CGF Forest Positive Coalition Publishes Paper, Pulp and Fibre-based Packaging Commodity Roadmap

PPP supply chains are well on the way to implement systems and solutions to combat deforestation in the areas where wood-based raw materials are sourced. However, the Coalition recognizes the need to push for more solutions that include tackling forest deforestation, conversion and degradation and improved management of forests, working to ensure all stakeholders with an interest in the forest are involved in its management. 

With technical support from Proforest and the Tropical Forest Alliance, Coalition members have aligned on a direction of travel to make changes within their own supply chains, work with governments and stakeholders to build enabling environments for sustainable forest management, and fundamentally, engage with actors in their supply chains to encourage not just a forest positive supply of PPP, but also transformation towards forest positive suppliers.

The Roadmap outlines the steps the Coalition will take in the next two to three years in five areas focusing on their own supply chain, supplier engagement, addressing high-priority origins, engagement in landscapes and regions, and transparency and accountability.

Key actions that will be undertaken as part of the Roadmap include:

• Have a forest positive PPP sourcing policy and a timebound action plan for implementation in place in line with the updated CGF PPP Sourcing Guidelines
• Engaging with certification schemes on (a) increased transparency and traceability to country of harvest and to finer spatial units when appropriate for certified material; (b) working towards resolving any specific issues (e.g. policy and implementation; country-specific issues); (c) collaborating to increase the area of production forest that is certified (d) smallholder inclusion
• Build a shared understanding among Coalition members of countries which are high priority for engagement, including priority issues in the different countries/regions, building on the existing CGF Sourcing Guidelines further informed by discussion with relevant external stakeholders (e.g. FSC, PEFC, CDP, AFi, local stakeholders) and experience of member companies
• Build and actively support collective initiatives to share good practice on sustainable forest management among Coalition members and across the wider sector, including a toolbox with methods/tools that could be used in different landscapes/regions
• Report publicly at least annually, and more frequently where agreed, on all the KPIs agreed by the Coalition 

The published Roadmap follows a stakeholder consultation process, in which stakeholder organisations from around the world provided valuable inputs. Version 0 of the PPP Roadmap was published on the CGF website and the Coalition’s Evergreen platform in December 2020 for increased stakeholder input. Stakeholder engagement and consultation is essential to the success of the Coalition’s strategy and actions, as the Coalition strongly believes that stopping commodity-driven deforestation can only be achieved through collaboration and not by one single company, government or organisation working alone. Furthermore, this consultation will continue to inform regular updates to the Roadmap.

The Forest Positive Coalition was formed in 2020 by The Consumer Goods Forum and brings together 20 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.