Risks to Economic Recovery in 2021: Implications on the Future Growth and Sustainability

Rubber event

2020 was without a doubt one of the most traumatic years for the global economy in recent memory. It appears increasingly likely that 2021 will be a year of recovery for the global economy – and will bring new opportunities for the natural rubber sector.

Still, the pandemic is not over, and 2021 will also prove challenging for much of the global economy: but recovery provides an opportunity to repurpose the growth.

The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) webinar ‘Risks to Economic Recovery in 2021: Implications on the Future Growth and Sustainability’! on 3 March looked into the possibilities and the risks to sustainable recovery for the natural rubber sector in 2021, and how we can reach fair, inclusive and climate resilient growth.

We heard about opportunities and benefits of certified natural rubber supply and circularity in business operations within the global supply chain.

The webinar saw presentations by our CEO Ben Gunneberg and Cailin Birch, Global Economist, at The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

In his presentation PEFC – Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Future of Natural Rubber, Ben highlighted what an unsustainable supply chain looks like and presented solutions to social risk mitigation, and the important role that PEFC plays in it.

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion, covering Supply Chain Disruption and Recovery. The panellists were Ben Gunneberg, Dr Kenji Kurata from JATMA and Dr K. N. Raghavan from the Rubber Board of India.