BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — The Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) elected Olaf Brugman, head of sustainability policies and reporting of Rabobank, as their new president. He succeeds Alex Ehrenhaus. His candidacy was supported unanimously by the executive board of RTRS.

“It is a tremendous honor for me to be mandated by representatives of soybean producers, trade & industry and civil society to fulfill the role of president of RTRS,” said Brugman. “RTRS is committed to promote market transformation to certified responsible soy. This means amongst others that RTRS will focus on increasing the demand and supply of certified soy and forge coalitions to reach this goal in an environmentally and socially responsible way”.

At the kick off meeting of the RTRS Task Force Europe in London, England on Oct. 30 Brugman voiced the ambition to realize 10 million tonnes of RTRS certified soy produced and bought worldwide, which would represent the tipping point at which the supply chain becomes more sustainable. FEFAC and The Consumer Goods Forum, voiced their support for the shared ambition to facilitate mainstream market supply of responsibly produced soy.