Rubber & FSC: from forest to consumer

Room: Ballroom ABC

Natural rubber is in demand as a vital commodity worldwide. Apart from being the key component in the tyre industry – which is responsible for 70% of the global natural rubber demand – it is an essential raw material in pharmaceutical and medical industries, as well as engineering applications. Synthetic rubber, its artificial substitute, can only partially meet the mix of technical characteristics that natural rubber offers, making it irreplaceable for specific applications like airplane tyres.

While natural rubber is a key natural resource globally, rubber plantations are a recognized driver of deforestation and forest degradation. Unacceptable practices, often with severe negative impacts on local communities, are frequent as reported by stakeholder sources. With global demand expecting to increase with an average of 3% yearly up through 2024, the pressure on producers and the plantations they manage will also rise, in some cases threatening protected areas and natural forests. Responsible forest management is pivotal for these already established rubber plantations, as well as for areas of future growth, so as to expedite harvest efficiency and improve social conditions, but also to strengthen ecological values at the landscape level. Jointly with responsible forest management, a sustainable supply chain is essential, one which ensures traceability and complies with recognized best practices.

FSC-certified natural rubber latex products are already in the market ensuring that natural rubber production practices, sourced 85% from smallholder producers, are in accordance with FSC’s highly respected standards creating traceability and providing a platform for dialogue among all relevant stakeholders.

Join this leading edge debate to hear how NGOs, industry leaders and FSC experts are working towards making FSC certification the most sought after tool for achieving sustainability in the rubber industry.

Translation: English/Spanish

Open to all participants

Speakers:

1) Mario Rafael Rodríguez, FSC Guatemala
2) Jeff Martins, Yulex.
3) Martin Kunz, Fair Rubber Association.
4) Ila Farshad, Vita Talalay.
5) Niels Angel, BMW

Event Timeslots (1)

Wed 11 Oct
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