Blogs
Below is a selection of blogs published by SCTN members, which address our key topics, or provide news and updates about the SCTN itself (linked to external sites). We welcome contributions from all network members. - please get in touch.
Unsustainable natural rubber poses major threat to wildlife and people
Eszter Wainwright-Déri, ZSL SPOTT
World-first analysis of natural rubber producers by ZSL’s SPOTT reveals transparency issues across sector.
Tropical forestry sector failing to assess impacts of climate crisis
Eszter Wainwright-Déri and Caroline Sourzac-Lami, ZSL SPOTT
SPOTT's 2019 timber and pulp assessments find forestry companies posing risk to sector and investors with only 6% assessing climate risks
EU must embrace transparency to meet deforestation goals
Helen Burley, Trase
Will the EU bite the bullet and take the action needed to reduce the impact of the EU’s 28 Member States on tropical forests around the world?
New commitments for Brazil’s Cerrado?
Helen Burley, Forest 500
Cargill has announced a new soy policy for South America and a group of traders have signed up to a new monitoring initiative, but are these commitments enough to protect the Cerrado?
The countdown to 2020
Helen Burley, Global Canopy
The countdown to the 2020 deadline for delivering zero deforestation is underway - and all Forest 500 companies need to act.
Photo: Cara Courage via flickr.com
Transparency tools in commodity supply chains: how do they compare?
Joyce Lam, ZSL SPOTT
With growing interest in responsible commodity production, tools to score, compare and track company progress are proliferating.
To step up action on deforestation, the European Union needs to regulate
Guest blog from Nicole Polsterer, Fern
On December 18 2018, in a long anticipated move, the European Commission published a roadmap announcing plans to “step up European Action against Deforestation and Forest Degradation”. The document foresees a new Communication in the second quarter of 2019 and a consultation is open for submissions until February 25.
5 great developments towards deforestation-free supply chains
Niels Wielaard, Satelligence
As 2019 comes to a close and 2020 is closing in fast, Satelligence reflects on the progress we see towards reaching 2020 zero deforestation targets and the complexity of the challenge.
Eight lessons for working with data
Denis Alder, Global Canopy
Working with data — as many members of the Supply Chain Transparency Network do — can be challenging. Global Canopy’s Denis Alder explains how to avoid some of the headaches of working with data.
FACING UP TO THE RISKS OF ILLEGALITY IN YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
Helen Burley, Global Canopy
Almost half of all tropical deforestation is due to the illegal conversion of forests for commercial agriculture, according to a new report from the New York Declaration on Forests Assessment Partners, with forests most often cleared to make way for the “big four” commodities: timber, soy, cattle, and palm oil
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TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS STRONGER FOREST GOVERNANCE
Caroline Sourzac-Lami, ZSL-SPOTT
The New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) is a partnership of governments, multinational companies, civil society and indigenous peoples working to halve deforestation by 2020 and to end it by 2030. The NYDF outlines ten ambitious global targets focused on the protection and restoration of forests. Through Goal 10 of the NYDF, the organisations that endorsed the NYDF commit to strengthen forest governance and transparency, empower local communities, and recognise the rights of indigenous peoples.
Not seeing the emissions for the trees – why responsible finance must focus on forests
Eleanor Spencer, ZSL
Against a backdrop of increasing fossil fuel divestment and the rapid growth of the renewable energy and green transport sectors, the topic of climate change currently takes centre stage. The financial sector’s growing interest in climate change and emission reduction indicates a significant shift in the right direction, and is a crucial force for a global transition to a lower-carbon economy. However, the important link between forests and climate is too-often overlooked.
Relatório mapeia em detalhes a cadeia produtiva da soja e contribui para dar mais transparência ao setor.
Imaflora
Dados do Anuário Trase 2018*, divulgados no Brasil, aumentam a compreensão das conexões entre a produção de soja e os riscos do desmatamento e mostra como produtores, empresas e mercados consumidores podem usar essa oportunidade para criar uma economia livre de desmatamento. Os dados apontam que a região do Matopiba (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí e Bahia) corre o maior risco de desmatamento devido ao avanço da soja para exportação.
