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More needs to be done to cut supply chain deforestation

Written by: Supply Chain Online
Published on: 3 Nov 2016
Category:

DEFORESTATION NEWS

More needs to be done to cut supply chain deforestation

Many companies involved in agricultural commodities have pledged to reduce deforestation within their supply chains, but much more still needs to be done, according to a new report.

Launched in September 2014, the New York Declaration on Forests saw around 190 companies, governments, green groups, indigenous peoples' organisations and think tanks come together with the aim of eradicating deforestation from the private sector’s agricultural commodities supply chains by 2020.

The first report to examine how corporate sustainability pledges are being followed stated that 108 companies have pledged 212 new commitments since last December. A total of 415 businesses have now promised to take action.

The level of commitment to reducing deforestation varied across different commodities. Fifty-nine per cent of businesses that produce or source palm oil and 53 per cent of those in the wood and paper industry made commitments, but only 21 per cent of businesses involved in soy and 12 per cent of cattle producers pledged to cut back. These four commodities are responsible for 40 per cent of global deforestation.

While the pledges of businesses that have made commitments have been welcomed, the report found that fewer than half of the 630 assessed companies have put time-bound action plans into place. Robust monitoring systems are rare, and only 45 per cent of businesses are reporting on compliance with stated deforestation policies.

Marco Albani, Director of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, said that “there is still a lot to be done.”

He added: "More companies need to commit, and many more need to move much faster to operationalise those commitments."

The majority of the companies that made deforestation commitments are manufacturers and retailers, and 90 per cent of these are based in Australia, Europe and North America. The report suggested that consumers in these markets are more likely to apply pressure and said that processors, producers, companies and commodity traders based in developing countries have been slower in taking action.