7th June 2022
Our Country Manager for Brazil, Livia Ignácio, was delighted to be invited to speak at the National Confederation of Salaried Rural Workers (CONTAR) event in Brazil on monitoring value chains, about our Complaints & Grievances Management System and Grievance Mechanism. The event also included sessions from the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry and Oxfam Brazil.
Having an effective Grievance Mechanism is an essential part of proactive compliance, risk management, and remediation for voluntary sustainability standard schemes. In June 2020, we launched our Grievance Mechanism to manage complaints against our members and encourage an ecosystem of accountability. The system is designed with respect to inclusivity and accessibility and facilitates mediation as means for resolution. This is key to maintaining confidence in, and the performance of, our assurance system.
Our Grievance Mechanism was designed to align with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Effectiveness Criteria – a set of guidelines for States and companies to prevent and address human rights abuses committed in business operations.
Livia delivered a three-hour training session to a group of Brazilian union leaders and members, covering all areas of our Complaints & Grievances Management System and the Grievance Mechanism. The session provided them with a greater understanding of the options available to them when they need to make a complaint.
The training encompassed both theoretical knowledge on the three pillars of the Guiding Principles Business and Human Rights – respect, protect and remedy – and how Bonsucro’s systems assist sugarcane organisations in upholding these pillars in their operations. Such systems include our members’ Code of Conduct, our due diligence process for new members, the Production Standard, and Members’ Annual Report. These systems help us to ensure the legal compliance, respect for human rights, and continuous improvement of our members.
The session concluded with practical a practical learning element that simulated the process of raising a complaint through the Bonsucro website.
Speaking on the session, Livia explained how:
Bonsucro’s Complaints & Grievance Management System is formed of a range of different options to address complaints, which is essential for our members and stakeholders to have their voices heard. It was a real pleasure to take this instrument further with a group of committed associates of CONTAR, and to practice using these tools together.
