Proforest
Proforest helps people to manage and source natural resources sustainably. Our team is made up of experts in the responsible production and sourcing of palm oil, soy, sugar, beef, timber and other agricultural and forest commodities. We are a not-for-profit group that works with governments, producers and other private sector partners, as well as civil society organisations and NGOs throughout agricultural and forest product supply chains
Agricultural and forest production are expanding rapidly in many parts of the world. While this can bring economic benefits, it also brings environmental and social challenges. Proforest's programmes raise awareness and develop capacity for more sustainable production and sourcing of natural resources and agricultural commodities.
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Responsible production practices balance these environmental, social and economic needs. Producers increasingly have to show that their production practices are environmentally and socially responsible. But implementing these requirements takes technical knowledge, tools and experience that are lacking among the private sector, governments and civil society in many countries.
Our non-profit programmes aim to address this gap. We provide practical advice and training on implementing these requirements for producers, manufacturers and traders of all sizes, as well as support to organisations developing sustainability policies and standards.
Responsible production practices balance these environmental, social and economic needs. Producers increasingly have to show that their production practices are environmentally and socially responsible. But implementing these requirements takes technical knowledge, tools and experience that are lacking among the private sector, governments and civil society in many countries.
Our non-profit programmes aim to address this gap. We provide practical advice and training on implementing these requirements for producers.
TRAINING
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The programmes
We have programmes in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, as well as those operating globally:
- Africa programmes. Our two Africa programmes support growers and other stakeholders to adopt responsible production practices for palm oil and build capacity to support more sustainable management and governance of natural resources including forests and oil palm.
- Latin America programmes. We have two programmes in Latin America that promote the understanding and uptake of practices leading to greater sustainability in palm oil production, cattle ranching, agricultural commodities and forest management.
- Southeast Asia programme. Our programme focuses on palm oil, economically the most important agricultural commodity within the Southeast Asia region.
- International programmes. Our two international programmes support the development of sustainability certification, governance initiatives and safeguards, and provide high quality, practical training courses.
- Global networks. We support two global partnership programmes: the High Conservation Value (HCV) Resource Network, which focuses on the consistent application of the HCV approach; and SHARP, which supports companies that work responsibly with smallholders.
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In Latin America Proforest works with internationally traded agricultural commodities. Our knowledge and expertise in this area can support more sustainable production, reduce deforestation, and introduce better social and labour standards.
Our programmes provide knowledge, tools and capacity building to encourage more responsible production of cattle, palm oil, soy and sugarcane. We support sustainability initiatives in a number of sectors, and partner with and strengthen multistakeholder processes to develop of guidelines and indicators for responsible production practices. We provide training on sustainability standards and how to implement them for governments, processors, large and small scale growers, and NGOs.
In collaboration with the SHARP Partnership , our programme work in Latin America supports companies in multiple sectors to work on sustainability issues with the smallholders in their supply chains.
We also help develop and disseminate best practices in land use planning for the protection of environmental and social values, through processes such as the High Conservation Value (HCV) approach.
Our programme work is delivered through our regional office in Brazil, and a network of staff and partners located in Mexico, and Central and South America.
Proforest specialises in helping companies to understand what they need to do in order to meet their responsible production and sourcing commitments.
The market is growing for agricultural and forest commodities that have been produced responsibly. Many companies involved in production, sourcing and trade have made commitments to eliminate raw materials that are not sustainably produced from their supply chains.