PEFC Supporting Sustainable Rubber: official campaign launch

Rubber event

Natural rubber is an essential raw material used in the creation of more than 40,000 products through a supply chain involving 40 million people (IRSG, 2019). Yet the sources of natural rubber are modest. 85% is produced by six million smallholders tapping and tending rubber trees on independent plantations.

Managing these rubber plantations sustainably is vital, providing positive environmental and social impacts from the production of natural rubber and rubberwood. It also increases the economic viability of the plantation itself, improving productivity over the long run. This is good for the smallholder, good for the plantation, and good for the neighbouring forests.

PEFC sustainable forest management and chain of custody certification work together to achieve this, tracking natural rubber and rubber wood from the plantations to the final products.

Supporting Sustainable Rubber

Through our Supporting Sustainable Rubber campaign, we are striving for greater commitment to sustainability in the production and supply chain of rubber. Supporting smallholders in Asia and helping the global industry bounce back better after the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and grow in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for many years to come.

The Supporting Sustainable Rubber campaign was launched during a special webinar on 7 July 2021. You can see the recording on Facebook.

We heard from a range of panellists as they share their perspectives on the urgency of supporting sustainable rubber and how collective actions are needed if we are to succeed in improving the lives of rubber producers and contribute to the SDGs.

The webinar also explained how PEFC certification can help the natural rubber supply chain achieve responsible sourcing practices. 

The speakers:

• Ben Gunneberg, CEO, PEFC International
• Sorakit Manbuphachati, Deputy Secretary General, The Federation of Thai Industries
• Stefano Savi, Director, Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR)
• Salvatore Pinizzotto, Secretary General, International Rubber Study Group
• Other representatives/experts from textile and rubberwood industries