05 Jun 2025

Project

Enabling better application of risk-based approaches through an enhanced digital ecosystem

Preferred by Nature has extensive experience in risk-based approaches to responsible sourcing, including via certification (how certification systems rely on risk-based approaches and how due diligence systems rely on certification to mitigate risks). Risk-based approaches heavily depend on credible risk assessments and a clear understanding of certification schemes through benchmarks.

Challenges

Preferred By Nature has accumulated an extensive collection of structured, systematic data on certification schemes and sustainability risks in production countries. However, much of this data is not currently organised in an optimal digital format, allowing for comprehensive analysis.
The development and update of such data is still heavily resource-intensive, which calls for exploring digital options to facilitate and gain efficiencies in data development.
Access and appropriate use of the data can also be better tailored to users' digital practices and environments.

Beneficiaries

Sustainability certification schemes
Competent authorities responsible for due diligence enforcement
Civil society
Private sector

Objectives

This project aims to unify, organise and digitise all relevant data, such as risk assessments and benchmarks. This will improve Preferred by Nature’s ability to share risk and benchmark data with stakeholders, find ways to generate and aggregate data more efficiently, and explore data integration with other platforms.

Developing a metadata standard for our sustainability risk data that will provide a solid and documented foundation for building appropriate digital tools to generate, maintain, and share our structured datasets.
Testing the use of AI to generate risk data, using a scraping and automating approach.
Exploring data integration with external traceability and due diligence platforms that may incorporate our risk and certification data in their systems.