Methodology

Soy traders must have a time-bound commitment to zero deforestation and conversion in their supply chains, with a cutoff date of 2020 at the latest (in alignment with the New York Declaration on Forests and target 15.2 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals). This commitment should apply to all geographies in which the company operates and to the entire corporate group. The commitment should have a clear target date for full implementation, which should be as soon as possible but no later than 2025, and interim milestones.

As deforestation and conversion go hand in hand with human rights abuses, soy traders must commit to respecting internationally recognized human rights, with particular focus on securing the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous peoples and local communities before any activity that may affect their rights, lands, resources, territories, livelihoods and food security. These commitments should apply to all geographies in which the company operates and to the entire corporate group.

While traceability alone does not guarantee sustainability, it can help companies understand and improve the sustainability of their own supply chain, and extend support beyond their own supply chain. Soy traders should commit to tracing their supply chain to the farm level in order to be able to verify compliance with their commitments. The commitment should apply to all sourcing in all geographies and the entire corporate group. It should have a clear target date for achievement, which should be as soon as possible but no later than 2025.

To embed their commitment into their operations and decision-making, traders must develop effective internal processes and systems. Traders must establish senior leadership responsibility and accountability for deforestation/conversion matters, including at CEO and/or board level. To enable grievances to be addressed early and remediated directly, all companies should establish an effective grievance mechanism that is readily accessible to individuals and communities.

Soy traders must transparently identify deforestation and conversion as a business risk, and conduct regular risk assessments covering all volumes of soy produced and sourced by the company. Soy traders must also ensure that all of their operations and sourcing comply with any relevant laws and should conduct assessments to ensure that this is the case.

Traders must have robust supplier management and engagement systems to ensure progress towards zero-deforestation and conversion commitments and resolve issues promptly and effectively. They must: embed deforestation and conversion criteria into trading and procurement decisions; publish clear criteria for exclusion of non-compliant suppliers; and engage with non-compliant suppliers to set action plans to improve. Prior to any land development or acquisition, companies must conduct or support suppliers to conduct social and environmental impact assessments in alignment with Accountability Framework guidance. Companies must provide remedy to (or require and support all suppliers that own or manage land to provide remedy to) any harms in case of negative social impacts associated with the company's prior actions or land management practices and restore any land converted after the cutoff date. This is in line with international human rights laws, national laws and many voluntary commitments which affirm the right to an effective remedy when adverse impacts to human rights occur.

Soy traders should require that their suppliers take action across their entire operations (and not only on the volumes supplied to the trader) to eliminate deforestation, conversion, and human rights abuse from soy production. Action to move supplier practices as a whole prevent leakage and cascade best practices up the supply chain.

Soy traders must diligently monitor direct and indirect suppliers—including farms of origin—against deforestation and conversion requirements. Monitoring protocols should be fully transparent and third-party verified, and civil society organizations should participate in their development.

Soy traders must act swiftly to achieve their commitments and reduce the volume of soy produced on converted land to zero. They must have robust, independently verified processes to measure their progress, and report this publicly and clearly.

Soy traders must publicly report on the traceability of their supply chains, clearly demonstrating the proportion of their volumes that are traceable, and the level. They must strive to reach 100% traceability to the farm as soon as possible.

It is critical that soy traders increase their transparency on key pieces of company information to enable stakeholders to understand their exposure to deforestation and conversion risk. This includes volumes sourced by subnational area, supplier lists and location, and further information pertaining to the company’s operations.

If soy traders use certification schemes—either third-party schemes or their own—this must be made publicly available in full. This includes making the company’s own standards publicly available in their entirety, as well as disclosing percentages of volumes covered by certification schemes.

In addition to bold actions within and beyond their own supply chains, traders should advocate for regulatory frameworks that enable progress towards supply chains free of deforestation, conversion, and human rights abuses. Traders should be transparent about any political contributions and campaign expenditures in all relevant jurisdictions.

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Soy traders should constructively participate in collaborative initiatives in both producer and consumer countries to support large-scale change for deforestation- and conversion-free soy. This participation should go beyond commitments for the company's own supply chain, by requiring company participation with demonstrable action intended to increase the sustainability of the wider soy industry.