Measures related to Systemic Shift 3: Increasing the consumption and trade of responsibly produced agricultural commodities

Promoting responsible business conduct, traceability and transparency

Upstream, midstream and downstream businesses are increasingly taking action to eliminate the risk of deforestation from their operations. This follows the recognition that the private sector has an important role to play in reducing its contribution to deforestation. Consumer goods companies, traders, producers and financial institutions can act together and individually by investing in responsible business practices, traceability and transparency. These include defining and implementing responsible sourcing policies, identifying and mitigating the risks of deforestation, and engaging in multistakeholder initiatives to decouple their supply chains from deforestation. In addition, they can work with their suppliers, reward responsible production practices, and strengthen transparency by publicly disclosing the results and progress of the implementation of forest commitments. Assurance and licensing systems, sectoral standards and certification schemes can also enhance corporate traceability.

Aligning trade policies with sustainability objectives

Aligning trade policies with sustainability objectives can constitute a win-win for the environment and sustainable economic development. To leverage trade’s potential as a driver for positive change, governments can, for instance, integrate environment-related provisions for the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors in regional trade agreements. Mandatory market-based measures to address deforestation have also been recently adopted and proposed by a number of countries globally. These initiatives can create strong incentives for sustainable production and responsible consumption. At the same time, their effectiveness depends on putting in place a conducive enabling environment that can enhance policy effectiveness and advance bilateral or multilateral dialogue between producer and consumer countries to inform policy design and implementation.

It is also important to consider the potential trade-offs associated with the implementation of such policies and regulations. For instance, they can result (including involuntarily) in additional costs not only on governments and companies in consumer markets (for enforcement, monitoring and due diligence), but especially on farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and trading partners in producer countries. These costs include both the initial investment required for compliance and the recurring expenses linked to reporting and verification.

To avoid unintended consequences, it is crucial that such policies are designed taking into account the circumstances and constraints of smallholder farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises, and that they are accompanied by appropriate support measures so that compliance requirements do not exacerbate inequalities but instead open opportunities for more inclusive and sustainable trade.

Fostering consumer demand for responsibly produced products

Demand for products made of agricultural commodities commonly linked to deforestation, such as beef, soy, palm oil, coffee, or cocoa, has been rapidly increasing in recent years. Consumer choices can make a real difference in pivoting this demand to be met by responsible production. Promoting changes in human diets and consumption patterns towards more sustainable choices, for instance, through awareness-raising instruments, financial incentives and responsible public procurement policies can create win-wins for forest protection, sustainable economic growth, and more diverse and healthy diets.

Reducing food loss and waste

Reducing food loss and waste offers significant opportunities to enhance food security and nutrition, lower production costs and ease environmental pressures and deforestation across the agrifood system. Food loss, which occurs from harvesting up to, but excluding, retail, can be reduced by adopting good practices during harvesting and post-harvest operations, and by applying processing, storage, transport and distribution solutions that preserve the quality and quantity of the product. At later stages of the chain, food waste generated at retail, food-service and household levels can be addressed through measures such as smarter packaging, clearer labelling, and recovery and redistribution, alongside awareness campaigns that encourage responsible consumption. The actors along the supply chain can be incentivized to adopt technical and organizational innovations that lead to food loss and waste reduction, through various mechanisms such as fiscal instruments and legal provisions. Investments by the public sector in physical infrastructure such as roads and reliable energy supplies are critical for food loss and waste reduction. Actions taken to reduce food loss and waste ensure that more of the food that is produced reaches its intended use, which maximizes resource efficiency and reduces environmental impacts and deforestation.

Promoting sustainable livestock diets

This approach focuses on optimizing feed composition and feeding practices to enhance nutrient use efficiency, minimize waste and reduce the environmental footprint of the livestock sector. To meet the increased demand for livestock feed associated with the rise in meat and dairy product consumption, governments and the private sector can promote the sourcing of responsibly produced feed crops and shift to alternative feed sources that do not contribute to deforestation. This approach would help satisfy the livestock sector’s needs while promoting environmental conservation goals. Sustainable livestock diets may incorporate locally sourced feed ingredients, alternative protein sources such as insects or algae, and precision feeding techniques that match nutrient supply to animal requirements. Additionally, improving pasture management, using hydroponic fodder production and promoting the use of crop residues and by-products can decrease deforestation and competition with human food production.