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Search The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition has today released two documents that can aid companies in their efforts to become forest positive businesses. The “Guidance for Forest Positive Soy Suppliers and Traders” is a document detailing how soy suppliers and traders can adopt and implement deforestation- and conversion-free commitments across their entire soy businesses, while the “Guidance for Forest Positive Palm Oil Suppliers (Own Brand Manufacturers)” details how own brand manufacturers supplying to retailers can implement this across their palm oil supply chain.
Both documents outline a list of clear proposed requirements, known as the Coalition’s “Forest Positive Approach”, which make up these commitments. The five basic requirements of the Forest Positive Approach are for businesses to have:
- Public commitment to ‘deforestation- and conversion-free’ across entire commodity business including a public time-bound action plan with clear milestones
- Process for regular supplier engagement
- Mechanism to identify and to respond to non-compliances/grievances
- Support initiatives delivering forest positive development at landscape and sectoral level
- Regular public reporting against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Notably, the Forest Positive Approach has been developed by Coalition members in consultation with supply chain partners and key civil society stakeholders; additionally, Coalition members themselves are also committed to implementing this Approach in their own supply chains. The Approach in the guidance documents will also be embedded in the CGF Soy Sourcing Guidelines and Palm Oil Sourcing Guidelines respectively, both of which are currently under review.
Businesses are invited to use these Guidances to inform their engagement with their large soy suppliers and traders, and their palm oil suppliers (starting with own brand manufacturers), and to also measure and assess their performance. Additional “Guidance for Forest Positive Suppliers and Traders” of other Coalition’s key commodities will also be published.
Furthermore, as part of the Coalition’s engagement with palm oil suppliers, further work will be undertaken next year to collaborate with suppliers through the Palm Oil Collaboration Group and with other key platforms to align on a standard supplier information (proposed core requirements and questions), a step towards more efficiency in pursuing forest positive goals across the palm oil supply chain.
The Coalition has been supported by its technical partner Proforest in the development of the Forest Positive Approach and Guidance documents.
Engagement with suppliers and traders is one of the areas of focus of the Forest Positive Coalition’s Commodity Roadmaps, and it is complementary to the management of members’ own supply chains and engagement in regions and landscapes.
For more information about the Forest Positive Coalition and how it is collaborating with supply chain actors, stakeholders, governments and production landscape partners to help build forest positive soy and palm oil sectors, visit the Coalition’s website.
