Bonsucro Governance
Bonsucro is a global non-profit, multi-stakeholder organisation - find out here about how we're governed.
We’ve put in place a robust governance structure alongside strong procedures to ensure that Bonsucro is in the best position to work towards its vision – a sugarcane sector with thriving, sustainable producer communities and resilient, assured supply chains.
Bonsucro’s current governance structure was formally approved by a vote of the Members at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the members 2015. The review process was led by the Governance Committee and was an inclusive and consultative process giving all members the opportunity to provide input and to vote on the final proposals.
Bonsucro Limited
Bonsucro is constituted as a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales. This means that it is a company registered in England & Wales and operates in compliance with the laws of England & Wales.
Bonsucro’s Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of Bonsucro. The main offices are based in London with regional staff around the world.
Bonsucro Board of Directors
Bonsucro is formally governed by a Board of Directors. The Board is ultimately responsible for all actions and activity of Bonsucro, although for practical purposes it delegates day-to-day responsibility of managing the organisation to the CEO and Secretariat team. It also has the power to convene committees to support it in its work and to which it can delegate responsibility for certain activities. Currently it delegates responsibility (through clearly defined terms of reference):
- to the Finance & Risk Committee (FRC), for financial oversight – Terms of Reference
- to the Governance & Nominations Committee (GNC), for governance oversight – Terms of Reference
- to the Technical Advisory Board (TAB), for the technical aspects of the Standard and verification processes – Terms of Reference
- to the HR & Remuneration Committee, for oversight of Human Resources (HR) policies and processes, including remuneration policies – Terms of reference
Members’ Council (MC)
The Members’ Council has been created as the representative body for Bonsucro members. The MC comprises up to 25 members, 15 of which are elected from the 5 membership classes (3 from each), and up to 10 that are co-opted by the MC itself so as to ensure a balanced membership from amongst a range of sectors, interests and geographies involved with sugar cane. The Chair and Vice Chair of the MC both also sit on the Board of Directors and so can ensure a cross flow of information and views between the bodies.
Technical Advisory Board (TAB)
The TAB has been created as the body that provides the Board of Directors with advice and recommendations regarding the Bonsucro Standards, assurance mechanisms, and measurement of impact. It comprises up to 15 individuals, each of whom brings a specific skill set to the TAB covering industrial productivity, farm productivity, supply chain, social impact and environmental impact, and also strive to include someone from a ‘peer’ standards organisation. The TAB must meet at least annually.
The TAB is a delegated committee of the Board and so must report to the Board. The Board can ask for the TAB’s specific advice and the TAB shall respond to the Board, and also it can make proactive recommendations to the Board in relation the Standards, assurance mechanisms and impact measurement. The TAB may seek the views and advice of the MC in order to provide proper context to its recommendations.
Finance and Risk Committee (FRC)
The FRC was created to monitor and advise the Board of Directors on issues relating to the financial performance and corporate risk to Bonsucro. It has between three and five members, with the requirement that the Chair and at least one other member must also be a member of the Board of Bonsucro, and meets on a monthly basis. On behalf of the Board, the FRC maintains an overview of Bonsucro’s finance and risk management processes, ensuring that the system of internal control is satisfactory to deliver compliance, financial probity and value for money. It also reviews and challenges financial plans and performance in the interest of the long-term financial sustainability of Bonsucro and deliver of value to Bonsucro’s members and other stakeholders.
> Terms of Reference – Finance & Risk Committee
Bonsucro’s financial accounts are independently reviewed every year. You can review the latest independently reviewed accounts here.
Data Governance
Data governance provides the ability for Bonsucro to manage the life cycle of data in accordance with all applicable laws and our overall strategy. The Data Governance Committee (DGC) is an internal committee that looks after data governance and Data Strategy and is accountable to the Board of Directors. The Bonsucro CEO appoints DGC members, who include representatives from all Bonsucro teams. The DGC may create further subcommittees and task forces as needed.
The Bonsucro Data Governance Policy demonstrates how Bonsucro will achieve data governance and sets out the policies, processes and rules that will be implemented to achieve this.
Published records
Our Annual Financial and Governance Reports and company accounts are available to view here.
