Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

How business can tackle deforestation - April, Washington DC Inbox x Azadeh Ardakani Unsubscribe 10:01 AM (3 hours ago) to me Hi Peter I wanted to update you as we’ve made a number of additions in recent weeks to ‘How business can tackle deforestation’ (Washington DC, 18-19 April). We’ve had new speakers join the agenda from General Mills, Mondelēz International, Office Depot, Rainforest Alliance, Greenpeace, TFA2020, The Nature Conservancy and more. They’ll each be discussing the key issues around the implementation of zero deforestation policies. You can see all the latest in the conference brochure here: http://bit.ly/2Cy4OUs The brochure details the full agenda, including: General Mills, Mars, Mondelēz International and World Cocoa Foundation on the latest progress with the Cocoa and Forests Initiative In-depth case studies on partnerships that can deliver the implementation of deforestation commitments, including a look at the Agroideal platform with Bunge and The Nature Conservancy Pragmatic, frank debate with Greenpeace, TFA 2020 and Belantara Foundation on the likelihood of brands hitting or missing 2020 targets, and the best ways to respond L’Oréal, Office Depot, Neste and WRI discuss the latest procurement trends and best practice in engaging buyers A detailed look at what the inclusion of forests in climate deals means for business in 2018 and beyond, including insights from Climate Advisors, CDP, Ceres and Supply Change Throughout the two-days, we’ll also discuss and debate the business case for forest restoration, latest progress in jurisdictional approaches and the threat of deforestation to North American forests. The full agenda can be viewed here. If you’d like to be involved, registration is currently available online, here: www.innovation-forum.co.uk/deforestation-us-register Register by the end of the week (Friday 23rd) to save $300. Get in touch for details on group discounts. I hope you can join the discussion. Let me know if you have any questions. Best, Azadeh -- Azadeh Ardakani | Project Director Innovation Forum: events and insight for sustainability +1-604-220-1731 azadeh.ardakani@innovation-forum.co.uk www.innovation-forum.co.uk
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Timeslots are provisional and exact timings may change 9.00 Natural capital that underpins the economy: The value of North American forests Forests provide numerous benefits, including clean water and air, carbon storage, wood products, habitat for wildlife, biodiversity, recreational opportunities and much more. They sustain our lives and often our livelihoods. Valuing forests, however, is complex and not well understood. We place different needs on forests and often want competing values from the same forest. In this session, we’ll look at how that value can be better understood and explained, both in the private sector and with stakeholder communities. With a panel of diverse views, we’ll explore the following questions: Why the value of forests is not well understood, and what can be done about that to drive action and the business case for investing in forests? How companies can internalize the value of healthy forests, including both forests managed for timber products and forests managed for other benefits, and leverage capital for maintaining ecosystems? What are the threats to forests in North America, and what are some of the issues and effective partnerships to solve them? Domtar, Paige Goff, VP, sustainability and business communications Dogwood Alliance, Danna Smith, executive director Weyerhaeuser, Ara Erickson, senior manager, sustainable supply and value chain The Forestland Group, Kaarsten Turner Dalby, senior vice president, ecological services 10.00 Networking break 10.30 Big companies will miss 2020 zero deforestation targets, so what happens next? If this is true, it throws up a couple of significant questions: What’s the best way for an FMCG brand to respond and report on a missed target? What’s the role of NGOs and campaigners as companies miss 2020 targets? As we approach 2020, is it time to re-think and re-strategize a more coordinated effort among all stakeholders. This session will look at the reality of missed 2020 commitments and their forecasted impacts. We will discuss the 2020 commitments and consider the options. Importantly, we will look at the reality for companies with missed targets and the most practical way forward. If Influence of brands to tackle deforestation is diminishing, then what’s the next big post 2020 deforestation strategy? We will leverage learning and expertise from organizations actively working on the ground, in the forests and within communities and plantations to devise a more conclusive way forward post 2020. Belantara Foundation, Prof. Jatna Supriatna, vice chairman - board of trustees Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, Marco Albani, director Greenpeace, Richard George, UK forests campaigner 11.30 How are big banks stepping up with deforestation-related policies? In 2012, many banks signed up for the Soft Commodities Compact. This is an initiative through which banks help their clients achieve zero net deforestation by 2020. In this session, we will review the current positioning of big banks and their journey from policy to implementation, and explore what future efforts are required for financial institutions to properly engage on deforestation. We’ll also look at forests as stranded assets and the likelihood for that to happen, and debate the implications. How are big banks viewing deforestation risk management? Where are big banks on their commitments today? What has been their implementation journey? Success and challenges? Rainforest Action Network, Gemma Tillack, forest policy director Climate Advisors, Gabriel Thoumi, director capital markets 12.15 Lunch 1.00 Jurisdictional programs in land management: The role of business in helping make these successful Jurisdictional approaches are landscape planning initiatives that seek to align action among government, companies, local communities and NGOs, at a sub-national or national political level. Working at the jurisdictional level at which land use decisions are made allows for real advances in more sustainable development. As per recent Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 report, governments, companies, finance institutions, and NGOs are increasingly looking to jurisdictional approaches as a method of scaling efforts to de-link deforestation from commodity production. Given increasing pressure on governments and corporates to meet “deforestation-free” commitments, jurisdictional approaches are growing in interest and are expected to help address deforestation at scale. In this session, we’ll look at the implementation challenges and the role of the private sector in scaling efforts. What is the role of business in this process? What type of engagement method from private sector catalyzes government land planning and policy goals? What are the challenges of commodity traders and buyers in jurisdictional sourcing? What are some