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Search On 5th May 2022, The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Director of Sustainability, Didier Bergeret, joined a panel discussion in the second session of a four-part roundtable series on deforestation-free global value chains, hosted by ITC, the International Trade Centre. In his capacity as director of the CGF’s Forest Positive Coalition of Action, Didier joined the roundtable, entitled “Industry Responses to Deforestation: Methodologies & Approaches Implemented in Global Value Chains”, to share the Coalition’s strategy, actions, and progress.
Reflecting on the Coalition’s progress in the past two years and its plans for future action, Didier shared some key advice for the consumer goods industry, including:
- Collective cross-sector action is key to driving meaningful progress.
- Businesses need to embed the “forest positive mindset” into the DNA of their companies, across departments.
- Involving procurement teams in the forest positive agenda is critical to work constructively with suppliers and traders.
- Businesses must look beyond their individual supply chains to drive sustainability in key production landscapes.
- Certifications remain helpful tools in creating a forest positive future, but are not the only solution.
A detailed summary of the discussion is available here.
Didier was joined by fellow colleagues in the forest positive space: Mathieu Lamolle, Senior Advisor Sustainability Standards & Value Chains, International Trade Centre (ITC); Matthew Spencer, Global Director Landscapes, IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative; Róisín Mortimer, Private Sector Engagement Lead, Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum; Ana Yaluff, Sustainability Manager EMEAI, ADM Germany; and Ethan Budiansky, Senior Director of Environment, World Cocoa Foundation. The roundtable was moderated by Adrian Greet, Director & Owner – A. Greet Co. Limited, Senior Advisor – Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Didier was pleased to particularly reconnect with Matthew Spencer, IDH, with whom he co-authored an editorial earlier this year about the importance of corporate action in production landscapes; as well as with Roisin Mortimer, Private Sector Engagement Lead at the Tropical Forest Alliance, the Coalition’s strategic and technical partner.
The CGF and the Forest Positive Coalition thank the ITC for the opportunity to participate in this roundtable and contribute to the important dialogue around building a forest positive future.
The Forest Positive Coalition was formed in 2020 by The Consumer Goods Forum and brings together 21 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers, with a combined market value of around US $2 trillion, to take collective action to remove deforestation, forest conversion and degradation from key commodity supply chains. For more information about the Coalition’s actions to create a forest positive future, visit the Coalition’s website.
