Challenges and Opportunities for Conservation, Agricultural Production, and Social Inclusion in the Cerrado Biome An assessment developed for the Climate and Land Use Alliance by CEA Consulting Appendix C: Catalog of Corporate Commitments August 2016
Contents Overview of Corporate Commitments relating to the Cerrado... 3 Key multi-stakeholder initiatives... 3 Consumer Goods Forum (CGF)... 3 United Nations New York Declaration on Forests... 3 Norwegian Commitments on Sustainable Soy and Forests... 4 Key corporate commitments... 5 ADM... 5 McDonalds... 5 Unilever... 6 Cargill... 6 Bunge... 7
Overview of Corporate Commitments relating to the Cerrado Key multi-stakeholder initiatives In many cases, corporate efforts take the form of signing on to multi-stakeholder efforts such as those listed below. In other cases, corporations may rely on definitions put forward by such efforts in crafting their own unique commitments. Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) 1 The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is an industry organization with more than 400 corporations as members. CGF focuses on sustainability, food safety, health and wellness, end-to-end value chain and standards, and knowledge and best practice sharing. On sustainability, they work on issues ranging from sustainable soy and palm oil production to food waste and refrigeration. As a group, CGF has stated goal to achieve zero net deforestation by 2020, but it is not clear exactly what the obligations of its members are towards this goal. Year of commitment: 2010 Target: Achieve zero net deforestation by 2020 o CGF endorses the WWF definition of zero net deforestation, which requires that the net quantity, quality, and carbon density of forests be maintained. Furthermore, primary or natural forests cannot be converted into plantations. o In order to deliver on the commitment, the CGF members will work with suppliers of deforestation-free sources for commodities, support compliance with local conservation laws, work collaboratively across the supply chain, and help to raise awareness. o CGF members include Unilever, Cargill, Carrefour, and Walmart. United Nations New York Declaration on Forests 2 The United Nations New York Declaration on Forests is a non-legally binding political declaration that grew out of dialogue among governments, companies and civil society, spurred by the Secretary- General s Climate Summit. For the first time, world leaders endorsed a global timeline to cut natural forest loss in half by 2020 and to strive to end it by 2030. It also calls for restoring forests and croplands of an area larger than India. Year of commitment: 2014 Target: Cut natural forest loss in half by 2020, and strive to end it by 2030 o Focused on eliminating deforestation from production of palm oil, soy, paper, and beef products by no later than 2020. 1 The Consumer Goods Forum, The Consumer Goods Forum, accessed April, 2016, www.theconsumergoodsforum.com. 2 Forests: Action Statements and Action Plans (paper prepared for UN Climate Summit, New York, USA, September, 2014, http://bit.ly/1mq31vk).
o The declaration states an aim to restore 150 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2020 and to significantly increase the rate of global restoration thereafter, which would restore at least an additional 200 million hectares by 2030. o Signatories agree to work towards including forests in sustainable development goals and global climate agreements, rewarding countries and jurisdictions that reduce deforestation, and strengthening forest governance. o Corporate signatories include Cargill, Danone, McDonalds, Mondelez, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Walmart. Norwegian Commitments on Sustainable Soy and Forests 3 In October 2015, a collection of Norwegian feed and food companies released a set of commitments regarding the sourcing of sustainable soy. Having already signed the UN Declaration on Forests, these companies committed to additional, more specific sustainability criteria in their sourcing policies. Year of commitment: 2015 Target: Soy supplies originating from South America and any other rainforest country to be deforestation free as per reputable certification standards such as the ProTerra Certification. o The signatories will purchase from certified soy (e.g., ProTerra Certified soy, or other equally effective verification standards). o The companies will initiate talks to establish a Norwegian Round Table on Responsible Soy to support and strengthen the members work for deforestation free soy, and to reduce deforestation and further loss of High Conservation Value Areas. o In the spirit of transparency, the signatories will make public information about immediate suppliers and sourcing regions annually and will continue to pursue transparency and traceability on other fronts as well. o The signees will ensure public access to the Territorial Performance System (TPS) monitoring system developed by Earth Innovation Institute for the monitoring of deforestation and labor law infractions. o They will make the text of the commitment an addendum to all soy contracts. o The companies will work to advance zero-deforestation policy in multi-lateral dialogues. o The signatories are: Felleskjøpet Agri, Felleskjøpet Rogaland Agder, NORGESFÔR, Fiskå Mølle AS, Denofa AS 3 The Norwegian Commitments on Sustainable Soy and Forests, (October 14, 2015), http://bit.ly/1qccrvq.
