Selected Projects
Agricultural Investments: Land Rights and Food Security
Developing ideas on the role of the private sector in regulating land issues (land rights, land tenure, land claims, ...) in large-scale agricultural investments. Transparency in land deals.
Contributing to CAO's investigation into non-compliance with IFC Performance Standards.
» more info
Responsible Sourcing of Agricultural Raw Materials
Benchmarking study for Unilever (2011). Writing a practical guide for managers in food companies, published by SAI-Platform and Partners (2012).» Download Guide from IMD-Website
Responsibly Produced Peat
Peat is an important material for growing media for horticulture (see report). I facilitated the definition of Principles and Criteria for Responsibly Produced Peat for RHP and stakeholders. The result is the RPP certification system.» more info
Reinier de Man
Contact Details
Rivierforel 45
2318 MG Leiden
The Netherlands
Phone +31 71 512 8422
Mobile +31 6 5316 5441
skype reinierdeman
e-mail reinier.de.man «at» rdeman.nl
Reinier de Man
creating socially and environmentally acceptable supply chains
Themes
Limits to Growth, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Products and Other Buzzwords
Sustainable development, sustainable companies, sustainable products, sustainable supply chains. These are buzzwords that are intrinsically imprecise. On the one hand, they certainly help us develop goals and strategies that make sense. On the other hand, they can be used to hide important realities, to deny conflicts and to avoid important choices. In four essays, I try to show the history of the discussion on Limits to Growth and sustainable development. They may be used freely if their source is properly referred to.» click here for Four Essays on Sustainability
I have summarised my arguments in a short essay, originally written in Dutch and translated into English:
» Essay "Doe maar Lekker Duurzaam" (Dutch)
» Essay "Sustainability - the widening gap between slogans and reality"
Land Rights & Food Security in Commodity Standards
The development of large scale agriculture and (plantation) forestry is leading to serious land rights and land access problems in many countries; Palm oil plantations in South East Asia, pulpwood or sugarcane plantations in South America, they are often linked with serious land conflicts and to food security issues as well. These are cross-cutting issues in setting and implementing agricultural commodity standards. The issue is becoming increasingly important in standards for responsible investment.» more information on this page
Mainstreaming Responsible Sourcing
During the last two decades, many standards for responsible (agricultural) commodities have been defined, often in multi-stakeholder settings. It is time now that retailers, food companies and commodity traders remove the last barriers for their broad implementation so that they become mainstream rather than niche (see the Guide I wrote for SAI Platform). Two main issues are on the agenda: optimization of resource planning for sustainable sourcing in the private sector and bringing the governments back into the private sector / NGO driven initiatives.For the last 30 years, the emphasis of my work has been on creating socially and environmentally responsible supply chains:
- that do not contribute to unacceptable deforestation,
- that respect elementary human rights, such as land use rights,
- that do not result in unacceptable water and soil pollution,
- etc.
I have contributed to the development of tools by which private sector companies and other stakeholders can positively improve their supply chains, such as:
- principles and criteria for environmental and social responsibility,
- certification systems,
- tools for analyzing supply chain risks,
- management tools for responsible sourcing,
- tools for creating transparency and accountability in supply chains.
My Services
- Building socially and environmentally responsible
supply chains
» read more -
Creating partnerships for sustainability
» read more - Facilitation
» read more
My Clients
- Private sector companies
- Industry Associations
- National and International NGOs
- Governmental organizations
- Multilateral Institutions (World Bank, IFC, FAO, etc.)