SIM Team Expanded

SIM is pleased to announce that Steven Ripley has joined the SIM team as Director, Investor Engagement.

Steven joins SIM from Tesco, where his relentless drive was key to establishing the Cerrado Programme 1 pilot programme, and in bringing the other retail investors onboard. 

Steven Ripley

“We’re thrilled Steven is joining our team. His passion and commitment to the RCF over the last few years whilst at Tesco has been instrumental in the success of the first Cerrado programme, and in establishing the model for retailer investment. The next few years will see the facility grow rapidly and we’re grateful to have Steven onboard to drive it forward.” Pedro Moura Costa, SIM UK CEO.

“It’s rare to encounter genuinely disruptive business models which can simultaneously create value for forests, make money for investors, be financially self-sustaining and infinitely scalable. RCF has all these characteristics and after 20 years working in forests and commodities, I’m convinced it will be a game changer. I couldn’t be more motivated to make it succeed.” said Steven.

Steven has spent his entire professional career (20+ years) working towards creating value for forests. He’s held positions with the United Nations, Global Canopy, IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative and Tesco, as well as a decade working for software firms developing commodity traceability systems. Career highlights include establishing the first fully traceable palm oil mill, (including smallholders), for Wilmar in Borneo, establishing forests as a central component of corporate reporting with CDP, and of course, getting the RCF up and running with the help of colleagues and friends at Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose. Steven holds a Masters in International Environmental Law and a Bachelors in Environmental Science.  

If you’re interested in RCF and want to know more about how you can support it, please write to Steven at: steven.ripley@sim.finance

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SIM Team Expanded

SIM is pleased to announce that Steven Ripley has joined the SIM team as Director, Investor Engagement. Steven joins SIM

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Eligibility Criteria for Cerrado Programme 1

The following eligibility criteria are required for participation in the Responsible Commodities Facility for Cerrado Programme 1:

Land use

The area of cultivation must not have had any deforestation and conversion of native vegetation since 1 Jan 2020. Preference will be given to areas converted from abandoned pasture land to soy cultivation after 2008.

Forest Code Compliance

Farm land must be registered with the Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR) and be in full compliance with the Legal Reserve and APP requirements of the Code. The farm area must not overlap with public protected areas, indigenous lands and other traditional people and community lands (including ‘quilombolas territories’).

Land title

Farmers must have unquestionable right to use the land, be it as land title, land lease agreement, or another legally recognised form of land tenure (e.g., ‘posse’)

Legal Compliance

Farmers must demonstrate that they and their farms do not contravene any environmental or legal requirements, such as embargoes, environmental irregularities, contraventions of the labour legislation (including slave and child labour), non-compliance with the Soy Moratorium (if applicable), and internationally-accepted rules for the use of agrochemicals.