Entwaldungsfreie Agrarrohstoffe – Analyse relevanter Soja-Zertifizierungssysteme für Futtermittel

The production of soy is an important driver for the deforestation of primary forests, especially in Brazil. The European Union, and in particular Germany, is a relevant importer of soy and thereby indirectly contributes to the ongoing deforestation. With the Amsterdam Declaration in 2015, the German government together with other European countries declared their willingness to support the private sector’s goal to eliminate deforestation from agricultural supply chains by 2020. Usually companies use certification schemes to ensure deforestation-free sourcing and in general the compliance with social or ecological requirements. Our analysis of those soy certification schemes that are compliant with the Soy Sourcing Guidelines of the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation has shown that requirements between the schemes are quite different. The evaluation of standards related to the conservation of natural ecosystems, good agricultural practice, social criteria, auditing and traceability systems, identified ISCC PLUS and ISCC EU as the schemes with the highest overall scores. ProTerra and RTRS have high requirements in place, as well. These certification schemes are in line with the political goals of the Amsterdam Declaration, but also with the voluntary commitments of relevant private sector organizations and business networks, such as the Consumer Goods Forum.