Just 64 businesses have achieved at least one deforestation– and conversion-free commodity supply chain, new data from the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) and CDP has found.
This is out of 881 companies that have disclosed through CDP on at least one commodity supply chain, equating to a total of 1,498 commodity-specific disclosures across seven high-risk commodities.
In their report, Time for Transparency: Deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains, the AFi and CDP examined hundreds of company disclosures, examining the extent to which businesses, including major food, agriculture and consumer goods companies, have been able to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains.
Eliminating deforestation
“Companies must eliminate deforestation and conversion from their supply chains to meet near-term climate and nature targets, as well as to comply with emerging laws like the EU Deforestation Regulation,” commented Leah Samberg, lead scientist, AFi, adding that the data demonstrates “that companies need to invest in effective monitoring and control systems to address deforestation and conversion associated with their operations and suppliers, however few are doing so.”
The 64 companies reported a total of 66 agricultural and forestry supply chains as free from deforestation or conversion of other ecosystems. This includes 31 for timber products, 15 for palm oil, 9 for soy, 6 for cattle products, 3 for cocoa, 1 for coffee, and 1 for rubber.
About half of the companies (445) disclosed their progress on being deforestation- and conversion-free. However, only 186 companies provided clear and appropriate information to support their claims.
Several issues undermined the reliability of the disclosed information, such as reliance on certification programs and risk assessments that cannot guarantee commodities are deforestation-free. Additionally, some disclosures lacked important details on company activities, products, regions, or suppliers.
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Transparency
“We recognise that many companies were transparent about the extent to which their supply chains are free from deforestation and conversion,” added Tomasz Sawicki, Head of Land, CDP. “The latest analysis tells us that the majority of companies remain far from achieving deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains by 2025, which is the immediate target.”
The report calls on companies that produce or source agricultural or forestry commodities to publicly communicate their intentions to achieve deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains, and to share these intentions with their suppliers. It can be found here.
✨ NEW REPORT | We’re launching the Time for Transparency: Deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains report with CDP.
— Accountability Framework initiative (@AcctFramework) May 21, 2024
See the status of corporate disclosure on agricultural and forestry commodity supply chains.
Read the report 👇 https://t.co/A6Pv1Ko782 pic.twitter.com/gVqDMHotIH
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