Maps and Indices

With over 160+ risk indices and interactive maps, Maplecroft analyses the most pressing issues impacting the agro-commodities sector down to site specific levels. Indices and maps include: climate change vulnerability; natural hazards; water stress; food security; corruption; legal and regulatory risks; political risks; poverty and development; and reputational threats arising from complicity with labour rights and human rights violations in the supply chain.

Maplecroft’s indices and interactive maps are available individually or can be accessed through seven thematic risk atlases, which aggregate key issues.

Atlases

Maplecroft’s Atlases are updated annually and provide maps, indices and scorecards for up to 197 countries, as well as analysis of the key issues, methodologies and data sources.

Reports and analysis

Maplecroft’s briefings and in-depth reports help organisations in the agro-commodities sector to monitor and manage a wide variety of operational and reputational risks. These empower firms to understand the full spectrum of extra-financial risks associated with investing in, or sourcing from, a country or sub-national region.

Maplecroft monitoring and reporting system

• Baseline in-depth reports (25+ pages): Produced at the outset of the year or at an agreed alternate annual date to provide substantive background analysis and due diligence review of key issues and risks (the governance framework; political risk and violence; the economy; the regulatory and business environment; human rights and society; and natural hazards, environment and climate change). In addition the reports integrate GIS derived, sub-national maps and provide stakeholder viewpoints on risk and key recent events.
• Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly Monitors (1 page scorecards for key watch countries): Offering quantitative country risk scores and trends of increasing, unchanged or decreasing risk across key risk areas and qualitative analysis of significant recent events and outlooks across the core risk areas. Developed to focus on issues driving changes to risk scores and our forecast for the next quarter including implications for sectors.
• Trigger briefings (2-4 pages): Concise analysis and forecasts that are activated when the risk within a country changes significantly, as shown in the monitor. These focus on the issues driving changes to risk scores and the implications for business.
• In-depth update reports or tailored specific reports (25+ pages): Produced when more in-depth analysis is required on the back of the trigger briefing and pertaining to sectors or business specific

Issue specific reports

• Commodity–specific reports: These assess the key risks associated with producing or purchasing specific agro-commodities or products from a country or a range of countries, including appropriate analysis of key suppliers and producers. For example, such reports have covered palm-oil in key West African producers.
• Supply chain integrity briefings: These analyse operational and reputational risks to companies sourcing from or outsourcing to key countries. Topics covered include: labour rights and protection, environmental protections and anti-corruption compliance.
• Reports on key emerging producers (countries and companies): These analyse a range of risks facing comapnies (traders, intermediaries and providers) working in a variety of agricultural sub-sectors in emerging and potentially high-risk countries. This includes mapping and analysis of key-landowners and stakeholders and analysis of company performance.
• Company reports: Maplecroft’s in-depth bespoke company reports provide vital insights into a company’s environmental, social, governance (ESG) risk exposures and management proficiency. These empower clients to conduct remote due diligence of existing and potential entities in their supply chain, joint venture partners or possible acquisition targets.

Other issue specific products include: labour standards reports, corruption risk briefings, election monitors and quarterly monitors for political risk and human rights.

Interactive Tools

Custom country / sovereign risk calculators enable agro-commodities companies to select and compare risk indices to create scorecards that quantify risk for all countries. The Interactive dashboard also allows them to combine their own compliance and country risk data with Maplecroft’s indices in a central repository where they can create bespoke indices, maps and risk scorecards using a proprietary online interface.

Maplecroft’s products are available for all countries and issues and can be tailored to client specifications. For more details visit Maplecroft’s Global Risks Portfolio.

Services

Custom indices and commodity scoring

Maplecroft’s commodity adjusted indices assess key environmental and social risks associated with a specific agro-commodity or produce up to point of purchase. Indices have also been developed to align with IFC Performance Standards, for instance on environmental protection, child labour, and biodiversity.

Ethical supply chain services and risk calculator

Maplecroft’s supply chain management tools and services allow companies to comprehensively assess their supply chain risk across all countries and industries, from a national and subnational level down to individual suppliers.

Key tools and services include:

1. Ability to weight different indices according to client’s priorities (e.g. human rights, child labour, and corruption) and produce custom risk assessments that reflects corporate codes of conduct, etc.
2. Pre-screening or risk assessment that leverages Maplecroft issue, country, sector, product and commodity risk data along with a client’s own knowledge of strategic significance and spend etc. for each supplier
3. A self-assessment questionnaire completed by suppliers / producers that helps firms to gain a company-level risk assessment
4. An in-depth and targeted audit of suppliers flagged as high risk during the previous two stages. Maplecroft can design audit protocols or assist / support your own employees as they evaluate suppliers
5. Training resources (slides, maps, brochures) as well as in-company workshops with your buying and responsible sourcing teams

Mapping platforms for strategic sourcing

These online tools enable users to upload and visualise company and supplier locations within our existing interactive maps. Detailed information can be aligned with the coordinates, e.g. name, crop, attribute e.g. Fairtrade, UTZ, F2F indicators, etc. Our maps and customised risk scorecards for supplier are used to inform and evaluate strategic sourcing decisions.

To assist agro-commodities firms, risk assessments and indices have been aligned with IFC Performance Standards and can incorporate other international standards and guidelines.