20th July 2022
In May we closed applications for the first grants available through the Bonsucro Impact Fund. We received 17 applications from 10 countries for projects on smallholder farmers, climate action and water stewardship.
Last week the Project Selection Committee met for the first time to discuss the submissions. The six members of the committee were given a month to read through each of the applications prior to the meeting. They then met virtually to discuss the applications and decide which would go through to the next round.
The committee has invited five of the projects on smallholder farmers and three of the climate and water projects, to submit full proposals. Each applicant, whether successful in this round or not, has been emailed directly and given feedback on their submission.
The full proposals are due by 14 August and the decision on which projects will receive the grants will be made in September.
Michelle Morton, Chair of the Project Selection Committee said, “The quality and variety of the submissions to the Fund was impressive. It was difficult to review and rank the projects, knowing some wouldn’t make the cut. But the members of the committee are very experienced and all projects received fair consideration. We’re all looking forward to reading the full proposals and seeing the first projects get underway later this year.”
The Bonsucro Impact Fund is currently accepting concept notes for projects that take a targeted, multi-stakeholder approach to addressing human rights and decent work issues in sugarcane. As with all the grants in the Fund, we are looking for projects that are innovative, scalable and have a convening element.
The bulk of the work in the projects must be carried out in the following countries:
- Americas: Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Honduras, Dominican Republic
- Africa: South Africa, Cameroon, Eswatini, Mauritius, Kenya
- Asia-Pacific: India, Thailand, Pakistan
The Bonsucro Impact Fund creates grants using income from the transaction fee of the sale of Bonsucro Credits on our Credit Trading Platform. There are four types of credits available: sugarcane, raw sugar, ethanol, and molasses. Any Bonsucro member can buy credits from certified producers which help with meeting sustainable procurement targets and offers financial rewards to producers adopting sustainable practices.
