Commodities

Soy

Soy consumption is on the rise, with the largest use coming from the animal feed industry. The main sustainability challenges in soy production are the conversion of forests and other natural ecosystems, legal compliance, and respect for communities’ land rights.

Change can only be achieved at scale if a range of actors can work together to drive progress. That’s why our support ranges from setting commitments to responsible sourcing, building internal capacity for action and engaging with suppliers, landscapes, and the soy sector. 

Proforest continues to support the Consumer Goods Forum Forest Positive Coalition and the Soft Commodities Forum. And in 2018, we launched the Soy Toolkit, a capacity building programme, designed to help traders, food processors and retailers understand how to make progress and deliver on responsible sourcing of soy. 

Cocoa

70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa with 80-90% of that produced by smallholder farms mostly managed with family labour. Cocoa is an important source of people’s livelihoods in producing countries. But the cocoa supply chain faces many environmental and social issues, including low incomes for producers and workers, child labour, gender disparity, deforestation and forest degradation caused by farm expansion.

That’s why we support key companies in the supply chain, helping them to implement responsible sourcing commitments through the development of deforestation policies, action plans, and supplier scorecards.

We also work with a number of cocoa and chocolate companies, and are addressing the key issues in production at the landscape level through the development of the Asunafo-Asutifi Landscape Programme, which aims to both tackle deforestation and enhance cocoa productivity and farmers’ livelihoods. Beyond our engagement with companies, we are a member of the Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group, and the Climate Smart Agroforestry Technical Working Group.

Rubber

The increasing demand for natural rubber and an increased awareness of the social, environmental and governance risks of this commodity has led to a push for change. Key industry players aim to address issues linked to rubber production and processing, including land tenure conflicts, human and labour rights abuses, illegal logging and deforestation.

We have supported this positive shift by providing technical support to downstream companies, as well as working directly with producers. We have also driven sector-wide collaboration by contributing and facilitating the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), developing systems and guidance development as well as carrying selected studies for this initiative. 

Through another collaboration with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals (CCCMC), we continue to support development of Guidance on Sustainable Natural Rubber. 

Beef

Cattle raising has been linked with the largest deforestation areas on the planet, particularly in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Brazil is one of the largest beef producing, exporting and consuming countries globally, and cattle raising has also been associated with forced labour, land grabbing and conflicts with indigenous communities.

We have been working on the beef agenda in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Australia to drive sustainability in the cattle sector and address the most pressing challenges. Our stakeholder support ranges from strategic advice and developing commitments and policies, to supply chain mapping, risk assessment, supplier engagement and capacity building for policy implementation.

Proforest is a member of the Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Beef (GTPS), the Joint Working Group on Land-use Change of the Global Roundtable on Sustainable Beef (GRSB) and Working Groups in the Colombia Zero-Deforestation Agreement for the Beef Sector.

Shea

Shea trees are one of the most economically and culturally important tree species in the Sahel region, growing in 21 African countries. A non-timber forest product, shea trees grow in the wild and are also found in agroforestry parklands. In its many forms, shea is an important income and food source for local communities. Global demand for shea is increasing for use in cosmetics and as a cocoa butter equivalent, as legislated (EU) by the so-called Chocolate Directive (2000/36/EC). Picked and processed mainly by women, the shea industry provides a low income to some of the most vulnerable or marginalised communities at the heart of the supply chain. However, there are a number of critical issues in the sustainability of shea supply chains, for both the people and environments they live and work in.

We are working with companies to assess the key risks in shea supply chains, assessing compliance with program goals and indicators, providing guidance and technical support towards enhancing responsible sourcing practices. Key issues that need to be addressed include economic empowerment and financial stability for collectors; their safety, health and welfare; as well as access to land and protected rights. In addition, we are looking at the environmental protection of the shea ecosystem to increase long-term food security and to protect the vulnerable shea parklands.