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Search Meanwhile as the CGF, our objective has been to encourage and inspire all of our members (large and small) to take action and implement the commitment within their respective supply chains. We work hard to support those companies that seek early adoption and we encourage our members to achieve the strictest standards of verification.
PARIS, 10th December 2013
In December 2010, our Board of Directors agreed on behalf of its membership a resolution to mobilise resources within their respective businesses to help achieve zero net deforestation by 2020. This commitment was applauded by NGOs, governments and other partners.
More than 70% of the 50 companies, which make up the Board of the CGF and for whom this is relevant, have time bound public targets on deforestation (and more than 80% have public commitments on palm oil). We know, from their public statements, that some of the largest of these companies which account for the bulk of the volumes have made impressive strides towards the goal.
When we announced the commitment, we clearly acknowledged that we could only accomplish our target by working in partnership with governments, development banks and NGOs. We have made good progress in this area.
We have taken a number of steps, including:
- Tropical Forest Alliance 2020: In June 2012, in Rio, together with the US Government, we founded the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, a public-private partnership in which partners take voluntary actions to reduce the tropical deforestation associated with the sourcing of commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, paper & pulp. Its partners now include governments in the UK, Norway and the Netherlands and several NGOs. A workshop in Jakarta was held in June 2013 to identify challenges and implementable solutions related to removing deforestation and rights violations from the palm oil and pulp & paper value chains while increasing production.
- Sourcing guidelines: During the Jakarta workshop, we launched a set of guidelines for the sustainable sourcing of paper, pulp and packaging. The Guidelines were built on company sourcing practices and several NGOs and suppliers were engaged in the development.
- Activation Toolkit: In February 2013, we published the Sustainability Activation Toolkit. This “how-to” guide provides advice on how to implement the resolution and contains all the necessary information on the rationale for addressing each topic, what steps to follow, reference documents, useful contacts and, importantly, how to measure progress.
- White House Meeting: On 4th December 2013, several CGF Board members and NGO representatives met with US officials at the White House to update the Administration on the progress we are making to tackle two of the biggest greenhouse gas impacts: those on deforestation and the emission of HFC gases; and to explore whether there are additional synergies between our work and the US Government’s strategy to combat climate change.
We acknowledge the importance of transparency, measuring and reporting progress. We are engaging with our members to inspire action for implementation
With this overview of our progress since the launch of the resolution in December 2010, we hope that we have answered your concerns. We have accomplished a lot since we issued our resolution to move the industry towards the self-set target while we acknowledge that there is still a lot to do, and we are committed to sustain the effort.
We welcome the opportunity to meet with Greenpeace, at your convenience, for further discussions on our achievements and next steps.
Sabine Ritter, EVP and responsible for the CGF Sustainability Initiative, (s.ritter@theconsumergoodsforum.com), remains fully available should you have any questions and/or for further dialogue. Please share with us the contact details of the person at Greenpeace we should engage with.
Sincerely yours,
Kenneth Bengtsson
Interim Managing Director
The Consumer Goods Forum
