Technical Working Groups (TWG’s)

The TWG’s are at the heart of the Standard building process which begins when a multi-stakeholder process identifies and agrees on the 6-8 key impacts of sugar cane production. The TWG’s are created to identify indicators for which Bonsucro can measure reduced impacts. They draft performance standards that reduce key impacts to acceptable levels and suggest research on impacts where there is disagreement or too little data. At the same time they identify better management practices that are put into guidance documents to help producers to reach compliance performance levels with the Standard.

The TWG’s also develop the business case to show the financial impacts of reducing social and environment impacts.

The terms of reference drawn up by the Bonsucro members for the TWG team leaders include charging them to design Principles and Criteria that are reasonable, appropriate, and provide feedback and suggestions, identify environmental and social impacts, their scope and significance, define ways of metrically measuring the key E&S impacts e.g. through the development of a cost effective set of indicators that will also demonstrate the result of improved practices, and finally, propose a shortlist of optimal or ideal standards or measures in conformity with law and the Better Sugar Cane Initiative P&C.