G7 Sustainable Supply Chains Initiative
Key takeaways from July 2022 meeting
13 July 2022 (virtual meeting)“From Commitments to Action: Using OECD Due Diligence to Promote
Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains”
Agenda, List of Participants (LOP) and meeting presentations (attached)
Background
The G7 Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (G7 SSCI) was launched in December 2021 under
UK's G7 Presidency and is being supported by the German G7 Presidency in 2022. Thisinitiative aims to strengthen global efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and endeavours to transform food systems to be more sustainable, inclusive andresilient.
On 13 July 2022, the first G7 SSCI event was organised with policy-makers and G7 businessparticipants as a virtual event. A total of 24 company representatives representing 15 of the 22companies engaged with this initiative were present. 24 policy representatives from all G7
countries and the EU participated in this virtual meeting.
The meeting was structured in three parts: first, discussing and exchanging on key businessinitiatives and challenges; second, deep-diving on public-private collaboration withpresentation inputs on measurement and guidance frameworks as well as agricultural publicpolicy; third, discussing next action steps and key dates.

High-level take-aways
Welcome and opening remarks
Lisa Kirfel-Rühle, Deputy Head of Division, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperationand Development (BMZ), Germany•••

Underlining the high relevance and importance of advancing sustainable supply
chains to the German G7 presidency and the German Government.
Highlighting current key initiatives in this context such as the German Due Diligence
Act and the EU Directive on the same and the establishment of the Global Alliance forFood Security.
Addressing the necessity and confirming support to foster and comply withinternational standards relating to human rights, environment, and labour across1

global supply chains, in particular the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible
Agricultural Supply Chains.
Recognising the World Benchmarking Alliance’s (WBA) Food and Agriculture
Benchmark as a useful instrument for measuring business impact and thebenchmark’s methodology as being invaluable for independent monitoring of thisInitiative, producing an accountability mechanism for the private sector.

•Allan Jorgensen, Head, OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct
Emphasising the urgency of integrating responsible business conduct and due
diligence into agricultural supply chains to foster sustainability and resilience for bothpeople and businesses.
Highlighting support for the G7 SSCI initiative and for advancing the discussion tounderstand drivers and barriers for policies and practices to address this urgency.
Calling for concerted action and collaboration across both the private and publicsectors.

•••

Part 1: Business actions to support sustainable agricultural supply chains••••Bayer Crop Science: Dr. Alejandra Castra, Head Global Partnerships andInternational Organisations.
Danone: Jeanette Coombs-Lanot, Public Affairs and Sustainability Director
KraftHeinz: David Shaw, ESG Director
Associated British Foods (AB Foods): Katharine Stewart, Corporate
Responsibility Director, and David Webster, Director Sustainability

Key points raised:••••

The role of partnerships to bridge the gap between company action and policymaking, and build connections and synergy with government policy (consideringtrade-offs).
The lack of a common understanding at the international level on frameworks vis-àvis regenerative agriculture.
The need for agreed scientific measures to track progress and higher levels oftransparency across the sector, and along the value chain (moving beyond Tier 1suppliers).
The possibility to pay for eco-system services to support farmers in uptake ofregenerative agriculture.

Companies expressed a wish to:••

Define together/reach agreement on a set of common principles supporting theconcept for regenerative agriculture. This should draw from existing discussions
spearheaded by Sustainable Agricultural Initiative (SAI) and others.
Identify ways for governments and businesses to scale up tested interventions
which exist in support of regenerative agriculture (including existing publicprogrammes and company-led actions).
2••To focus actions/commitments on commodity-specific supply chains such as dairyand rice.
To engage locally and ensure that the farmer remains at centre of actions and tofocus on nuanced solutions. Interventions on the ground should be farmer-centric,
provide support and incentives to farmers and be commercial in outlook, with a viewto equitable sharing of value across the supply chain.

Part 2: Re-setting public-private collaboration for sustainable agricultural
supply chains•Fostering a common understanding on measurement: Leveraging WBA’s Foodand Agriculture Benchmark methodology and the OECD-FAO Guidance for
Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains to promote sustainable agricultural supplychainso Introduction to measuring uptake of international expectations on due
diligence, WBA benchmarking and OECD indicators.
o Highlighting broad alignment between OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible
Agricultural Supply Chains and WBA Food & Agriculture Benchmark.
o Need to compare risk scopes and detailed processes to further streamline
international expectations to businesses.

•Reforming agricultural policies to support climate actiono Agricultural production has a high impact on food supply chains emissions,which is exacerbated by some forms of public support to the sector.
o Multiple approaches to tackle climate change exist in G7 countries, including
emission pricing instruments, but commitments and action on agriculture lag
behind.
o Increasing support to research and development and reforming current public
agricultural support is needed for more ambitious climate action.

To achieve the G7 SSCI goals, participants highlighted that interventions are required on
three levels:•Policies to support action and promote scaling-up
Bridging the gap between company action and public policies notably in setting
incentives, trade agreements, public procurement, standards and research anddevelopment.

•Business behavioural changeThis should include clarity on how the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible
Agricultural Supply Chains and the World Benchmarking Alliance framework arecomplementary and mutually supportive.

•Financing incentives and sharing costs
Public and private funding side need to be adjusted such that sustainable choices
become more attractive.
3

Part 3: Next steps and key dates•21 September 2022: Meeting with G7 SSCI companies (in-person, OECD, ParisFrance)
The objective of this meeting is to discuss with G7 business participants to agree onspecific company commitments which can be announced at the 2nd G7 SSCI meetingin November 2022. The proposed date for this in-person meeting is the 21st
September from 9 am to 12 noon at the OECD. Please save this date. More details tofollow in August.

•Second half of September 2022: G7 Food Security Working Group (FSWG)Inter-alia, members (government) of the G7 FSWG will receive an update on theSSCI and discuss the political perspective on the initiative in view of the 2ndNovember 2022 high-level event. (tbc)•6 October 2022: OECD Global Forum on Agriculture on “Enhancing agriculture
contribution to climate change mitigation”
This meeting is organised as a conference intended primarily for policy-makers from
OECD and G20 countries. It will be organised at the OECD in Paris, France. Pleasecontact the OECD secretariat if you are interested in attending.

•Week 10 October 2022: Launch of World Benchmarking Alliance’s G7
Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative Private Sector Report
This meeting may take place in person in Rome, Italy, on the margins of the CFS 50
meeting which takes place from 10-13 October 2022. Please contact the OECDsecretariat if you are interested in attending.

•2 November 2022: High-level G7 SSCI meeting (in-person, OECD, Paris, France)
The high-level G7 SSCI meeting will take place in-person at the OECD (Paris,France) on 2 November 2022 in the afternoon. It is hoped that discussion in thishigh-level meeting can result in commitments from companies and G7 policy-makers
to support sustainable agricultural supply chains. This meeting will bring together
representatives from SSCI member companies and G7 governments targeting Csuite leadership and senior level policy-makers and G7 Ministers. It will be open tointerested stakeholders including non-G7 participants.

•3-4 November 2022: OECD Agricultural Ministerial Meeting. This meeting is byinvitation only and targeted to OECD governments and policy- makers.

•7-18 November 2022: COP27 in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt.

4