A report by the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFi) and CDP, a global nonprofit, revealed that while achieving deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains is possible, it remains uncommon worldwide. The report, “Time for Transparency: Deforestation- and Conversion-Free Supply Chains,” unveiled on Tuesday, provides the first clear and quantitative assessment of how well major companies have succeeded in eliminating deforestation from their supply chains.
The CDP forests questionnaire tracked company performance in eliminating deforestation from agricultural and forestry supply chains, with 1,152 companies disclosing data between April and September 2023. The report, compiled from these disclosures, examines progress indicators toward achieving deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains.
According to the disclosures, 64 companies reported having at least one deforestation- and conversion-free commodity supply chain. These companies identified a total of 66 agricultural and forestry supply chains as free from deforestation or the conversion of other ecosystems. These included 31 timber product supply chains, 15 for palm oil, 9 for soy, 6 for cattle products, 3 for cocoa, 1 for coffee, and 1 for rubber.
In total, 881 companies disclosed information on at least one commodity supply chain, resulting in 1,498 commodity-specific disclosures across seven high-risk commodities. About half of these companies (445) reported progress towards deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains. However, only 186 companies provided clear and appropriate information to substantiate their claims.
“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,” said Leah Samberg, Lead Scientist at AFi. She added, “These new data demonstrate that companies need to invest in effective monitoring and control systems to address deforestation and conversion associated with their operations and suppliers, but few are doing so.”
Tomasz Sawicki, Head of Land at CDP, said, “We recognise that many companies were transparent about the extent to which their supply chains are free from deforestation and conversion. But the latest analysis shows that the majority of companies are still far from achieving deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains by 2025, which is the immediate target.”
The report highlighted several issues undermining the reliability of the information disclosed by companies, such as reliance on certification programs and risk assessments that cannot guarantee commodities are deforestation-free. Additionally, some disclosures lacked crucial information about company activities, products, regions, or suppliers. “Companies need to provide stronger evidence to support claims that their commodity supply chains are free of deforestation and conversion,” Sawicki said.
