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The Accountability Framework initiative
Delivering on ethical supply chain commitments
March 2019

2.
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Companies have committed to eliminating deforestation
and human exploitation from commodity supply
chains…
Source: Compiled by Climate
Focus on data presented on
Supply-Change.org in July 2018

3.
…but there is a wide “implementation gap”…
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• Interim milestones are not being met
• Definitions, standards and tools have
proliferated, but are not harmonized
• Lack of clarity around implementation
• Limited monitoring and reporting
• Lack of common metrics to track
progress and performance

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4
Large international company
sourcing palm oil
Lack of common metrics limit accountability
and hinder supply chain risk mitigation
Palm oil scorecard rating A
Example: Has substantial
traceability of palm oil to the
plantation level. Participates in
initiatives to reform the palm oil
industry. Publicly discloses
suppliers.
Palm oil scorecard rating B
Example: Only about a quarter of
their supply chain is RSPO certified
palm oil. They fell at least 50%
short of their 2015 CSPO targets.
Two very different takes from different
scorecards on whether this company is
‘ethical’:

5.
…so the main challenges remain unresolved
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• Deforestation and human rights
violations persist
• Continued material risks for
companies
• Ambiguity about progress &
outcomes
• Lack of clear accountability
facilitates greenwashing
Source: Global Forest Watch.
World Resources Institute. 2018.

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The Accountability Framework initiative (AFi)
This Framework aims to help companies and others fulfill commitments by:
• clarifying good practices and critical details for setting, implementing, monitoring, verifying, and
reporting on supply chain commitments and their achievement;
• clarifying which standards, tools and systems can fulfill supply chain commitments in different
contexts;
• filling critical gaps for topics and contexts where clear guidance is now lacking;
• helping to improve the level of consensus and alignment around ethical supply chains,
particularly from civil society.
The Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) is a collaborative effort to
accelerate progress and improve accountability for ethical supply chain
commitments in agriculture and forestry.
The Accountability Framework is a set of common definitions, norms and
guidance intended to bring greater clarity, consistency, effectiveness, and
accountability to the implementation of these commitments.

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The Accountability Framework initiative…
IS
A global ‘public good’ intended to
be used by companies and others to
help protect forests and ecosystems
and benefit people
Providing clear norms and
guidelines for setting, implementing
and monitoring company
commitments across different
contexts
Working to align monitoring,
reporting, and assessment initiatives
and tools toward a common
framework and metrics
IS NOT
A commercial product or service
A new certification program
Conducting its own assessment,
rating, or benchmarking of company
performance

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The scope of the AFi mirrors the scope of existing commitments for
agriculture and forestry supply chains
What is the scope of the AFi?
Palm Oil
Topical scope Supply Chains
Cattle
Pulp/paper/timber
Cocoa
Other commodities
(rubber, coffee, etc.)
South America
Geographies
Southeast Asia
Other producing regions
West/Central Africa
Soy

9.
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Companies apply the Framework to help
achieve ethical supply chains
The Ethical Supply Chain Journey
Three stages to eliminate deforestation, conversion, and human rights violations from supply chains
Develop new commitments or
refresh current commitments
Implement practices towards
fulfillment of commitments
Monitor, document, and report on
progress in a credible way

10.
Who is contributing to Framework
development and how?
Led by a coalition of civil society
partners…
And 30+ organizations in topical working
groups
• Natural ecosystems
• Human rights,
• Monitoring and Verification
• And other topics
…and building the Framework in
consultation with…
• West and Central Africa
• South America
• Southeast Asia
Input from and co-creation with the
private sector
• Engagement of industry associations
• Companies at all value chain stages
Plus independent
experts:
Gita Syahrani, Indonesia
Silas Siakor, Liberia
Input from and co-creation with
stakeholders in the region
Other implementation protocols
• High Carbon Stock Approach & HCV
• Collaboration for Forests and
Agriculture
…aligning and collaborating with other
key initiatives…
Reporting and assessment initiatives
• CDP Forests
• Forest 500 / Global Canopy
• Global Forest Watch
• SPOTT
• Supply Change/Forest Trends
Responsible investment initiatives
• Ceres
• UNPRI
National, regional and jurisdictional
approaches
• Africa Palm Oil Initiative
• Cocoa & Forests Initiative
• Colombia deforestation-free palm oil
pledge
• Governors’ Climate & Forest Task Force
Certification systems
• ex. RSPO, FSC, RA
• ISEAL Alliance

11.
Website:
https://accountability-
framework.org
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framework.org/subscribe/
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