Responsible production
From large plantations to groups of farmers and smallholders, our practical support helps companies implement environmentally and socially responsible production practices. Our local teams combine a deep understanding of context and culture with ideas and approaches from colleagues and partners in other regions to provide innovative but locally appropriate approaches.
We work with producers and smallholders, as well as the mills and aggregators that buy from them. We help to build a practical understanding of environmental and social performance, alongside any gaps or issues in current practices. For producers, we focus on their own farms or plantations. While for mills and first aggregators, we help them to understand the range of different producers supplying them.

Our responsible production work includes:
- Undertaking baseline or gap assessments against voluntary standards or the requirements of customers or investors
- Undertaking HCV and HCS assessments for both existing production areas and for planned new production
- Supporting community engagement and FPIC
- Helping producers to understand issues and opportunities related to workers’ rights and gender
- Supporting land use planning
Building on this understanding we then help to develop action plans or roadmaps that set out the activities and resources needed to close gaps and address issues, as well as management and monitoring plans for ongoing management. This often includes providing training and ongoing support for staff, as well as helping them to identify the right partners to work with.
Based on our ACRES approach, we encourage producers and other actors in the production base to work beyond their own production, and help them to engage with landscape or sector-wide initiatives to address systemic issues or provide sector-wide support.