The UK Soy Manifesto is a collective industry commitment to work together to make all physical shipments of soy to the UK deforestation and habitat-conversion free. It was launched on 9 November 2021 with an initial 27 signatories, representing nearly 60% of all UK soy bought every year.
The Manifesto commits signatories to buying only soya that has been grown without deforestation or removal of native vegetation (cut-off date of January 2020 at the latest) immediately where possible and no later than 2025. Signatories commit to work together to achieve this goal and request that their suppliers adopt the same commitments and incorporate these requirements within commercial contractual requirements. All signatories commit to publicly disclosing on their progress annually.
The Manifesto is about action: working together across supply chains to develop joined up, pragmatic implementation plans, building on existing industry activity and best practice. It complements existing soy initiatives.
The UK Manifesto was launched at a virtual launch event on Tuesday 9 November, with significant media coverage. More than two dozen companies, including British grocer J Sainsbury Plc, Swiss food giant Nestle SA and French yogurt maker Danone SA, have already signed up.
The UK Soy Manifesto is a UK industry initiative, facilitated by Efeca, which holds the Secretariat function. The content of the manifesto has been co-developed across a multi-stakeholder working group that includes Mighty Earth, Earthworm, Global Canopy, the Stockholm Environment Institute, WWF and Tesco, in consultation with wider UK industry.
SEI’s Chris West was part of the working group of Manifesto signatories and supporters that developed a concept note for the monitoring, reporting and verification system in November 2021 with a timeline to launch in early 2022.
Read more about The UK Soy Manifesto and see who has signed.
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