Consumers and global markets are increasingly demanding agricultural commodities that safeguard forests and adhere to responsible business practices. Through the UN-REDD Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been at the forefront of helping governments and industry partners who intend to translate these expectations into concrete action - especially for forest-risk sectors like natural rubber.
Why natural rubber matters – and the toll on forests
Natural rubber - harvested by tapping Pará rubber trees – is a commodity of global importance for the automotive and medical sectors and widely used in products ranging from vehicle tires to medical gloves. The natural rubber sector fuels a multi-billion dollar industry, set to exceed USD 46 billion by 2033. Once native to the Amazon, rubber is now grown across the tropics, with Southeast Asia and West Africa emerging as the leading producing regions. Thailand, Indonesia, Cote D’Ivoire and Vietnam alone account for two thirds of global output.
The natural rubber sector employs over 6 million farmers, most of whom are smallholders whose livelihoods depend on stable, sustainable yields. While the sector’s rapid growth has helped alleviate poverty and support rural economic development, it has also contributed to widespread deforestation and environmental degradation. A recent study estimates that at least two million hectares of forest have been converted to rubber plantations since 2000, accelerating biodiversity loss, carbon emissions and broader land degradation.
From principles to practice: GPSNR’s zero-deforestation journey
Recognizing the environmental risks driven by continued and increasing global demand for natural rubber, industry stakeholders have started taking steps to move the natural rubber sector towards sustainability. In 2018, tire manufacturers, automakers, rubber producers, processors, traders, and civil society groups founded the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). This voluntary, multi-stakeholder organization works to improve the socio-economic and environmental performance of the natural rubber value chain. Its members commit to GPSNR’s Policy Framework, which includes strict sustainability criteria - such as zero-deforestation commitments - for rubber sourcing and production.
To uphold these standards, GPSNR members are collectively developing an Assurance System to verify members’ compliance with the Policy Framework. Members are mandated to set up structured, risk-based due diligence systems with defined indicators, monitoring and reporting frameworks and independent verification – to ensure that they can trace their supply chains and demonstrate compliance. Due diligence-based approaches are becoming increasingly common, as evident in the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, which mandates legal and deforestation-free sourcing for commodities such as natural rubber.
Leveraging UN-REDD/FAO & Preferred by Nature’s expertise
With companies seeking clarity on how to conduct due diligence, GPSNR members have increasingly called for practical guidance and training. In response, GPSNR and FAO, with support from the UN-REDD Programme, have launched a new collaboration, aimed at strengthening and operationalizing GPSNR’s Assurance System. At the core of this partnership are practical, action-oriented training sessions that build upon the OECD-FAO Business Handbook on Deforestation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains.
Figure 1: 5-step framework of the OECD-FAO Handbook
The OECD-FAO Handbook was launched in July 2023 with the aim of providing relevant guidance tools to support companies wishing to reduce deforestation in their operations and supplier relations according to a process guided by due diligence. Through a five-step framework (figure 1), it offers clear tips and recommendations to help companies incorporate deforestation, responsible sourcing and supply chain due diligence as core features of their business models. First pilots of the OECD-FAO Handbook with coffee producers in Colombia generated promising results (more in this article).
Building upon the successful application in Colombia, FAO leveraged the OECD-FAO Handbook to design dedicated trainings that can help GPSNR members identify gaps and strengthen their existing due diligence systems. As part of this journey, GPSNR members voiced particular interest and needs in good practices that can guide supply chain mapping, risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies. To meet this demand and in the spirit of collaboration, FAO partnered with Preferred by Nature - a non-profit organization and GPSNR member whose newly launched Due Diligence Toolkit offers comprehensive guidance, frameworks and templates.
The OECD-FAO Handbook and Preferred by Nature’s Due Diligence Toolkit represent the two foremost guidance tools on deforestation due diligence developed to date. While the OECD-FAO Handbook outlines internationally recognized principles, Preferred by Nature’s toolkit complements it with practical detailed templates, checklists, and system-building tools.
Building upon the complementary strength of both tools, FAO and Preferred by Nature jointly trained over 45 GPSNR members on good practices to manage deforestation risks. This was coupled with live demonstrations from FAO’s and partners’ extended suite of related tools, such as Open Foris Whisp, an open-source tool that generates high-resolution forest monitoring data to support compliance with deforestation regulations.
Participants praised the collaborative approach and welcomed the opportunity to dig deeper into due diligence technicalities while exchanging on challenges and solutions. Participant feedback further shows that learning from international good practices to due diligence and engaging in dialogues with peers and experts is critical for the transition to more responsible business practices.
A replicable blueprint for responsible growth
As GPSNR members move towards compliance with both the Assurance System and the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, due diligence approaches will only become more critical. To this end, enhanced collaboration and support to strengthen due diligence capacities of companies and their suppliers, in particular smallholders, are essential. Collaborative approaches that leverage expertise cutting across organizations and mandates are needed to expand the knowledge base and foster communities of practice. Partnerships such as the one between GPNSR, UN-REDD/FAO and Preferred by Nature can serve as an inspiration for further multi-stakeholder collaboration to promote responsible business conduct and pave the way for a future in which agricultural production and forest conservation go hand-in-hand.
