Agri-Food Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) Sourcing FAQs

The Agri-Food Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) Sourcing FAQs provide a rule set for certifying agri-food entities that source commodities from land not subject to deforestation or natural ecosystem conversion after 31 December 2020. The guide details eligibility for supply chain actors, traceability requirements based on country risk, and the annual verification process required to maintain certification.

• The Agri-Food DCF Sourcing Criteria establish a cut-off date of 31 December 2020; products are considered deforestation free if they are produced on land not subject to deforestation or natural ecosystem conversion after this date.
• Entity certification is available to supply chain actors—such as traders, processors, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers—who generate at least 50% of their revenue from agri-food commodity supply chains.
• The criteria apply to all agri-food commodities that account for 1% or more of an entity's net procurement spend on agri-food commodities, food products, and ingredients. To achieve certification, compliant activities must represent at least 90% of the entity's total agri-food net procurement spend.
• Traceability requirements vary by risk level and commodity. High-risk origins and specific commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, pulp and paper, and soy) must be traceable to the geolocation of the original production land plot. Low-risk origins for other commodities only require tracing to the country of origin or primary processing facility until 1 January 2030, after which geolocation is required.
• Country risk is determined using Global Forest Watch data; a country is categorized as high-risk if the ratio of total natural forest land lost between 2018 and 2022 relative to the total natural forest cover in 2000 is higher than 1%.
• Mass-balanced supply chain models that mix compliant and non-compliant commodities are prohibited; all traceable DCF agri-food commodities must be segregated at every step of the supply chain.
• Certification is valid for 5 years, contingent upon annual compliance checks by approved verifiers. Verifiers must sample at least 10% of procured volume and 10% of the total number of suppliers, with at least 25% of samples consisting of livestock supply chains for entities that handle livestock.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2024). Agri-Food Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) Sourcing FAQs. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/faqs-agri-food-dcf-220424.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Agri-Food Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) Sourcing FAQs. 2024. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/faqs-agri-food-dcf-220424.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Agri-Food Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) Sourcing FAQs |date=11 March 2024 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/faqs-agri-food-dcf-220424.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2024agrifood, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Agri-Food Deforestation and Conversion Free (DCF) Sourcing FAQs}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/faqs-agri-food-dcf-220424.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }