Methodology

This Methodology section presents an in-depth exploration of two distinct methodologies employed in separate studies investigating human rights risks and environmental risks. These methodologies have been meticulously developed and continually refined since 2020 to ensure robustness and relevance.

Read the environmental methodology. jump to answer

Human rights methodology

A human right means that “people have a right to be treated with dignity” (United Nations Global Compact). The basis of the selection of 8 human rights themes can be found in relevant UN declarations and ILO conventions. We focus on violations that take place at the first two stages of the supply chain: i.e. at farm level, and the first processing stage. It is in these stages that most human rights risks materialise for different stakeholders and higher percentages of vulnerable workers are present, such as women, children, migrants, and minorities. This, together with the lack of inspection at those levels, increases the risk for violations.

How are the human rights risk scores calculated?

Using the example of child labour in Colombia, we explain how the scores are calculated.

Step 1. We calculate the national risk score for child labour in Colombia.

• For each risk theme, we start with the selection of relevant indicators.
• We benchmark each indicator so that they are all on the same scale from 0 (no risk) to 5 (very high risk).
• We decide on weights for each indicator based on a statistical factor analysis.

Step 2. We calculate the subnational risk scores. Each department receives their own score.

• We add indicators available at department level. This allows us to adjust the national score for differences between departments.

Step 3. We calculate a preliminary child labour risk score specifically for coffee and palm oil in Colombia.

• We use production quantities for palm oil and coffee per departments as weights, to calculate a new, weighted, national average per commodity.

Step 4. We determine the final national and subnational risk scores for coffee and palm oil through qualitative research.

• We conduct a standardised literature study to account for the production systems, cultivation methods, and workforce composition of a specific commodity.

Download full methodology

Would you like to delve into all the details? Download the full human rights risks methodology.(externe link)

Want the full picture? Download our infographic(externe link) for a clear overview of the human rights methodology.

An environmental risk is a harmful effect to the environment as a result of the cultivation and trade of an agri-commodity. For the national scores we rely on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which quantifies environmental impact in a standardised and commonly accepted manner, forming the basis of EU policy initiatives. 4 risk themes, climate change, eutrophication, acidification, ecotoxicity, and water use are assessed using the LCA approach. This is complemented with spatial analysis focusing on 3 risk themes (biodiversity, water stress, deforestation) for subnational risk scores.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

In this infographic(externe link), we explain how we define climate change risk scores for coffee in Colombia.

We use 4 sub-indicators of climate change to report the carbon footprint:

• Fossil
• Peat oxidation
• Land use and land use change
• Biogenic

Step 1. We define the goal and scope of the LCA.

• In this example, the functional unit is 1 tonne of coffee beans at the farm gate.

Step 2. We conduct a life cycle inventory.

• We quantify all environmental inputs and outputs associated with a product’s life cycle, in compliance with methods used in legislation (e.g. PEF, GHG protocol) or for emission reduction target setting (SBTi FLAG).

Step 3. We conduct a life cycle impact assessment.

• We translate environmental inputs and outputs into environmental impacts.

Step 4. We interpret the environmental impacts.

• We evaluate the environmental impacts to make sure they are well substantiated and allocate them into risk classes that represent whether there is high risk to have a large footprint.

Spatial analysis

In this infographic(externe link), we explain how we define deforestation risk scores for coffee in Colombia.

Step 1. We select theme-specific crop distribution of coffee data to overlay with the most current crop distribution of coffee.
Step 2. We convert, store, and combine all theme-specific information at 1x1 km globally.
Step 3. We summarise the overlapping area between the commodity distribution and theme-specific data for each zone (e.g., subregion of a country) to estimate the amount of land in each zone that is assigned to specific risk classes. We use thresholds to define the amount of land falling under each risk class. The thresholds are based on the share of the total harvests in deforested areas and the level of protection of the areas.
Step 4. We determine the final risk scores per region by looking at the weighted average of the share of land falling under each risk class.

Download full methodology

Would you like to delve into all the details? Download the full environmental risks methodology.(externe link)