Sustainable Soy

Responsible sourcing has come a long way since the 2006 signing of the Soy Moratorium. Today it's commonplace for brands to ask their suppliers about the source of raw materials, in part to comply with the each brand's own commitments to prevent deforestation. And it has finally become possible for any company to map and monitor farmlands via satellite for issues such as incursion into protected lands and deforestation.

Soy is purchased from commodity markets, so high-risk crops can make their way into any supply chain unless due diligence is a continuous practice. Maintaining an up-to-date supply chain map is the first step: manufacturers and brands will ask their soy suppliers what volume originates in high-risk areas such as the Amazon and the Cerrado, and in turn these suppliers will provide information on souring regions, and eventually crushing plants, silos, and farms. How far should soy traders go? The 80/20 rule is a good benchmark: start by mapping 80% of the volume to the most readily available resolution, typically state or municipality. Then, with each quarter, aim to map 80% of volume to the next tier (typically city or GPS). Continue until all crushers, silos and farms are mapped. Once a tier has been mapped to 80% of volume, it's important to refresh the map quarterly to ensure that sourcing regions have not shifted significantly.

Thanks to the diffusion of high-quality satellite and mapping data it's possible to remotely monitor a complex agricultural supply chain for deforestation and other risks including incursion into delicate biomes, as well as positive impacts such as carbon sequestration. The better the mapping data, the more accurate the analysis: regional deforestation risk for states bordering the Cerrado and Amazon could be much higher than the risk within a limited radius of a crushing plant for example. Once a best-available map has been compiled it’s time to establish a benchmark score for deforestation and incursion, and regularly monitor the soy supply chain for improvement / no change from the original baseline.

Managing deforestation in supply chains is an emerging best practice and the companies that stand to benefit the most will be the ones that implement it first. Sourcemap’s experience managing the business processes behind supply chain due diligence including mapping and geo-analytics is second-to-none, and the entire process can be achieved within one quarter.