The Global Shea Alliance (GSA) engaged Partner Africa to undertake a robust review of its Sustainability Program and develop recommendations to ensure the program remains relevant, proactive, and effective in addressing the dynamic challenges and opportunities of the shea sector, while safeguarding its long-term viability. The assignment specifically included a comprehensive review of the program to:
Establish new principles, criteria, and work streams within the GSA Sustainability Program as deemed necessary.
The GSA is an over 800-member strong non-profit industry association including women’s groups, brands and retailers, suppliers, NGOs, producer national associations and affiliates. It was established in 2011 with the aim of building a more competitive, sustainable and profitable shea industry; promoting industry sustainability, quality practices and standards; and promoting demand for shea in food and personal care. The Sustainability Program was established in 2014 to promote sustainability within the shea sector, support continued growth and secure the supply of shea by identifying industry-wide challenges and implementing solutions via stakeholder engagement and collaborative projects. The GSA commits to routinely updating its principles, guidelines and workstream to ensure the Sustainability Program continually improves and meets industry needs.
Partner Africa conducted desktop research and stakeholder engagement to map out key material issues for addressing sustainability within the shea industry. As part of this, Partner Africa reviewed reports from five GSA (public-private funded) projects in order to determine their performance, achievements and impact, particularly in relation to drawing out lessons learnt for ensuring the promotion of sustainable practices across the shea sector. It also benchmarked the GSA Sustainability Program against five other standards chosen by the GSA Secretariat (World Cocoa Foundation, Sustainable Coconut Partnership, Better Cotton Initiative, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, and Bonsucro). These were selected as they all cover agricultural commodities most relevant to the shea sector (cocoa, coconut, cotton, palm oil and sugar cane) and work towards the promotion of sustainable practices.
To gather feedback on key environmental, social, governance and policy issues, Partner Africa designed a survey and interviews to engage stakeholders throughout the shea value chain. This included a survey and interview question set for GSA members to answer through a survey link or through virtual interviews and focus-group discussions. The interviews covered questions on signals and trends, the material issues in the shea sector in reference to ESG, sustainability risks and sustainability opportunities and future ideas. This gave interviewees the opportunity to communicate what they felt was important for the shea sector to be sustainable for upstream producers and their environment. To gain further insight, GSA Secretariat conducted in-person interviews with shea collectors’ groups in Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Benin. There were a total of 90 interviewees across 15 countries.
Based on findings from the project review, benchmarking, and interviews, Partner Africa developed an ESG+P Materiality Matrix – a document listing out all Environmental, Social, Governance and Policy issues potentially relevant in the shea sector and for the GSA Sustainability Program, identified through desk-based research, projects’ analyses, benchmarking, survey, and interviews. The Matrix is based on “consolidated GSA stakeholder importance” and “impact on industry sustainability performance”, i.e., the value that GSA stakeholders assign to an ESG+P issue, and the impact of that issue on the shea industry sustainability performance.
ESG&P Materiality Matrix & Summary of Findings
Based on the findings, Partner Africa suggested refreshing overall approaches to emphasise the interconnectedness of environmental and social issues, and changes to the Sustainability Program’s governance structure to ensure sustainability is integrated across the whole functioning of the organisation. Partner Africa also developed a set of recommendations grouped into two categories:
1. Strategic Recommendations
2. Issue-Specific Recommendations
Findings and recommendations were presented to the GSA Sustainability Working Group. Based on their feedback, Partner Africa worked on a new draft set of implementation principles and criteria covering environmental, social and cross-cutting issues. Partner Africa also provided recommendations on potential workstreams and an MEL framework for the Sustainability Program. These will be integrated into the new program following a public consultation via comment period, currently underway.
Comment from GSA:
The GSA Sustainability Program has always been, at its core, a member-led initiative. It is powered by the collective expertise and volunteerism of our Sustainability Working Group, a multi-stakeholder body with representation from women’s groups, brands and retailers, suppliers, NGOs and National Associations – under the guidance of the Executive Committee. This program reflects our members’ shared vision that the future of the shea sector must be sustainable, inclusive, and resilient.
The decision to revise and strengthen the Sustainability Program was a direct and strategic response to our members’ call for action in the face of shifting social, economic, and environmental realities. The shea sector is evolving, and with it comes an urgent need for a uniform, collective approach, one that ensures we remain ahead of the curve in addressing global challenges and opportunities, from climate change to market access, from gender inclusion to supply chain integrity.
Through this revision process, members reaffirmed that sustainability cannot be left to isolated projects. It must be proactively embedded across our entire industry – from upstream to downstream, from farm to shelves. The updated program therefore represents a unified, member-driven roadmap, built from research, benchmarking, and the insights from 90+ stakeholders across 15 countries, to guide the sector in tackling complex issues collaboratively.
This approach strengthens the role of the Sustainability Program as a platform for collective impact: aligning members behind clear principles and criteria, enabling joint action on critical issues such as effective resource management, sustainable livelihoods, and human rights, and ensuring that the GSA remains proactive rather than reactive.
Above all, this revised program embodies the conviction that the industry’s success depends on the shared commitment of its members to protect parklands, elevate communities, and grow a resilient shea economy. It is not just a program. It is our common voice and action plan for a stronger, more resilient shea sector.
[Images courtesy of www.globalshea.com]