signal that the issues covered by the policy are important to the company, and that resources and capacities will be dedicated to addressing the issues in order to comply with the policy. Policies, while illuminating the goals that a company is working towards, also enables these commitments to be channelled upstream to suppliers and downstream to buyers, with the potential to transform the entire supply chain.

Following the Policy Toolbox Working Group’s observation that common questions and concerns were raised by GPSNR members during the Members Consultation period, the Working Group has developed a supplementary FAQ document to provide detailed responses to address these concerns, in a bid to provide greater clarity on the Policy Components. These will be circulated to the GPSNR membership in August, along with all other proposed resolutions.

GPSNR Staff July 29, 2020

Call for Project Proposals — GPSNR Shared Investment Mechanism 2027 Funding Cycle [Submission Deadline Extended to 25 June 2026)

IMPORTANT UPDATE NOTICE

Submission Deadline Extended to 25 June 2026
Proposals and budget templates must be submitted by 23:59 SGT on 25 June 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Applicant Webinar Materials
GPSNR held an applicant webinar to walk through the SIM 2027 application process, requirements, and assessment criteria on 8 June 2026. If you missed the session or would like a refresher, the materials are available here: Presentation slides & Webinar recording

A few important reminders before you submit:
–  Proposals are assessed against the SIM funding principles, the open market criteria, and overall quality. Please review these carefully to ensure your project is aligned.
–  Proposals must follow the guidance provided in the proposal template, budget template, and FAQ document. Submissions that do not follow this guidance may be rejected, so we encourage you to check your documents against these references before submitting.

 

The GPSNR Shared Investment Mechanism (SIM) is now accepting project proposals for the 2027 funding cycle.

SIM is a joint funding framework under which GPSNR Ordinary Members (currently mandatory for Manufacturer Members) co-fund sustainability and capacity-building projects across the natural rubber value chain. Through this call, organisations and individuals are invited to submit project proposals that align with the SIM Funding Principles.

This call is open to both GPSNR and non-GPSNR members. Proposals that successfully pass the technical evaluation conducted by the evaluation panel will be included in a list of approved projects. Manufacturer Members will then review this list and decide which projects to fund.

Submission Window: 21 April – 15 June 2026 (Extended to 25 June 2026) 

Deadline: Proposals and budget templates must be submitted by 23:59 SGT on 15 June 2026 (Extended to 25 June 2026). Late submissions will not be accepted.

Submission Instructions

    1. Download the required documents:
    2. Read the GPSNR Call for Project Proposals FAQ V4.docx  prior to preparing your submission.
    3. Complete both documents and submit them to cheewei@gpsnr.org using the following subject line:
      [SIM 2027 Proposal Submission] – [Your Project Name]

For more information, please contact cheewei@gpsnr.org

GPSNR Secretariat April 21, 2026
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