Round Table on Responsible Soy Association

Soy products reach consumers in many different ways. In order to enable all companies that use soy products to quickly begin buying and/or supporting responsible soy, the RTRS has developed four supply chain modules through which they can participate:

1. SEGREGATED. In the Segregated supply chain model, soy from one or more RTRS certified farms is physically kept apart (‘segregated’) from other soy sources throughout the entire supply chain. All links in the supply chain need to be monitored by independent certification bodies to ensure that no mixing takes place.

1. MASS BALANCE. In the Mass Balance supply chain model, soy from RTRS certified farms can be mixed with non-certified soy, as long as such mixing is administratively monitored. After mixing, equivalent percentages of certified soy and non-certified soy can be sold to the market.

1. NON-GM. requirements for RTRS non-GM soy supply chains: i.e. for RTRS certified soy, soy derivatives and soy products that are also certified by RTRS as Non-GM. Genetically modified (GM) soy and non-GM soy are kept apart.

1. EU-RED. RTRS is one of the schemes that was recognized by the European Commission as complying with the EU Renewable Energy Directive. The module was developed for producers that wish to certify in compliance with EU-RED requirements.

Additionally a CREDIT TRADING PLATFORM was created. To enable any soy grower or buyer to support responsible soy, even those who do not have access to segregated or mass balance supply chains, a trading platform for ‘responsible soy production credits’ has been set up. Companies that buy soy on the regular market can now also purchase ‘responsible soy production credits’ directly from soybean growers, with one credit equaling the responsible production of one metric ton of soybeans. After having bought credits, a company can publicly claim to have supported the responsible production of equivalent volumes of soy products. The RTRS credit trading platform is called ´Credit Trading Platform’ and resembles well established ‘green energy’ and ‘sustainable palm oil’ credit trading systems.

No matter which model is applied further down the supply chain, the ‘on farm’ certification requirements for soy producers are exactly the same, so all RTRS certified soy farms are required to adhere to the same RTRS Standard for Responsible Soy Production.