Supply chain risk has become a major area of concern for companies in the
agribusiness sector, as well as for their customers, financiers, and external
stakeholders. The threats that environmental and social (E&S) risks pose to brand values and product quality are making those risks more material, often reaching thresholds of major importance to the core business of agriculture and food companies. This Good Practice Handbook is intended for those agro-commodity companies that want to better manage supply chain E&S risks. Many companies are seeking to identify and manage E&S risks as part of their own responsible business practices—which are often part of their overall quality, phyto-sanitary, and food safety considerations and programs—and in response to (or anticipation of) demands from their customers and financiers. Agro-commodity supply chains often stretch over multiple supplier companies and multiple countries. In the past, the boundaries of responsibility extended only to directly owned operations and responsibility was largely delegated to suppliers, often through codes of conduct. However, the management of E&S risk is now continuing a trend toward strategic supply chain management with extended boundaries of responsibility that reach upstream to primary production where the key E&S risks are generally found.