The European Union recently approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the draft reporting requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). These regulations will mandate companies operating in Europe to disclose human rights and environmental aspects of their value chains, including Scope 3 Greenhouse gas emissions while similar regulatory frameworks are being developed in other significant markets, such as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and China.

In response to these new regulatory requirements, the World Banana Forum (WBF) launched the Carbon and Water Footprint (CWF) initiative and developed the most comprehensive and validated environmental assessment tool specifically designed for the banana industry. Since 2017, the WBF has supported around 400 banana producers (approximately 25,000 ha) in 9 countries in measuring, reporting and reducing their carbon and water footprints.

The WBF’s CWF Tool provides an industry-standard approach to measuring, monitoring, and verifying carbon and water footprints, enabling a high level of precision and comparability across operations. It integrates best-in-class methodologies aligned with internationally recognized protocols for environmental accounting, including the GHG Protocol, ISO 14064, and the ISO14046 standards. With robust data analytics capabilities and automated reporting functionalities, the tool ensures transparency and consistency in environmental impact reporting, making it the preferred solution for banana producers and exporters.

By establishing a harmonized methodology and a validated tool for the banana industry, the WBF and FAO provide an accessible and continuously updated solution that meets evolving regulatory requirements while driving sustainability and efficiency in global banana supply chains.

Different phases of the Carbon and Water Footprint (CWF) initiative:

PHASE I (2017): Development of a methodological guide to measure and reduce carbon and water footprints, with an initial pilot in Costa Rica. The guide was published in English and Spanish in 2018.

PHASE II (2020): Creation of an automated, cloud-based tool based on the methodological guide, making footprint assessment more accessible. This phase included training and validation sessions in collaboration with producer associations in Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.

PHASE III (2022): Enhancement of the tool’s scope and robustness, incorporating additional metrics and functionalities. Training and validation sessions were expanded to include producer associations and companies across Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, and Brazil.

PHASE IV (2024 - Ongoing): Continuous improvement of the CWF tool, refining emission and water scarcity factors while broadening its implementation. This phase includes capacity building for producers in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, extending the tool’s reach to Spain, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire, and integrating it with national Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems. Additionally, the tool’s scope is expanding to cover emissions from input manufacturing, maritime transport, and downstream activities, ensuring a more comprehensive assessment of the banana supply chain’s environmental impact.