[Runchi Wang]

As an auditor, I would check the organization under the requirements of Principle 4 as:
Principle 4: Biodiversity conservation, effective environmental management and environmental services
Review the management system to confirm whether the the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems is included in the procedures, plans, programs and other procedural documents as the core aims, as well as, requirements of local government and international laws.need to be followed are included in these documents.
4.1 Land use conversion and forest conservation
1.Satellite images (with adequate resolution) and/or aerial photography shall be used to identify high conservation value areas must not have been cleared or converted into agricultural areas, or used for industrial or other commercial purposes, after 31 December 2008.
2.Map of plots with geo-location geo-coordinates shall be provided by the organization. For plots of land larger than 4 hectares, the geographical location shall be provided using polygons, meaning sufficient latitude and longitude points to describe the perimeter of each plot of land, especially the commodity is exported to countries requiring such information.
3.In the case of deforestation in disagreement with this indicator and that occurred between 1st January 2009 and 31 December 2020, the evidence provided for ProTerra Foundation to obtain application qualification should be the further auditing during the on-site inspection, including but not limited to:
Restoration and/or compensation plan including: a clear description of the situation and measures sought to restore and compensate; timeline; performance indicators and available results.
Report/statements from an external technical specialist in relation to the adequacy of
the measures sought and implemented.
For verification of ecological environment restoration and related outcomes, on-site observation and interviews are indispensable, as well as, reviewing records and documentary evidence, financial transfer and payment records (if necessary). If there is restoration report or declaration issued by local governments or reports about the area collected from the internet, can also be used as reference evidence.
For 4.1.2, it is necessary to verify the government regulations and international conventions for stricter deadlines regarding the date of land conversion. The on-site observations, interviews, and auditing farming records are used to confirmed whether the organization has engaged in production on illegally converted land or not.

4.2 Maintenance and enrichment of biodiversity
Before the on-site inspection begins, it is necessary to assess the basic information provided by the organization, select appropriate technical experts to form an inspection team to conduct on-site verification of biodiversity.
Professional tools of screening and assessment, and other technical means should be adopted to evaluate the ecological environment and biodiversity of the area.
Verify the organization’s measures and achievements in biodiversity restoration, including but not limited to, using technical means for analysis, interviewing relevant personnel, and reviewing record documents. If the restoration work is not feasible, verify the legally permitted compensation measures, including financial proof.
Through on-site observation, appropriate records, and interviews, verify whether the organization has violated the provisions regarding collection, hunting, and fishing under this indicator.
For invasive species, it is necessary to verify whether the organization has formulated corresponding risk warning plans and related response measures, including strictly follow with requirements of the local agricultural department, strict access for seed procurement and the cleaning process of agricultural machinery (removing foreign seeds and pollen), etc. The on-site observation, combined with personnel interviews and review of record documents can be used during the verification.

4.3 Social and environmental impact assessment and management plan
Require the organization to provide a complete management plan and environmental and social impact assessment report, and verify the effectiveness, including but not limited to: whether it includes actions to maintain and protect biodiversity, whether it is regularly monitored, whether it is updated in a timely manner, and whether it complies with relevant national regulations,etc.
For the confirmation of protecting native vegetation, it should include the review of the farm map (showing native vegetation), confirmation of whether the management plan includes plans for protecting and restoring native vegetation; on-site observation; personnel interviews, record review, etc.

If smallholders are involved, verify the industrial processor’s management system regarding support for small-scale farmers in terms of Principle 4. including the on-site observation, interview, auditing records for farming, training and other related operation, financial evidence.etc.

[Runchi Wang]

Hello，this is Runchi Wang from China. I’m working on organic certification and GHG verification of OFDC. Thanks very much to ProTerra training team for the comments and technical support. I hope to establish a knowledge framework for ProTerra Standard V5.0 and improve related auditing methods through this training. I’m also very happy to start this training with my colleagues and the friends from other institutions.

[Runchi Wang]

Thanks very much for your reply and comments. It is of great significance for improving auditing skills. I have gained deeper understanding of responsible agricultural supply chains through reading of the recommended reference books.

[Runchi Wang]

A1: the sample size calculated as:
High Risk: sq(67)(round up)=9
Medium Risk: 49*0.2*(1-15%)(round up)=9
Low Risk: sq(144)*(1-30%)(round up)=9

A2: According to ProTerra Annex A, those suppliers not selected for the site visit (included in the contracts of the entire supplier list) shall be checked for sustainability obligations and compared with public lists or official information:
environmental embargoes or crimes; slave and child labour;
conflicts with indigenous or traditional communities; and deforestation. When assessing deforestation, auditors shall use satellite imagery of adequate resolution. In those areas where context-specific data is available, it should be used (e.g. PRODES Amazon,PRODES Cerrado).
Remote audits could be implemented for those suppliers with risks after the sustainability obligations audit above-mentioned, such as auditing the records(agricultural production, transportation, trade, finance,etc.) transimitted over the network, and the on-line interview by mobile devices.

A3:
1.The sampling implemented in the ProTerra MRV auditing lies first in enhancing efficiency. For economic operators with the large number of suppliers, it is almost impossible to cover all suppliers through on-site audit activities within a certain audit period. Secondly, a reasonable sampling can ensure that the selected samples are representative, thereby accurately inferring the overall situation based on the test results of the samples and ensuring the accuracy of the conclusion. Furthermore, through the analysis of samples, auditors can promptly identify potential problems and risk points and take corresponding measures to deal with them, thereby reducing audit risks.

2.The actions address to the non-compliance:
Stop the purchasing from the non-compliant supplier, labeled the related lots clearly and this information should be passed on to potential buyers down the supply chain.
Initiate the CAPA procedure to conduct Root-cause analysis.Make the corrective action plan of economics operators, including training , improvement, timeline,etc.
All the records of the related actions should be retained. The economic operator shall provide the VB with evidence of the closure of any identified non-compliance within 60 working days after the closing meeting.

