Turning land rights commitments into practice in the sugar sector

In November 2013, responding to Oxfam’s Behind the Brands Campaign, Coca-Cola committed to ‘zero tolerance’ for land grabs in its supply chain. Pepsi, Illovo and several other food and beverage companies made similar commitments to respect land rights of women, men, and communities in the last year. Now, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Illovo and others are working to put their policies into practice. This panel brings together Oxfam, The Coca-Cola Company, Illovo Sugar, the Cloudburst Group, and Inclusive Development International (IDI) to explore challenges companies are facing, and lessons they’re learning, as they endeavor to prevent and address land conflicts in their sugar sourcing. How do land conflicts play out, what are companies’ responsibilities to communities, and how are companies pushing for remedy and resolution? What instruments, such as impact assessments, Free, Prior, and Informed Consent processes, and grievance mechanisms, are companies adopting? How can civil society, international institutions, and governments help? The panel will be moderated by Chris Jochnick, Oxfam America, and will include Ed Potter (Coca-Cola), Kate Mathias (Illovo), Karol Boudreaux (Cloudburst), and David Pred (IDI).