Natural forests are one of the most important terrestrial ecosystems. They play a crucial role in services that underpin multiple economic sectors such as climate regulation, water provisioning and biodiversity maintenance. Deforestation, driven primarily by conversion of forest land in the production of agricultural commodities, is one of the most significant environmental challenges facing us today.
For the past decade, CDP has used its disclosure framework to track progress on avoidance of deforestation associated with the production of a selection of key agricultural commodities. This is now being expanded to avoidance of destruction of all natural ecosystems (Deforestation and Conversion Free, or DCF). In the future, we will ask organizations to disclose their progress on minimizing impacts to land under management and restoration of natural ecosystems.
CDP provides companies, Capital Market Signatories, states and regions with opportunities to measure and manage their forest-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities by assessing and publicly reporting progress. This is done against a framework aligned with international best practice and global environmental goals.
Companies can disclose their environmental data by responding to our 2024 questionnaires. Investors can sign up as a Capital Market Signatory to request this data from the world’s largest companies and major purchasers.
Read more about the benefits of disclosure for companies, cities, states and regions, and public authorities.
CDP’s latest forests report looks at how global companies can shift to deforestation-free supply chains.
This report provides an update on the commitments and actions of eight cattle and soy traders over four years, assessing their progress from 2020 to 2023 in eradicating deforestation, conversion, and human rights abuses from their production and sourcing. It also evaluates whether these efforts meet current best practices.
Global challenges and policy recommendations
Global Forests Report 2023
The state of deforestation and conversion-free production among prominent cattle and soy producers
Why deforestation risk should matter to Chinese financial institutions
This report focuses on the sustainability performance of the largest non-disclosing palm oil companies, highlighting the level of risks they are exposed to that remain invisible to investors, and provides a set of recommendations for investors to manage financial risks posed by the industry’s unsustainable practices.
Learn more about our range of projects that aim to remove commodity-driven deforestation and forest degradation from corporate value chains.
CDP can facilitate collaboration between Supply Chain program members and suppliers. Join the challenge and help drive deforestation-free, restorative supply chains.
Browse our latest guidance and supporting materials.
If you have any questions about our forests work, email the team at [email protected]