Soy on Track

Using the Accountability Framework to develop a transparency tool for the soy value chain. 

Created by Imaflora, a member of the AFi Coalition, with the support of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE) and the National Association of Grain Exporters (ANEC), the Soy on Track programme promotes grain production without deforestation, conversion, or human rights violations. The programme was conceived to support the implementation of the Soy Moratorium in the Amazon and the Green Grain Protocol in Pará (Cerrado biome). Soy on Track is a joint effort to strengthen and boost the implementation of sectoral and company commitments in the soy sector through the development of accountability solutions and tools. 

Soy on Track incorporates the elements of the Accountability Framework into its monitoring and auditing procedures. Producers, soy traders, other actors in the soy supply chain, and investors can use the Soy on Track platform to access unified and standardised tools, data, and technical information to make progress towards deforestation-free soy chains, all aligned with the Accountability Framework. 

With the support and partnership of The Nature Conservancy, the Soy on Track programme produced three publications to guide the disclosure of progress for companies in the soy value chain. The three guides draw on international references, including the Accountability Framework. Intended for traders, soy processors, and soy supply chain auditors, the guides are complementary and can be used in tandem. The three guides are: 

Deforestation and conversion - Free soy reports between lines: a quick guide to transparency 
A roadmap for producing progress reports in line with the Accountability Framework, this guide contains general guidelines on disclosing information, information related to the organisation making the progress report, and indicators for measuring concrete progress in the areas from which a trader sources soy. 

Guide to the soy value chain: interpreting traders' progress reports on Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) sourcing 
A guide to help companies buying soy navigate critical questions and get practical recommendations to assess the level of transparency reported by their suppliers around their progress towards implementing their commitments. It also helps buyers understand the risks associated with deforestation, conversion and human rights violations in the soy they are buying. 

Guide for assessment of public commitment progress reports - Soy free of deforestation and human rights abuse 
A set of best practices for verifying the progress reports of companies that have adhered to initiatives and commitments for soya-free of deforestation, conversion and human rights violations in the Cerrado, Amazon, and Chaco biomes through third-party audits. This guide aims to help auditors assess progress reports on traders' social and environmental commitments, including how to flag any flaws in the management of information, and guide companies in correcting this data to improve the credibility of their public communications. 

“Imaflora’s soy commodities programme aims to guarantee socio-environmental safeguards and continuous improvement in the soy supply chain. We use criteria and indicators from credible global sources like the Accountability Framework to create protocols focused on reducing deforestation caused by production. Through Soy on Track, companies can prioritise purchases from traders with adequate transparency and independent verification of their socio-environmental commitments, and report on this to their customers. In the commodities sector, where companies closely monitor gains and losses, transparency about social and environmental commitments can provide a competitive advantage.”  

- Lisandro Inakake de Souza, Project Manager for Agricultural Chains, Imaflora