The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition has today published a Framework to proactively monitor and address deforestation and peat non-compliances linked to palm oil supply chains. The Coalition has consulted extensively in developing this Framework with actors from across the palm oil value chain, including CSOs as well as the World Resources Institute (WRI) and deforestation monitoring service providers Earthqualizer, Satelligence and Starling.
In line with its Theory of Change, the Coalition aims to create a more efficient and effective approach for dealing with alerts that may indicate non-compliance with members’ No Deforestation or Peat Development (NDP) commitments, to drive better environmental outcomes. The Framework contains two sections: (1) a Guidance on “Minimum Requirements” for Monitoring, to improve consistency and flow of information and (2) Response Framework to drive efficient and effective responses to deforestation and peat alerts by clarifying roles and responsibilities across the supply chain. Hence this Framework is referred to as a “Deforestation Monitoring and Response Framework.”
Like the Coalition’s other publications, the Framework will be a living document, subject to updates that reflect Coalition member experiences, feedback from traders, refiners and others in the value chain, civil society insights, and Coalition-specific work streams that seek to build on the momentum of this initial draft to further improve how non-compliances are addressed. Additionally, advancing on the Coalition’s Theory of Change and transparency objectives, Coalition members will report publicly against Key Performance Indicators relating to monitoring and response, which will be added to Element 3 of the Palm Oil Roadmap in the coming weeks. The Coalition invites businesses and stakeholders, both within the Coalition and beyond in the broader value and supply chain, to use this Framework as technical guidance in both individual and collective efforts to build a forest positive future for the palm oil industry. The Coalition has been supported by its technical and strategic partner, Proforest, in the development of the Framework and will work together as members implement it.
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 and read the Coalition’s 2021 Annual Report here.