3.the example of a non-compliance and expected corrective action.
The economic operator of coffee industry has the number of suppliers distributed in subtropical regions, including farms and primary processing plants. Sampling is conducted after determining the total number of suppliers and contracts and other information. During the on-site inspection of the plant, it was confirmed that the plant had not provided health and safety training to its employees by documents auditing and employee’s interview, violated the requirement of ProTerra MRV standard 4.1.18.
Immediate action: Stop the purchasing from this supplier, labeled the related lots as non-compliance clearly and this information should be passed on to potential buyers down the supply chain.
Exclude systematic non-conformities: verify whether it repeatedly appears in other suppliers of this operator.
Initiate the CAPA procedure address to the operator’s management system. Result of Root-cause analysis is the supplier management lack of awareness of providing health and safety training to employees under the limitations of economic and cultural development.
Action for the operator: Formulate a plan, including providing corresponding training for the factory to enhance the understanding of ProTerra MRV standard and awareness of health and safety from the management level to the employee level, helping the plant to improve the training procedures. The corresponding records, images and videos should be retained as the evidence.
Strengthening action:Take related training implementation as one of the key points in the sustainability assessment of suppliers.
The economic operator shall provide the VB with evidence of the closure of any identified non-compliance within 60 working days after the closing meeting. The verification decision will be based on the acceptance or not by the VB of the evidence provided and shall be communicated to the economic operator within 20 working days from the receipt of the evidence.

[Runchi Wang]

A1:
1.Auditing the management system established by economic operators:
Review the policies and procedural documents formulated by economic operators.
Verify the traceability system and related implementation records to confirm whether the company has implemented effective measures to ensure that qualified products and those violating of deforestation cut-off date are separated.
Review of supplier qualifications, violation of deforestation, cut-off date are the purchase blocking factors of suppliers.
2.Identifying changes of land use:
Comparing satellite images among different years to determine whether deforestation cut-off date is involved in land use changes combined with on-site survery and interviews.

A2. The economic operators are required to provide the following information:
1.Risk assessment based on the specific geographical location and basic business conditions of these suppliers.
2. A plan on converting these suppliers to a traceable level in the medium term.
3.Risk prevention procedures to ensure the verified product and other materials with risks could be separated.
Other public information,such as satellite imagery among different years, is used to determine the deforestation.

A3. In my opinion and based on the reading material, Soil erosion, Water management, Biodiversity and Ecosystems, Use and Management of Pesticides are the top 4 environmental issues associated with agricultural activity.

[Runchi Wang]

A1: I would organize the sampling of the verification activities as follows:
Number of direct suppliers is 6.374 （＞50）, Minimum sample size is 80 (Square root).
Classify risks based on the provided information and basic circumstances：
High-Risk
Amazon: sq(145)(rounding upwards)=13
Transition Cerrado/Atlantic Forest): sq(86)(rounding upwards)=10
Medium-Risk
Caatinga: 7*20%(rounding upwards)=2 suppliers
Low-Risk
Atlantic Forest:sq(205)*（1-30%）(rounding upwards)=11
Cerrado: sq(5,931)*（1-30%）(rounding upwards)=54

Total number of suppliers: 13+10+2+11+54=90

A2:
Avoidance of double counting：
Based on the systematic supplier data management and verification mechanism of the SAP system.
Establish the complete data tracking and record management system to ensure traceability ,such as assigning the unique index number to each supplier and the lot number for the goods.

A3:
Verify the SAP system and analyze the data to identify any abnormal situation of suppliers, including material management, production planning and etc.
Audit document reviews, for instance, tracing records through product lot numbers.
Use satellite maps to locate and verify the coordinates of the source of origin.

[Runchi Wang]

A1: As auditor, I would look for these evidences as follows when conducting a ProTerra MRV audit and verifying item 3
Quality Manual: the top-level guiding document that sets forth the management policy, objectives, scope of the system, and the relationships among core processes should be complied with related regulations, requirements, without deforestation or human rights violations.
Program files: Specifying the operational procedures, responsibilities, and requirements for cross-departmental or key processes in accordance with ProTerra MRV item 3.
Detailed operational guidance, such as, risk of assessment, control and prevention measures, continuous improvement shall include the content of deforestation, human rights violations related to commodities, services, and suppliers, etc. The complete rectification process should be established to address the non-conformities. In addition, the traceability and chain of custody system must be developed,and maintained.
Map of the supply chain ( periodically updated ) including identifying the geographical source of the agricultural commodities or related products in the economic operator’s supply chains and the other key actors. When assessing deforestation, Accessing satellite imagery with adequate resolution shall be provide.
Records: all kinds of implementation records (be kept for at least 5 years), financial records, reports issued by third-party institutions and other related documents covering the entire supply chain.

A2: When dealing with suppliers with no traceability information, I’d like to take the following actions:
Economic operators are required to provide a plan that how to cooperate with non-traceable suppliers to achieve traceability within a medium-term period.
Review the risk assessment procedures to determine whether the procedures for differentiating between traceable and non-traceable suppliers are included.
Review the operation records to assess whether traceable and untraceable items could be distinguished by economic operators and how to avoid the impact brought by them.

[Runchi Wang]

Hello，this is Runchi Wang from China. I am the female inspector of organic certification and Greenhouse gas verification of OFDC. After reading the introduction and email full of kindness and knowledgeability from yours, I hope to build up a knowledge framework among environment, society responsibility and food supply chain. I’m also very happy to start this training with the above two excellent colleagues Mr. Shao and Mr.Li.

[Author]

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