Clean and Safe Supply Chains

As a corporate foundation, we have the opportunity to tap into the expertise and networks of our founder, Trafigura, and use these precious resources to the benefit of our programmes’ beneficiaries - while always remaining loyal to our philanthropic agenda and goals.

This is why we shaped a focus area called Clean and Safe Supply Chains, a new pioneering field of action in the philanthropic arena with the following mission:

• We aim at mitigating the environmental issues caused by supply chains by supporting programmes that reduce polluting emissions and carbon footprint.
• We partner with trusted organisations that tackle the social and health issues affecting communities impacted by supply chains, such as workers and communities living along main logistics roads and hubs.
• We promote clean and safe supply chains that can provide sustainable solutions to improve the livelihoods of isolated or vulnerable communities through the delivery of basic services (health, education) and the creation of new economic opportunities.

WE AIM TO TACKLE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPPLY CHAINS

Interview to Damien Rizet, Programme Manager, for the Trafigura Foundation’s 10th anniversary book

What was the impetus behind the Foundation’s new focus on Clean and Safe Supply Chains?

As a corporate foundation created by a world leader in commodities trading, we understood that we were in a perfect position to pioneer what is a wholly new sphere of activity in the philanthropic arena. Working collaboratively with the specialists at Trafigura, we are able to take advantage of invaluable industry knowledge to gain an understanding of human and environmental challenges from an ethical perspective. It is an area in which we are uniquely well placed to achieve transformational and enduring impact.

How would you define Clean and Safe Supply Chains?

Supply chains encompass myriad activities including the sourcing of raw materials, logistics and end-of-life processes. By “Clean” we mean the mitigation of environmental issues wreaked by supply chains at land and sea, while “Safe” embraces social issues – the vision being to improve the lives of populations impacted by supply chain activities and infrastructure development. Our commitment is to providing communities with access to vital resources, services and amenities such as markets, healthcare centres, education and last-mile delivery.

How does that apply in practice?

An example of “Safe” action could be where you have a quantity of freight vehicles driving every day down a major highway that cuts through a remote African village. In this particular scenario there is a well-documented danger of contagion from truck drivers who come into contact with many communities on their travels, and who as a result can act as vectors for illnesses and disease. In recognition of this, our NGO partner North Star Alliance has developed an innovative means of targeting healthcare services at both drivers and communities along sub-Saharan Africa’s main logistical corridors. An example of “Clean” action is our partnership with the non-profit International Council for Clean Transportation, which is working to implement an ECO-driving training programme for truck drivers in Latin America.

Tell us about the impact of some of the other programmes supported by the Trafigura Foundation

One of our flagship programmes is a partnership with the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), which provides vital welfare services to maritime workers, who are often away from home for long periods. Thanks to ISWAN’s 24/7 helpline, which is free of charge and manned by a spectacularly committed multilingual team, seafarers in crisis can access both practical advice and emotional support. In addition, at the start of the supply chain, small-scale artisanal mining communities in developing nations frequently face tough living and working conditions. In Myanmar, we are partnering with PACT, a global development organisation working to improve the conditions of artisanal miners. Also with PACT, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we have teamed up with Trafigura’s Head of Corporate Responsibility and the Metals and Minerals Trading Division to explore strategies for improving the lives of artisanal and small-scale miners. Crucially, this will involve creating a programme that addresses the grave and urgent issue of harmful working conditions and the incidence of child labour.