Sumitomo Rubber Introduces a Risk Assessment Tool Specific to Natural Rubber Sustainable Procurement of Natural Rubber
Oct. 12. 2023
SUMITOMO RUBBER SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., a natural rubber procurement company for the Sumitomo Rubber Group, joined an environmental and social risk assessment tool specific to natural rubber*1 in July 2023. Being part of this industry initiative will accelerate sustainable procurement of natural rubber.
As the situation that may impact the raw material procurement, there is a need to respond to environmental issues such as deforestation due to farm expansion, and social issues such as labor and human rights, against the backdrop of increasing demand for natural rubber due to population growth and development of the mobility society.
Our group companies will accelerate their response to these environmental and social issues by introducing this tool and promote sustainable procurement of natural rubber pursuant to the GPSNR*2 policy.This tool statistically analyzes huge amounts of questionnaire data to assess the magnitude of environmental and social issues, and displays the assessment results on the map. The assessment items include, but not limited to, deforestation, water resource management, forced labor, and child labor. This tool covers 10 natural rubber producing countries, including many of our procurement areas. The use of this tool will enable us to procure natural rubber from areas that comply with the GPSNR policy.
As part of commitment to the Long-Term Sustainability Policy “Driving Our Future Challenge 2050,” our group companies have been working to improve traceability and support small-scale household farmers under the banner of “Raw Material Procurement in Line with Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy*3.” We will proactively continue to promote initiatives in collaboration with all the stakeholders including those making up the supply chain to achieve a society where natural rubber is sustainable.
■SUMITOMO RUBBER SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. Corporate Profile
*1. Application software developed by Michelin, Continental, and software development company SMAG https://rubberway.tech/
*2. Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber
*3. This policy was established in 2021 by reflecting the GPSNR policy frame in order to further promote initiatives for environmental issues caused by deforestation in natural rubber producing areas, human rights issues in the working environment, and other issues.
<Reference>
Rubberway News Release: https://rubberway.tech/news/
 |
 |
| Display example Small-scale household farmers and brokers input risk information |
Display example Areas with high social/environmental risks can be checked at a glance on a map |
As the situation that may impact the raw material procurement, there is a need to respond to environmental issues such as deforestation due to farm expansion, and social issues such as labor and human rights, against the backdrop of increasing demand for natural rubber due to population growth and development of the mobility society.
Our group companies will accelerate their response to these environmental and social issues by introducing this tool and promote sustainable procurement of natural rubber pursuant to the GPSNR*2 policy.This tool statistically analyzes huge amounts of questionnaire data to assess the magnitude of environmental and social issues, and displays the assessment results on the map. The assessment items include, but not limited to, deforestation, water resource management, forced labor, and child labor. This tool covers 10 natural rubber producing countries, including many of our procurement areas. The use of this tool will enable us to procure natural rubber from areas that comply with the GPSNR policy.
As part of commitment to the Long-Term Sustainability Policy “Driving Our Future Challenge 2050,” our group companies have been working to improve traceability and support small-scale household farmers under the banner of “Raw Material Procurement in Line with Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy*3.” We will proactively continue to promote initiatives in collaboration with all the stakeholders including those making up the supply chain to achieve a society where natural rubber is sustainable.
■SUMITOMO RUBBER SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. Corporate Profile
| Trade Name | : SUMITOMO RUBBER SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. |
| Location | : HarbourFront Centre, Republic of Singapore |
| Capitalization | : 18M USD
|
| Equity ratio | : Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. 100% |
| Representative | : Ryuichiro Yamazaki |
| Founding | : January 2020 |
| Start of Operations | : April 2020 |
| Scope of Business | : Procurement of Natural Rubber for the Sumitomo Rubber Group |
| No. of Employees | : 15 (as of September 2023) |
*1. Application software developed by Michelin, Continental, and software development company SMAG https://rubberway.tech/
*2. Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber
*3. This policy was established in 2021 by reflecting the GPSNR policy frame in order to further promote initiatives for environmental issues caused by deforestation in natural rubber producing areas, human rights issues in the working environment, and other issues.
<Reference>
Rubberway News Release: https://rubberway.tech/news/