GPSNR Working Groups Update: July 2022

Sustainable natural rubber, a Tire Industry Project priority

This, of course, means looking after the people, communities and natural resources touched by natural rubber production and supply – which all stand to benefit from the creation and adoption of sustainable practices and businesses.

TIP leading change

The tire industry consumes around 70 percent of natural rubber in the world and demand for natural rubber is growing, which throws into sharp relief the various social, economic and environmental opportunities associated with the production of this important commodity.

Together with other stakeholders, TIP members are working to transform the natural rubber supply chain for the better in developing the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) – an independent platform to lead improvements in the socio-economic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain.

An ambitious and wide-reaching set of priorities

Twelve months of stakeholder collaboration have resulted in development of an ambitious, wide-reaching, common set of priorities for the natural rubber supply chain. The GPSNR will work to harmonize standards to improve respect for human rights, prevent land-grabbing, protect biodiversity and water resources, improve yields, and increase supply chain transparency and traceability.

Mainstreaming for meaningful change

A review of comparable supply chain sustainability initiatives revealed that the mainstreaming of good practices is linked to the delivery of meaningful change at the global level. This is something that requires actionable commitment from the entire supply chain, and numerous different stakeholder groups have important roles to play. In the case of natural rubber, this includes tire manufacturers and other natural rubber-using industries (such as those producing rubber gloves, condoms and other engineered products), natural rubber suppliers and processors, representatives of individual smallholder producers, vehicle manufacturers, and non-governmental organizations.

Binding commitments

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link; it is in the interest of the entire supply chain to ensure sustainable standards are met and maintained. The GPSNR will have clear membership criteria and supply chain standards that members must commit to maintain effective involvement. Members of the GPSNR will undertake binding commitments, and the GPSNR will constructively address failures to honor those commitments and act decisively in the event of noncompliance with remedial measures.

Industry backed, collaboratively driven

TIP has spearheaded development of the GPSNR and will provide initial support for the platform during its first two years of start-up and operation. This necessary level of support ensures basic operations during the establishment of a paying membership base. From launch, the platform will be independently managed with governance and decision making overseen by a representative group of stakeholders.

TIP has employed a truly collaborative effort to ready the GPSNR for launch, and that spirit of collaboration will define the actions of the platform going forward. TIP is confident that the diverse interests, experiences, areas of expertise, and motivations represented within the GPSNR will combine to deliver a successful, sustainable natural rubber supply chain.

Join the platform

If you are a natural rubber stakeholder and would like to learn more about the GPSNR and membership opportunities, please contact stefano.savi@gpsnr.org

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

The S&O Working Group has received inputs to the platform Theory of Change from the Smallholders Representation, Capacity Building, and Traceability and Transparency Working Groups. A task team from the S&O Working Group will now work to synthesize these different contributions into a single document. This compiled Theory of Change template will then be developed into the platform Theory of Change through a workshop which will involve representatives from all the working groups.

The Equity Sub-Working Group completed a summary of the Living Income studies that the platform commissioned in 2021 and presented the summary through a webinar. The Equity Sub-Working Group will now work to develop recommendations on how GPSNR can address priority risks and boost equity in the value chain.

‘Policy Toolbox’ Working Group

The Policy Toolbox Working Group has selected a combined consultant team of Proforest and Are We There Yet to lead the development of the Implementation Guidance for GPSNR. The development is expected to be a consultative process that concludes with a set of draft guidance that will be ready by July 2021.

To facilitate consultation on the Implementation Guidance, the Working Group will set up category-specific focus groups that members are encouraged to join. The focus groups will meet twice to review the draft guidance and provide feedback and inputs to improve the document. Each focus group is only expected to meet twice and members are only required to spend a few hours before each meeting reviewing the draft documents. The focus groups will be set up in the following manner:

Focus Group 1
Growers
Traders of Raw Materials

Focus Group 2
Processors
Traders of Processed material

Focus Group 3
Tire makers and other manufacturers

Focus Group 4
End users (incl. car makers and other downstream stakeholders).

In line with the assessment of policy documents against the policy framework, the Secretariat has collated company policy documents that were submitted and will proceed to review the policy documents submitted for review. The Secretariat has received responses from all 29 ordinary member companies that were required to submit documents and will spend the next month assessing the submissions.

‘Capacity Building’ Working Group

The Capacity Building Working Group has created three separate task forces that will work on working group tasks. The first task force will focus on developing mechanisms to measure impacts of capacity building activities, the second task force will develop a strategy to attract and recognize GPSNR members’ funding of capacity building activities, and the final task force will develop systems to ensure that the national sub-groups tasked with implementing capacity building activities in each country remain aligned with the broader working group. In addition to the Good Agricultural Practices Task Force, the Working Group now has four Task Forces that will work to deliver on their tasks in the coming months.

‘Traceability and Transparency’ Working Group

The Traceability and Transparency Working Group will continue to meet in its sub-groups to develop recommendations on minimum benchmarks for traceability tools and data sharing in the platform. With the submission of the Working Group’s input to the Theory of Change, the Working Group is pleased to announce that its first sub-group has completed the assigned tasking and will no longer meet.

Smallholder Representation Working Group

The Smallholder Representation Working Group has now onboarded smallholders from Indonesia and Vietnam into the Working Group. The Working Group has also divided into two groups within the working group. The first sub-working group will work to develop a strategy to onboard smallholders from countries that are not represented in GPSNR yet. The second group will work to deepen engagement with smallholders who are already members of the platform and also develop strategies to improve representation among minority groups in countries that are already represented in GPSNR