Read the Position Paper here
9 December 2020 - A group of more than 50 organisations, including some of the world’s largest retailers, brands, traders and producers of forest-risk commodities, along with industry associations and international civil society organizations, jointly endorse a position paper calling on the EU to adopt a smart mix of measures to address imported deforestation.
The paper calls for mutually reinforcing interventions for the European Commission to consider as the body proposes legislation to protect and restore the world’s forests. The suggested measures encompass:
- Partnerships between the EU and producer countries
- Demand-side measures incl. due diligence
- Dialogue with other consumer countries
- Sustainable finance and investment
- Robust verification systems
The position paper was developed in response to the European Commission’s 2019 Communication on Stepping Up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests. The proposals highlighted in the position paper emerged out of an extensive engagement process convened by the Tropical Forest Alliance throughout the first half of 2020, which gathered the perspectives of more than 120 representatives from industry and civil society on the priorities laid out in the Commission’s Communication.
The initial findings, including the core components of the “smart mix” were published as a Discussion Paper in July 2020 and presented to the European Commission and other stakeholders through a webinar on 23 July. The position grew out of this process, and its development was closely supported by a multi-stakeholder working group of companies, industry bodies and civil society organizations.
The collective endorsement of the position paper is a strong demonstration of the mobilization of private sector actors along the supply chain and across several forest-risk commodities in favour of ambitious EU measures to tackle deforestation.
To find out more or endorse the paper, contact tfa@weforum.org.