Key corporate commitments The following section catalogues the deforestation commitments of a handful of major companies that source from the Cerrado. It captures their approach to deforestation in their supply chains as they relate to the Cerrado (e.g., with particular focus on beef and soy). Even the most progressive of these commitments only cover deforestation in high conservation value (HCV) or high carbon stock (HCS) lands, and thus may not apply to large sections of the Cerrado. ADM 4 According to a document released in March 2015 detailing ADM s no-deforestation commitments, ADM will audit their soy producers on sustainable practices and also work to not source soy from areas of high conservation priority; it is not clear whether the policy will apply to conversion of natural vegetation in the Cerrado. Year of commitment: 2015 Target: Supply chain does not contribute to deforestation or exploitation. o ADM pledged its commitment to the Brazil Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) embargo on illegal forest clearing as well as its commitment to Brazil s soy moratorium. o In March 2015, ADM launched its own Responsible Soy Standard on a pilot basis. In support of this standard, ADM will work with third-party inspectors to conduct annual inspections to assess growers on indicators such as labor practices, water and soil usage, solid waste management, observance of land rights, legal compliance, and the responsible use of fertilizers. o ADM also pledged a number of commitments toward no exploitation of people and local communities, including respect for land tenure and the right for communities to offer or withhold free, prior, and informed consent. o ADM will work with the Forest Trust to map their soybean supply chain against high carbon stock (HCS) forests, high conservation value (HCV) areas, and peatlands and try to protect these areas through sourcing policy. McDonalds 5 According to an April 2015 document, McDonald s will work to ensure that their supply chains don t contribute to deforestation in high conservation value and high carbon stock areas, and peatlands; their efforts will initially focus on beef, among other commodities. It is not clear how this policy will be enacted in the Cerrado: McDonald s promised to work with partners throughout the industry to determine appropriate criteria by which to evaluate program and monitoring systems needed for each product. Year began: 2015 4 Our Commitment to No-Deforestation, ADM, March, 2015, http://bit.ly/22jflzg. 5 Commitment on Deforestation, McDonald s, accessed April, 2016.
Target: Eliminate deforestation from our global supply chain. o McDonald s will not contribute to deforestation of primary forests, high carbon stock (HCS) forests, high conservation value (HCV) areas, and peatlands. o They are in the process of developing time-bound deforestation-free targets for priority products: beef, fiber-based packaging, coffee, palm oil and poultry. o Most of the details of monitoring, reporting, and verification remain to be determined. o The commitment does not call for full traceability. Unilever 6 Unilever is buyer of 3% of the world s palm oil (the largest single buyer) and 1% of its soy. They have committed to fully traceable and zero-net deforestation in palm oil and soy. They also engage through advocacy and partnerships, such as through the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 and Global Forest Watch. Year began: N/A Target: Achieve zero net deforestation associated with four commodities palm oil, soy, paper and board, and beef no later than 2020. o Unilever s commitment is focused on no net deforestation for soy by 2020, along with a fully sustainable and traceable supply chain. o They are working to embed no-deforestation policies in national and international policy. o The company participates in the Consumer Goods Forum and Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, and supports Global Forest Watch. Cargill 7 A signatory to the New York Declaration on Forests, Cargill aims to halve deforestation across their entire agricultural supply chain by 2020 and end it completely by 2030. As with a number of other companies, Cargill is focused on HCV, HCS, and peatlands, so it is not clear to what extent Cerrado-style savannas will be included. Cargill says that they will suspend suppliers that are confirmed to be in violation with their policy, and also that they will look beyond their own supply chain to support policy and multi-stakeholder approaches. Year began: 2015 Target: Eliminate deforestation across our entire agricultural supply chain. o Cargill will work to promote long-term solutions to forest conservation of primary forests, high carbon stock (HCS) forests, high conservation value (HCV) areas, and peatlands. o They will work with governments to strengthen existing forest laws and enforcement. o The company will do more than just avoid deforestation in their supply chains: it will also work to align capital investment, work with governments, customers, industry, and 6 Eliminating deforestation, Unilever, accessed April, 2016, http://bit.ly/23hwqja. 7 Deforestation, Cargill, accessed April, 2016, www.cargill.com/news/issues/deforestation.
o civil society to establish and implement sound land use policy, and will support multistakeholder approaches to land use planning and promotion of agricultural best management practices. In 2016, Cargill will establish key performance indicators to measure their progress. They will also form an advisory council composed of independent third-party stakeholders. Bunge 8 Bunge has committed to sourcing deforestation and peat-free palm oil, but has no known commitments around the Cerrado s main commodities. 8 Commitment to Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains, Bunge, accessed April, 2016, www.bunge.com/citizenship/sustainable.