New tools to source palm oil, soy and beef responsibly
On 24 August NEPCon [1] will launch the NEPCon Sourcing Hub, the biggest and most detailed collection of national commodity risk assessments that has ever been published [2]. The risk assessments focus on the potential environmental, social and economic impacts of producing and sourcing timber, soy, palm oil and beef [3], at the country of origin.
More and more companies are commiting to responsible supply chains. Risk assessments help companies meet these commitments by enabling companies to focus attention on the areas where there is the greatest risk of buying commodities that were produced irresponsibly.
NEPCon worked in partnership with SEGES [4] on palm oil, soy and beef. For these commodities, the NEPCon Sourcing Hub contains:
- Detailed risk assessments for nine countries that produce soy, beef or palm oil. Each risk assessment specifies what risks are present and how they can be mitigated. Three of the countries include sub-national assessments to further identify the risks.
- Tools to help companies implement a responsible sourcing policy.
”The timber industry is more and more using this sort of risk-based due diligence approach to minimise the risks of sourcing illegal wood. What we’ve done here is to apply a similar approach to reducing the risks associated with sourcing palm oil, soy and beef. The risk assessments allow companies to evaluate the risks of negative business, social and environmental impacts when sourcing these commodities,” said Christian Sloth of NEPCon.
“Consumers are becoming more aware of where their food comes from and how it was sourced. Finding practical ways to help companies source commodities responsibly will help the Danish food industry,” said Gustaf Bock of SEGES.
“We have analysed our supply chain for beef from Brazil and have found the NEPCon Sourcing Hub to be really useful in helping us to minimise any negative environmental and social impacts that may have occurred at the level of the farm,” said Jeppe Jakobsen of CARMO FOOD [5].
The NEPCon Sourcing Hub will be launched at the BITE Copenhagen event, August 24-25 [6]. The project is funded by Danida.
For further information and to arrange an interview, please contact:
• NEPCon: Christian Sloth, Responsible Sourcing Programme Manager, cs@nepcon.org, +45 31 58 79 81
• SEGES: Gustaf Bock, Chefkonsulent, Forretningsudvikling, gub@seges.dk, +45 40 30 17 57
• CARMO Food: Jeppe Jakobsen, Indkøbsdirektør, jj@carmofood.com, +45 25 30 14 44
Notes to the Editor
1. NEPCon (Nature Economy and People Connected) is an international non-profit organisation that works to build capacity and commitment for mainstreaming sustainability. For over 20 years, we have worked to foster sustainable land use and responsible trade in forest commodities. We do this through innovation projects, capacity building, and sustainability services. www.nepcon.org
2. The NEPCon Sourcing Hub will also contain timber legality risk assessments for 62 countries; this press release focuses on the palm oil, soy and beef risk assessments.
3. Palm oil, soy and cattle farming are responsible for nine times as much tropical forest loss as the timber industry, with beef and leather production being responsible for most of the loss [Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/stop-deforestation/whats-driving-deforest…]. Half of all packaged products contain palm oil and 60% of processed products contain soy [WWF, www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil and The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jul/25/food.foodanddrink]
4. SEGES is a Danish industry organisation working to support the food and farming industries in Denmark. www.seges.dk/en
5. CARMO FOOD supplies quality goods from all across the world to the largest retail chains and wholesalers in Scandinavia, Asia and the North Atlantic. carmofood.com/
6. We will be available to talk about the NEPCon Sourcing Hub at BITE Copenhagen (bitecopenhagen.dk/) at:
- Large Stage, Thursday 24 August, 14.30. Launch of NEPCon Sourcing Hub. Christian Sloth, Program Manager, NEPCon
- Large Stage, Friday 25 August, 15.30: Launch of NEPCon Sourcing Hub. Christian Sloth, Program Manager, NEPCon
- Stand 15. Pop by to book a time slot for free one-to-one expert advice on how to source timber, palm oil, soy and beef responsibly.
7. Between November 6-10 NEPCon and SEGES will be conducting a number of responsible sourcing events sharing new trends, information and tools on this subject with the Danish food sector. Pre-sign up is available now and more details about the event agendas are coming soon.
