Dutch Soy Platform

The Dutch Soy Platform is a multi-stakeholder platform that aims to drive the transition towards sustainable soy in the Netherlands and its area of influence. Our goal is to achieve 100% conversion-free responsible soy in the Dutch value chain, including consumption, processing and trade, and to have an additional positive impact on nature and farmers in areas that risk deforestation and/or conversion.

Multi-stakeholder platform

Convened by IUCN NL, the Dutch Soy Platform is a multi-stakeholder platform in which government actors, the retail branch, traders, the feed sector, the oils and fats industry, the dairy sector, sustainability initiatives and NGOs exchange knowledge and strategize together. The Dutch Soy Platform seeks to collaborate with other soy platforms in Europe and beyond to gain traction in the European market and to achieve more impact in the field.

The Dutch Soy Platform Initiative was started in 2018, building on earlier work that led to a large share of responsible soy on the Dutch supermarket shelves.

Soy production associated with high levels of land conversion

Soy is a quality protein product suitable for animal and human consumption. Currently it is mainly used for livestock feed. Its production is associated with high levels of deforestation and conversion of other natural habitats such as grasslands, mainly in countries in South America. The European Soy Monitor, introduced by IUCN NL and IDH to assess the uptake of certified soy, showed that in 2017 only 13% of the soy imported into the European Union was verified deforestation-free according to sustainability standards.

The fifth European Soy Monitor, published in September 2023 by IDH, showed that in 2021 40% of the soy consumed in the European Union, Norway, Switzerland and the UK was certified by FEFAC en 24% was certified deforestation free responsible. Although there is still work to be done to achieve deforestation-free and responsible soy in European value chains, companies in Europe have shown interest and taken actions on a broader sustainability agenda for soy in the past few years.

It is our vision that Europe’s investment in responsible soy will be matched with the traceability, legal, and deforestation free requirements of the EUDR and be scaled up further.

Towards 100% conversion-free responsible soy

The Dutch Soy Platform Initiative strives towards 100% conversion-free responsible soy in all areas of the Dutch value chain, which includes consumption, processing and trade, and have a positive impact on nature and farmers in producing areas.

Three routes to achieve this goal

We combine three routes to achieve our goal of 100% conversion-free responsible soy:

1. Striving for 100 % verified conversion free responsible soy use in the Netherlands, including national production, national consumption, all processing (including export to third countries), and all import (including embedded soy in imported meat/dairy products).
2. Uniting forces in selected producing areas –related to European sourcing and where nature is at risk- to have more positive impact regarding sustainable production, nature protection & inclusion of social values.
3. In markets beyond the Netherlands, leveraging on suppliers, clients, companies, financial institutions and governments to increase the uptake of verified deforestation (and conversion) free responsible soy in Europe and beyond.

Participants

Current participants of the Dutch Soy Platform meetings are the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Security, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Secretariat of the Amsterdam Declaration Partnership, CBL (the retail sector), Ahold Delhaize, Albert Heijn, IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative , Cefetra (trader), ACT Commodities (trader), Nevedi (feed sector), NZO (dairy sector), MVO (oils and fats sector), Rabobank (finance), Solidaridad (NGO),  WWF-NL (NGO) and IUCN NL itself.