At a time when the world faces growing socio-environmental challenges, it has become evident that our current efforts toward sustainability in tropical ecosystems are insufficient to ensure long-term systemic progress that enables the responsible supply of agricultural products at scale, while ensuring a path of sustainable and inclusive development for a growing world population.
Supporters are increasingly convinced that initiatives for sustainable and jurisdiction landscapes are an essential part of the solution to such sustainability challenges. More than certifying a single farm or a single commodity, these structural collaborative initiatives among the government, civil society and the private sector can go well beyond to improve systemic sustainability issues
Regional authorities can develop sustainability actions based on sustainable landscape approaches to attract investments and benefits. For companies, these initiatives create the possibility of combining the supply of agricultural commodity with the creation of an impact on sustainability, according to their corporate commitments.
However, a joint and consistent market mechanism is needed to strengthen and expand business support to these initiatives, and to create a common structure for multiple jurisdictions to connect more effectively with multiple buyers in the markets.
The Verified Sourcing Area model aims to provide a market mechanism that allows responsible sourcing and sustainable development at scale, by connecting sourcing jurisdictions directly to markets. The VSA model is an inclusive sustainability model, consisting of various commodities, which strengthens the involvement of the local government and creates a pre-competitive space for buyers.
The end-to-end sustainability proposal of the VSA model uses a neutral online platform to link buyers to multi-stakeholder alliances (Compacts) in agricultural production jurisdictions. Compact stakeholders agree locally on ambitious sustainability priorities and indicators for forest protection, working conditions, land tenure and livelihoods. Companies can commit to a Compact and support it through project financing, preferential supply and technical assistance.
VSA online platform works as an interactive hub for producers and buyers engaged and provides relevant, accurate and reliable data on sustainability across entire jurisdictions.
Learn more about VSA from the video available here.