Secretariat Update – November 2019

On December 1st, GPSNR will transfer its hosting from BCSD Singapore Ltd to the newly formed World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Asia Pacific Ltd. The purpose of this migration would enable GPSNR to better leverage synergies and explore means of collaboration within the wider network of WBCSD.

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About BCSD Singapore Ltd

Since its inception, GPSNR was in the need of a host and BCSD Singapore Ltd. was chosen because its mission is very much aligned with that of GPSNR. From October 2018, BCSD Singapore Ltd. acted as the legal entity under which GPSNR operations were conducted. This role was formalised with the approval of GPSNR’s Statutes in March 2019. The services provided to GPSRN were about all administrative aspects of the platform which include but not limited to invoicing, accounting, procurement, and HR services.

About WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd

WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd. has been established as a non-profit legal entity in Singapore in January 2019. This entity is an affiliate of WBCSD and its purpose is to support more effectively global WBCSD Members and projects in the region. With a regional office in Singapore, WBCSD is in a better position to understand regional and national specificities, business priorities and practices, political and regulatory landscape and learn from cultural diversity and perspectives of local communities.

What will change ?

This transition will not result in any changes of the day to day activities of GPSNR.
The organizational and governance structure of the platform remains the same as decided in the last General Assembly.
Future incoming and recurring GPSNR membership would be invoiced through WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd (instead of BCSD Singapore Ltd) as of 1st December, 2019.
WBCSD Asia Pacific Ltd would act as the legal entity and host for the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) as of 1st December, 2019 until the platform decides to change hosting or create its own legal entity.

If you have any questions on the transition, please contact GPSNR Director, Stefano Savi (stefano.savi@gpsnr.org).

November 21, 2019

More To Explore

PUBLIC CONSULTATION: GPSNR’s Assurance System – Round 2

GPSNR is conducting a public consultation from 21 May 2025 to 6 June 2025 on the following documents that will establish GPSNR’s Assurance System:

Resolution Document	Link	Feedback file
Assurance System Documents	XXXX25_Resolution EGA3.a Assurance System Documents	Public Consultation on GPSNR Assurance System Documents Resolution
Assurance System Disclosure Schedule	XXXX25_Resolution EGA3.b Assurance System’s Disclosure Schedule
Summary of changes	Summary of Changes (AS Documents)

Following the previous round of public consultation in March, GPSNR has incorporated feedback received through category discussions, member inputs, and the Assurance System Task Force. This second round of consultation aims to gather final comments on the revised Assurance System documents before they are submitted for approval to the Executive Committee and voting by the General Assembly through an Extraordinary General Assembly currently planned for July.

GPSNR Secretariat May 21, 2025

News

GPSNR Working Groups Update: February 2022

All GPSNR working groups have a large chunk of work ahead of them. Here are all their updates:

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

After completing the intensive task of publishing the Theory of Change, the strategy and objectives group is working on developing its own next steps based on this Theory of Change. In the same spirit, the group has also updated its own Terms of Reference and membership. It is now focused on developing the RFP for the Economic Risk Study, which will be published soon. Currently, they are developing GPSNR’s approach to managing and evaluating risk (commonly known as the risk-based approach in meetings!).

Smallholder Representation Working Group

Apart from initiating outreach to smallholders with a view to organise onboarding workshops in countries such as Liberia, Ghana, Malaysia and Colombia, the group is focussed on its newly formed task force to develop the GPSNR Smallholders Policy Framework. The first meeting of this task force will be in March 2022. The group is also preparing for the first Smallholders International Call of the year in March 2022.

Policy Toolbox Working Group

This group has already recruited new members for three of its subgroups: Transparent reporting roadmap, Implementation Guidance and RR Guidance & Tools. In the coming months, they will be developing guidance for the reporting requirements and a transparency reporting roadmap before the reporting cycle begins in the middle of 2022.

At the same time, the group continues to refine a major part of the assurance model: the Implementation Guidance, which it aims to have ready before the General Assembly of 2022. Additionally, this group is busy finalising the compliance panel’s operational guidance.

Capacity Building Working Group

As we begin a year of implementation in Thailand, this group is working on reviewing and finalising strategy and approach for Capacity Building in Thailand, including the integration with Agroforestry Task Force workstream based on discussions with the Rubber Authority of Thailand on 24 February 2022.

The working group is also continuing to develop and implement capacity building plans for Indonesia and Ivory Coast, and will soon appoint service providers for GAP Coaching in Indonesia

Traceability and Transparency Working Group

Having received members’ input on the traceability guidance, representatives from the working group are now finalizing the benchmark based on the feedback.

Shared Responsibility Working Group

The Shared Responsibility working group has completed the first draft of the Shared Responsibility (SR) framework, and has presented the same to the Executive Committee. The consultant is now working on incorporating feedback from the Executive Committee into this draft.

GPSNR Staff February 23, 2022