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Opportunities for the smallholder sandalwood industry in ... - ACIAR

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Case study: Songman Circle of Wisdom Certification Protocol<br />

The grow<strong>in</strong>g demand <strong>for</strong> natural <strong>in</strong>gredients is<br />

often at odds with <strong>the</strong> ability of producers to<br />

supply raw materials <strong>in</strong> a susta<strong>in</strong>able way. This<br />

has been particularly evident <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />

<strong>sandalwood</strong> <strong><strong>in</strong>dustry</strong>.<br />

In 2005, Australian <strong>sandalwood</strong> processor<br />

Mt Romance, toge<strong>the</strong>r with global cosmetics<br />

company Aveda, jo<strong>in</strong>ed Indigenous members<br />

of <strong>the</strong> Songman Circle of Wisdom to create an<br />

Indigenous plant certification protocol. In 2007,<br />

this agreement was extended to <strong>in</strong>clude one of<br />

<strong>the</strong> world’s largest flavour and fragrance companies,<br />

Givaudan.<br />

The protocol was designed to recognise <strong>the</strong><br />

knowledge, rights and resources of Indigenous<br />

communities by build<strong>in</strong>g susta<strong>in</strong>able bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />

partnerships between companies and communities,<br />

so as to share <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> benefits of produc<strong>in</strong>g<br />

unique fragrance <strong>in</strong>gredients.<br />

Under <strong>the</strong> program, Mt Romance assists<br />

Indigenous harvesters to obta<strong>in</strong> government<br />

licences to collect <strong>sandalwood</strong>. The wood collected<br />

by <strong>the</strong>se groups is processed separately from <strong>the</strong><br />

standard wood supply, and a royalty of $50 per<br />

kilogram is paid to Indigenous harvesters <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

oil distilled from <strong>the</strong> wood. This fully traceable<br />

system is audited under <strong>the</strong> certification protocol.<br />

Mt Romance, Aveda and Givaudan have also<br />

established a capital fund to assist Indigenous<br />

communities f<strong>in</strong>ance <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

system. Funds can be advanced to Indigenous<br />

groups, allow<strong>in</strong>g improvements such as more efficient<br />

and environmentally responsible harvest<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

This money is <strong>the</strong>n paid back <strong>in</strong>terest free from <strong>the</strong><br />

royalty paid to <strong>the</strong> Indigenous harvesters, allow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> funds to be advanced to ano<strong>the</strong>r applicant.<br />

Givaudan heavily promotes <strong>the</strong> program on its<br />

website, <strong>in</strong> company reports and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> media.<br />

Givaudan states that it has a responsibility to<br />

ensure that <strong>the</strong> natural resources it uses are susta<strong>in</strong>able<br />

so that it can cont<strong>in</strong>ue to <strong>in</strong>novate, while<br />

also help<strong>in</strong>g local communities. This philosophy<br />

is summarised on its website as follows:<br />

Enrich<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> palette of our perfumers with<br />

new and exclusive naturals, whilst allow<strong>in</strong>g us<br />

to take <strong>the</strong> lead <strong>in</strong> implement<strong>in</strong>g susta<strong>in</strong>able<br />

development and fair trade practices <strong>in</strong> our<br />

<strong><strong>in</strong>dustry</strong> … We have a responsibility to ensure<br />

that <strong>the</strong> natural resources currently used are<br />

susta<strong>in</strong>able. At <strong>the</strong> same time it is <strong>in</strong> our <strong>in</strong>terests<br />

to secure resources that will enable us to<br />

create unique fragrances, as whoever holds<br />

<strong>the</strong> broadest palette of natural <strong>in</strong>gredients has<br />

an advantage <strong>in</strong> creat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> next masterpiece<br />

perfume. (www.givaudan.com)<br />

process, <strong>for</strong> both processor and buyer alike. The most<br />

widely recognised product standard <strong>for</strong> <strong>sandalwood</strong><br />

oil is ISO 3518:2002. Perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to S. album only, this<br />

<strong>in</strong>ternational standard produced by <strong>the</strong> International<br />

Organization <strong>for</strong> Standardization (ISO) specifies certa<strong>in</strong><br />

characteristics <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> oil, and <strong>the</strong> measurements<br />

and tests to be used to help assess its quality.<br />

ISO standards are developed accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>ciples:<br />

• Industry consensus: The views of all <strong>in</strong>terest<br />

groups are taken <strong>in</strong>to account, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g manufacturers,<br />

vendors, users, consumer groups, test<strong>in</strong>g<br />

laboratories, governments, eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g professions<br />

and research organisations.<br />

• Voluntary participation: International standardisation<br />

is market driven and <strong>the</strong>re<strong>for</strong>e based on<br />

voluntary <strong>in</strong>volvement of all <strong>in</strong>terest groups <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

marketplace.<br />

There are three phases <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ISO standards development<br />

process:<br />

1. The need <strong>for</strong> a standard is usually expressed by<br />

an <strong><strong>in</strong>dustry</strong> sector, which communicates this need<br />

to a national member body. The latter proposes<br />

<strong>the</strong> new work item to ISO as a whole. Once<br />

<strong>the</strong> need <strong>for</strong> an <strong>in</strong>ternational standard has been<br />

recognised and <strong>for</strong>mally agreed, <strong>the</strong> first phase<br />

<strong>in</strong>volves def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> technical scope of <strong>the</strong> future<br />

standard.<br />

2. Once agreement has been reached on which technical<br />

aspects are to be covered, affected countries<br />

negotiate <strong>the</strong> detailed specifications with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

standard. This is <strong>the</strong> second or consensus-build<strong>in</strong>g<br />

phase.<br />

3. The f<strong>in</strong>al phase comprises <strong>the</strong> <strong>for</strong>mal approval of<br />

<strong>the</strong> result<strong>in</strong>g draft, follow<strong>in</strong>g which <strong>the</strong> agreed<br />

text is published as an ISO International Standard.<br />

53

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