Unilever Sunday announced a small but important step towards 100% sustainable sourcing of its agricultural raw materials by 2020. Unilever, a founding member of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), bought some of the first available certificates for sustainable soy. This follows the recent introduction of the RTRS certification scheme.

Unilever Brazil bought certificates that cover 5,000 tons of sustainable soy oil – mainly for use in North and South America and specifically in dressings and margarine products. Unilever aims to stimulate farmers to move their agricultural practices towards the RTRS criteria. At the moment only one company has received certification. Global production in soy oil is around 40 million tons and Unilever buys around 1%.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Chief Supply Chain Officer Unilever said Certification is an essential first step towards sustainably grown soy and sourcing sustainably grown soy will help Unilever meet the environmental commitments in its Sustainable Living Plan. That’s why this first batch is so significant, both for the RTRS and Unilever.

Sigismondi noted the firm can’t change agricultural practices across the world overnight, but by working closely with others – suppliers, farmers, NGOs, and other businesses – Unilever can begin to precipitate change, he said.

Sustainable sourcing is an important part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. With this unique plan Unilever has set three goals to achieve by 2020 – halve the environmental footprint of its products, help more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, and source 100 percent of its agricultural raw materials sustainably. Today’s milestone supports the commitment to sustainably source all Unilever’ soy beans by 2014 and all soy oils by 2020.

Established in 2006 in Switzerland, the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) is a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to facilitate a global dialogue on soy production that is economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sound. The RTRS’ more than 150 members include soybean growers, crushers, traders, food and feed manufacturers and civil society organizations.

They work together to market certified soybeans that have been responsibly produced, and to maximize the amount of soybeans that can be RTRS certified. The Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) has developed a set of principles and criteria which define the responsible production of soy.

The companies, which also include dairy processor FrieslandCampina and meat firm Vion, have purchased certificates for 85,000 tons of RTRS-certified soy from Brazilian producer Grupo André Maggi. The Brazilian company had its first soy fields certified by independent auditors in May.