Relatório conecta gigantes do agronegócio ao desmatamento no Cerrado
por Greenpeace Brasil
Soja cultivada para exportação é uma das maiores responsáveis pela devastação do bioma
Empresas exportadoras e mercados consumidores de soja estão expostas a risco de desmatamento ao comprarem grãos provenientes do Cerrado. Relatório lançado pela plataforma Trase mostra que as seis maiores companhias que comercializam soja – Bunge, Cargill, ADM, Louis Dreyfus, Amaggi e COFCO – foram responsáveis por 58% das exportações de soja no Brasil e expostas a 68% de risco direto de desmatamento entre 2006 e 2016.
How can sustainable palm oil become the norm?
Michael Guindon, Forest 500
Everyone loves orangutans, and everyone thinks we should protect rainforests – prompting more and more companies to commit to sourcing sustainable palm oil. But why then is sustainable palm oil so difficult to source?
Investors add their voices to calls to protect the Cerrado
Sarah Rogerson and Helen Burley, Forest 500
How would you feel if you knew that your pension fund or life-savings were being invested in destroying tropical forests and other important wildlife habitats? That they were funding the expansion of agriculture into native forest – forcing people, plants and animals off the land? Perhaps better to imagine a world where that is not the case…?
And perhaps that imaginary world might have come a step closer with the news that a group of financial institutions have signed up to the Cerrado Manifesto Statement of Support.
Soy policies for companies in the animal feed sector
Laura Schofield, King's College London
One of the biggest uses for soy is in animal feed - so how do the Forest 500 companies measure up on the commitments they have made?
Global demand for soy is rapidly growing, and has more than doubled since the mid-1990s. Due to the diverse nature of the crop, its high protein content and low production costs, it has become a common ingredient in many food and household products. But by far its greatest use is in the production of animal feed, which accounts for approximately 75%-85% of global consumption.
Terra incognita: missing maps in the tropical forestry sector hamper efforts to combat forest loss
Chris Eves, ZSL
Efforts to monitor and manage the impacts of the tropical forestry sector are being hindered, due to many companies failing to accurately disclose where they operate – leaving biodiverse forests at risk of unsustainable exploitation. This is just one finding of an in-depth evaluation of forestry companies, published today on 18 July 2018 by ZSL (Zoological Society of London).
The problem with soy
Michael Guindon, Forest 500
Many people are not aware of the prevalence of soy in their diets, but why is this hidden ingredient such a problem? We talked to experts about the problem with soy. When asked who eats soy, most people think of vegans or hipsters drinking soy lattes in stylish cafes, or adding tofu to their meals as part of a healthy eating plan.
What many people don’t realise is that 75% of the world’s soy is fed to animals – which means the chances are there is soy in the meat, dairy, eggs, or farmed fish you may well have eaten today.
What’s the beef? Brazil’s climate emissions
André Vasconcelos, Global Canopy and Ciniro Costa Junior, Imaflora
If the Brazilian cattle sector were a country, it would rank 16th in a league table of countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions (ghg). A new report from Imaflora and Observatório do Clima has highlighted why urgent action is needed to reduce the impacts of these emission from beef and dairy production.
We can achieve deforestation-free supply chains, but collaboration is key
Sarah Rogerson, Forest 500
Many companies are now trying to address the challenge of removing deforestation from their complex supply chains. While nobody wants to be responsible for driving the destruction of vast areas of tropical rainforest, it can feel like an impossible task to identify the source of the soy that was fed to the chickens that laid the eggs that you sell in your supermarket, or to be sure that the palm oil in your cakes and biscuits did not come from deforested land in Indonesia.
THE SOY TOOLKIT: FIVE STEPS TO SUSTAINABLE SOY
Pedro Amaral, Proforest
Soy is a versatile crop — we eat it in salad dressings, cakes, cookies, and pies. It feeds our poultry, cattle and pets. It is used to create biofuels, plywood, candles, crayons, and foam. But there is concern that in some of the places where it is cultivated there exist many social and environmental impacts — including deforestation, labour rights abuses and the destruction of unique landscapes.
