The AFi Southeast Asia (SEA) Coalition supports companies and other stakeholders to mainstream responsible commodity production and trade for the agricultural and forestry sectors in Southeast Asia.
AFi in Southeast Asia (SEA)
The SEA Coalition – comprised of representatives from AFi´s global Coalition active in Southeast Asia – work together and in collaboration with others to address the key challenges faced in responsible commodity production and primary processing. Using the Accountability Framework to connect global norms to local contexts, Coalition members engage directly with producers and other upstream suppliers to set policies and practices that will deliver commodities free of deforestation, conversion, and human rights violations. The Coalition also works with industry initiatives, policy processes, and jurisdictions to help create the enabling environment for protecting natural forests, other natural ecosystems, and human rights.
The AFi SEA Coalition consists of the following organisations, with WRI Indonesia serving as its secretariat.
-
CDP Asia
-
Global Canopy
-
LTKL
-
The Nature Conservancy Indonesia
-
Preferred by Nature
-
Proforest Southeast Asia
-
Rainforest Alliance Indonesia
-
Wildlife Conservation Society
-
World Resources Institute Indonesia
-
WWF Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
The AFi SEA Coalition recognises that actions are needed both within and beyond individualised supply chains to effectively achieve impact on-the-ground. Some supply chain actors are newer to, or have not yet begun, their sustainability journey and operate at a lower capacity to fulfil supply chain goals. Others, such as smallholders, may not yet be part of a specific supply chain and therefore cannot be engaged through traditional supply chain approaches for halting deforestation.
To address these challenges, SEA Coalition members work directly with small and medium-size companies, supporting them to understand the gaps in their performance and the actions needed to close those gaps. Coalition members also engage indirect suppliers of global downstream companies to help them understand and be able to fulfil the expectations of their buyers. The Accountability Framework serves as the roadmap for these activities.
In parallel, the SEA Coalition works collaboratively with policymakers and jurisdictions to create the necessary enabling conditions for companies to be better positioned to implement sustainable practices in accordance with the Accountability Framework.
Finally, the Coalition engages with industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives, assessment platforms, and other organisations to integrate the Framework´s principles, guidance, and definitions into their existing/emerging policies and processes. This helps to ensure that good practices, such as those defined in the Framework, and effective tools developed through the collective efforts of other organisations, are readily accessible to the companies involved in these initiatives.
For more details about AFi SEA Coalition’s strategy, please read this article.
Implementing Sustainable Supply Chains Clinic
In 2022, the AFi SEA Coalition launched its Implementing Sustainable Supply Chains Clinic (Klinik Implementasi Rantai Pasok Berkelanjutan). This project consists of a series of six clinics designed to provide direct support to companies and strengthen the nexus between supply chain-led and jurisdictional action. These clinics are organised in collaboration with district governments, the USAID Sustainable Environmental Governance Across Regions (SEGAR) programme, and other local partners in Indonesia.
The clinics cover three key production landscapes across the Indonesian islands of Sumatera and Kalimantan. Specifically, the six districts targeted by the clinics are: Sintang, Sanggau, Musi Banyuasin, Banyuasin, Aceh Tamiang, and Aceh Timur.
The clinics engage producers who pose high, medium, or unknown levels of risk or are at the beginning of their sustainability journeys. Companies are offered free diagnostics, gap assessments, and recommendations for improvement based on the Accountability Framework. Held in collaboration with local governments, the clinics also help districts to develop recommendations for improving local governance around plantation and agricultural business compliance in support of their regional sustainability agendas.
The clinics provide a needed resource for companies seeking to respond to pressure and expectations from buyers, district governments, and NGOs to improve their sustainability performance, and which can benefit from added capacity to make the necessary changes.
The clinics engage companies, district governments, and local partners in Aceh, South Sumatra, and West Kalimantan provinces in Indonesia, covering six districts in total.
Orientation workshop webinar
An information session webinar for the Implementing Sustainable Supply Chain Clinic was held on 25 April 2022. It served to inform parent companies, buyers, and relevant associations about the launch of this program, to give an overview of the project components, and to answer any questions. Watch now
District sustainability commitments
Each district engaging in the project - Sintang, Sanggau, Musi Banyuasin, Aceh Tamiang, and Aceh Timur - declared support for the clinic activities and its value in accelerating and strengthening the districts´ agenda on ethical supply chains.
Testimonial
Musim Mas Group on the Accountability Framework
Olivier Tichit, Director of Sustainable Supply Chain of Musim Mas Group, offers his testimonial on how the Accountability Framework has supported the company in strengthening its sustainable commitment.