Bonsucro Global Week 2024
We are proud to once again be present at Bonsucro Global Week, this time as a Gold sponsor in Cuernavaca, Mexico, with our team of technical experts working on the responsible sourcing and production of sugarcane in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We strongly support multi-stakeholder collaboration in the sugarcane industry and events like this give us a space to continue advancing positive transformation in the sector.
In 2022, we were here with two Bonsucro Inspire Award nominations for Best Social Sustainability for our work with partners in human rights, health and safety, and smallholder livelihoods in the Huasteca region in Mexico, and Negros Occidental in the Philippines, which ended up winning the award. You can see more on the wider Philippines programme in this video including the initiative created to address child labour risks and improve PPE use by institutionalising these practices amongst farmer organisations, with the support of Nestlé, ASR, SIFI, and our technical and strategic support.
Proforest and Sugar
Proforest is a global NGO, focused on the production base and supply chains of agricultural and forestry commodities including sugar, soy, rubber, palm oil, cocoa, coconut, beef and timber. We support companies with direct action to tackle environmental and social risks throughout a supply chain. We also work with governments, companies, and collaborative organisations, to address systemic issues beyond the supply chain, within a landscape or jurisdiction or at sectoral level.
With a mission to deliver positive outcomes at scale for people, nature and climate, our work in sugar ranges from working with companies, refineries and mills to implement responsible sourcing commitments, working with farmers on regenerative agriculture, reforestation and water use, and supporting workers in labour rights, health and sanitation.
From our foundation, we have been closely involved in the development and implementation of credible voluntary sustainability standards and certification systems in several commodity sectors, including supporting Bonsucro for sugar.
Most recently published work
Human Rights Spotlight: Practical guide to human rights due diligence in sugarcane supply chains - With the aim of promoting respect for human rights in the sector and supporting companies in fulfilling their commitments, the guide was developed by Proforest and Imaflora with resources from the Bonsucro Impact Fund and the companies Nestlé, General Mills, Hershey's and Barry Callebaut.
Strategic thinking in Alagoas: sugarcane production in Brazil - A photostory of our strategic week in Alagoas, the biggest sugarcane producer state in the northeast Brazil, bringing together a core team of our sugar experts in climate, human rights, data and communications.
Remedying human rights grievances in the supply chain - This guidance focuses on human rights grievance management in the context of agricultural commodities sourcing. It provides recommendations for buying companies – especially downstream and midstream companies - on how to support action to address grievances that are upstream in their supply chain.
Human Rights Policy Commitments Guide - This document could be used by companies to decide if there is a need to update or develop human rights policy commitments, which include their sourcing practice. It can also be used to guide the process, structure and content of the commitments to develop a policy stating the company’s human rights commitments.
Integrated Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Organisation (ARBO) Child Labour and PPE Programme (IACAP) - Project overview page - This project focuses on institutionalising the prevention of child labour and promoting appropriate PPE use among farmer organisations. Its approach is to build capacity using existing structures and ensure local ownership, empowering people through knowledge building and participatory decision-making.
For opportunities to collaborate and work together email us at info@proforest.net