Thriving forests 101: understand the landscape

Understand the external landscape

The list below is by no means comprehensive, but gives a few external organizations to start with for a flavor of the work that is going on in the deforestation space. For a company just starting out, these resources could be a good way to get help, get educated and get connected with experts in this field.

Global Forest Watch

Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an online platform that provides data and tools for monitoring forests. By harnessing cutting-edge technology, GFW allows anyone to access near real-time information about where and how forests are changing around the world.

Consumer Goods Forum

CGF brings consumer goods retailers and manufacturers together globally, we are a CEO-led organisation that helps the world’s retailers and consumer goods manufacturers to collaborate, alongside other key stakeholders, to secure consumer trust and drive positive change, including greater efficiency. In 2010, CGF approved a resolution to achieve zero net deforestation by 2020. We aim to achieve this through the responsible sourcing of these key commodities — soy, palm oil, paper and pulp and cattle — so that the sourcing of these key commodities will not deplete tropical rainforests.

Tropical Forest Alliance 2020

Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 is the global umbrella partnership that brings together governments, private sector and civil society to remove deforestation from palm oil, beef, soy and pulp and paper.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF+Business)

Environmental Defense Fund, a leading international non-profit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF+Business links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WWF’s mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.

Conservation International (CI)

By merging business expertise and global field presence with innovations in science and finance, Conservation International collaborates with companies and producers to evaluate their policies and practices and implement solutions that are good for nature, people and business.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC)

From historic work in land acquisition to cutting-edge research that influences global policy, The Nature Conservancy is constantly adapting to take on our planet’s biggest, most important challenges. Their vision is a world where the diversity of life thrives, and people act to conserve nature for its own sake and its ability to fulfill our needs and enrich our lives.

Ceres

This case studies series examines the potential business risks for companies that source commodities from areas with deforestation. The series spotlights three companies (IOI Corporation, JBS and United Cacao) and summarizes the business risks and negative financial consequences that the three companies faced.

Zero Deforestation Cattle

The site, developed collaboratively between National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Gibbs Land Use and Environmental Lab (GLUE),  aims to showcase how supply chain initiatives are supporting effective solutions for verified zero deforestation beef, leather, and tallow production in the Brazilian Amazon. The site also highlights ways for supply chain actors to support continuous improvement and ensure that cattle products sourced from this region do not contribute to the loss of tropical forests. This website is intended to be a resource for procurement and sustainability professionals, and will continue to evolve as new research, data and analysis becomes available.

Accountability Framework

The Accountability Framework initiative is a collaborative effort to establish common definitions, norms and good practices for delivering on companies’ ethical supply chain commitments.

The Framework will fill in vital detail that is missing from high‐level pledges, while helping to align a multitude of other efforts to implement commitments, foster transparency, and track progress. The Framework was developed by a coalition of leading environmental and social NGOs in consultation with private companies, government, and other stakeholders.

New York Declaration on Forests

The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) is a voluntary and non-binding international declaration to take action to halt global deforestation. It was first endorsed at the United Nations Climate Summit in September 2014, and by October 2017 the NYDF supporters grew to include over 191 endorsers: 40 governments, 20 sub-national governments, 57 multi-national companies, 16 groups representing indigenous communities, and 58 non-government organizations.