United Soybean Board (USB) Director Nancy Kavazanjian participated in the 2018 World Sustainability Forum (WSF) and met with customer company representatives during her trip in Beijing between Sept. 19 and 21.

Ms. Kavazanjian represented the U.S. Soy industry at the opening session of the World Sustainability Forum on September 20.
Participation in the World Sustainability Forum was part of U.S. Soy’s effort to reach out to China’s regulators and policy influencers and promote the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP) through an international platform co-sponsored by United Nations (UN) and Chinese cooperators. WSF aims to promote consensus, connectivity, synergy and cooperation among officials, industries, schools and research institutes on sustainable development through a cross-industry and cross-domain platform for discussion, communication and cooperation.
WSF 2018 was co-sponsored by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), and International Green Economy Association (Beijing).
Ms. Kavazanjian spoke about the U.S. Soy industry’s best practices in ensuring the sustainable production and supply of soybeans during the WSF breakout session on sustainable agriculture, which was attended by officials from the Chinese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs (MARA) and academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and China National Engineering Research Center of JUNCAO Technology, among other organizations.

On September 21, Ms. Kavazanjian met with representatives from Charoen Pokphand (CP) China, a major supplier of agricultural mixes and feed ingredients and a potential SSAP user, briefing them on the value that SSAP can add to customer companies’ differentiation strategies and corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, as well as the achievements already made by USSEC through the promotion of SSAP among neighboring countries and regions. CP China representatives gave positive feedback, inquired about the application process, and indicated interest in following up in the near future.