engagement methods that have worked effectively in meeting production and economic objectives while reducing deforestation? Environmental Defense Fund, Chris Meyer, senior manager Governors' Climate & Forests Fund, Luke Pritchard, program manager Rainforest Action Network, Gemma Tillack, forest policy director The Nature Conservancy, Lex Hovani, senior advisor 2.00 Breakout sessions 1. How are companies tracking progress in their supply chains on paper, packaging, and timber deforestation-free goals? Over the last five years, brands have made wide-ranging commitments to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. To achieve this, companies need to collect supply chain information to assess deforestation risk, as well as to track how much of their supply can be assured as deforestation free. While companies need similar data points, they risk reinventing the wheel and overburdening suppliers without sufficient pre-competitive collaboration. More importantly, companies need to focus time and effort on remediating risk areas, rather than collecting and manipulating data in inefficient ways. Increasingly, companies are using the same information network to gather supply chain information, and by doing so are achieving multiple pre-competitive goals, including tracking, tracing, and reporting, reducing supplier survey fatigue, and motivating supplier engagement and improvement. What types of information are companies collecting and how far upstream in the supply chain do they trace? What do companies do when they find a supplier or source that is out of compliance or at risk of deforestation? How can the world’s first flexible, shared data network for supply chain assessment and traceability support company efforts by harmonizing industry-wide assessment approaches? How is this network being used to address other deforestation-related commodities? SupplyShift, Jamie Barsimantov, COO 2. The future is sustainable rubber: Transforming the global rubber market and tire supply chain About 75 % of the natural rubber in the world is for the use of automotive industries. In southeast Asia, where 90% of world’s rubber is sourced, demand has translated into land grabs and deforestation, according to WWF. But the world's biggest tire manufacturers are embracing new procurement policies that are shifting the industry towards “zero deforestation” commitments. Pirelli has adopted a 12-point sustainable natural rubber supply-chain policy to preserve forests and to develop local communities and economies. In this session, a senior Pirelli executive will talk about the company’s implementation journey, stakeholder engagement process and cross sector collaborations to tackle the impacts of this complex value chain system. Pirelli, Eleonora Pessina, group sustainability officer Global Witness, Lela Stanley, policy advisor, Asia forest team 3. Debate: Separating facts from myths – can wood chip biomass energy production ever be sustainable? Biomass power plants use plants and organic material to produce energy. The sector claims it has massive potential for providing the world with a sustainable, low-carbon energy. But how do these claims stack up? With source fuels in the form of wood chips, pellets or biogas, bioenergy can also help to decarbonize domestic and commercial heating. According to Enviva, a study by Duke University and North Carolina State University, increasing demand for wood pellets has led to the development of more US forests and investments in US forestry. Discussion is now centering on whether biomass energy can be sustainable at scale, for example if source fuel has to be transported large distances. When is wood chip sourcing a sustainable energy and when is it an unsustainable energy source? What sustainability criteria are needed to help ensure biomass has lowest carbon impact? What the science actually says about wood biomass as a sustainable energy source. How companies, NGOs and other actors can collaborate to make the supply chain sustainable. Dogwood Alliance, Adam Colette, program director 3.00 Networking break 3.30 Breakout sessions 1. Forest conservation collaborative: How joint efforts are engaging land owners in responsible forestry practices and certification In this session, we’ll hear how the American Forest Foundation, International Paper, Procter & Gamble and 3M have formed the Carolinas Working Forest Conservation Collaborative. This initiative will educate and engage family woodland owners in sustainable forestry, certification, the enhancement of habitat for at-risk species, and the conservation of bottomland hardwood forests. American Forest Foundation, Nathan Truitt, vice president, strategic partnerships 3M, Dawn Krueger, sustainability supply chain manager 2. Data visualization platforms and conservation impacts Based on conversations with a wide array of stakeholders, marketplace brands and retailers, forest product companies and others, the AFF and GreenBlue have developed a new tool for assessing forest sustainability and sourcing across the U.S. In this session, we’ll learn how platforms such as Forests in Focus (FIF) can leverage the power of data and can give context about the factors impacting landscapes and provide risk assessments to engage stakeholders on key issues and ultimately achieve positive conservation impacts. With FiF, brand owners and other stakeholders engage a portion of the forest products supply chain responsible for over 50% of fiber in the U.S. marketplace that has been largely left out of sustainability discussions – family forests. Join the session to learn more about this unique collaboration and preview the launch of the FiF tool. Mars, Rachel Goldstein, global sustainability director, scientific and regulatory affairs Catalyst Paper, Graham Kissack, vice president, corporate social responsibility Green Blue Org, Tom Pollock, senior manager The American Forest Foundation, Sarah Crow, senior director of sustainability solutions 4.30 The business case for forest restoration At COP23, the World Resources Institute announced $2.1bn in private investment funds to support more than 40 forest restoration projects. Moreover, WRI research shows the economic, social and planet benefits of restoring 20m hectares of degraded land in Latin America reaching $23bn, while reducing GHG emissions, improving food security and livelihoods. In this session, we explore the benefits of landscape restoration and explain how those benefits can be monetized. We will learn how wood forest products, non-wood forest products, ecotourism, agricultural production, food security, and carbon sequestration all benefit from restoration projects. We’ll ask: what does forest reforestation mean for your business and how feasible is it to scale up? World Resources Institute, Sean DeWitt, director, Global Restoration Initiative Taylor Guitars, Scott Paul, director, natural resource sustainability The Nature Conservancy, Eriks Brolis, conservation business lead Rainforest Alliance, Richard Donovan, senior vice president and vice president of forestry (moderator) 5.30 Networking drinks reception Go to day 2 >