SOY TRADERS IN CERRADO UNDER FIRE FOR ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
Andre Vasconcelos and Helen Burley, Global Canopy
The Brazilian authorities have sent a warning shot across the bows of the big soy traders, imposing fines on five companies for activities linked to illegal deforestation in the Cerrado — recognised as the world’s most biodiverse savanna.
Bunge, Cargill, ABC Indústria e Comércio SA, JJ Samar Agronegócios Eireli, and Uniggel Proteção de Plantas Ltda were fined as part of the Brazilian Environmental Agency’s (IBAMA) Operation “Soy Sauce” in the Matopiba region.
THREE PITFALLS ON THE WAY TO TRACEABLE SUPPLY CHAINS
Sarah Lake, Global Canopy
Traceability is becoming more and more possible in global supply chains, thanks in large part to advances in technology and data management. But do companies need to trace every drop of palm oil back to the tree? And even if they do it, how can they ensure it leads to more sustainable land use?
MOMENT OF TRUTH: TIME FOR BRANDS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT THEIR LINKS TO FOREST DESTRUCTION FOR PALM OIL
Diana Ruiz, Greenpeace
A new Greenpeace report outlines the immediate need for action in halting global deforestation and restoring extensive areas of natural forest. Reversing the destruction of the world’s forests for agriculture is the cheapest, quickest and most equitable option to stabilize the climate and buy time for a just transition to a low-carbon economy.
WEAK BY DESIGN: COMPANY COMMITMENTS FALL SHORT ON DEFORESTATION
Sarah Lake, Global Canopy
More companies than ever have committed to address deforestation in their supply chains as seen in high profile statements such as the New York Declaration on Forests (pdf). Yet the global deforestation rate, and deforestation linked to agricultural production continues to rise. Why have these commitments not translated to improved protection of forests?
JOINING THE DOTS THROUGH THE SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY NETWORK
Sarah Lake, Global Canopy
The world in the 21st century is a complicated, interconnected place. The food on our supermarket shelves contains ingredients produced around the world — and the supply chains that deliver those ingredients can be complex and difficult to unravel.
That means that the impacts of producing soy in Latin America, or palm oil in Indonesia, tend to be hidden from view. Was the palm oil in my chocolate bar sourced sustainably, or was forest cleared to make way for the plantation, with local villagers driven off their land?
FORESTS: THE KEY TO A STABLE CLIMATE AND STRONG ECONOMY
Morgan Gillespy, CDP
Protecting forests has become a pre-requisite for a stable climate and a stable economy. As we launch our 2017 forests report, the case for action has never been clearer.
Acting as the ‘lungs of the planet’, the world’s forests provide essential ecosystem services, ensure the livelihoods of billions of people and form the foundation of countless supply chains. They are central to the global economy.
PUTTING SUPPLY CHAINS ON THE CLIMATE AGENDA
Helen Burley, Global Canopy
Supply chains don’t feature heavily on the agenda at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change talks taking place in Bonn (COP23). But if the global community is going to achieve the ambition set in the Paris Agreement, the deforestation risks around the trade in agricultural commodities from tropical forest zones must be addressed.
FOR COMPANIES AIMING FOR DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY CHAINS, 8 TRAPS TO AVOID
Rod Taylor, World Resources Institute
Big brands, retailers and agribusiness companies the world over have promised to make their supply chains deforestation-free. But will these voluntary commitments save forests and help people living in them?
CORPORATE COMMITMENTS: NECESSARY BUT NOT SUFFICIENT TO END TROPICAL DEFORESTATION
Frances Seymour, Center for Global Development
Over the last few years, an increasing number of companies that produce, trade, or buy “forest risk” commodities have pledged to get deforestation out of their supply chains. Now, the focus of advocacy groups has rightly shifted to monitoring the implementation of those commitments.