A Business Guide to a DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY CHAIN

The document outlines a framework for businesses to eliminate tropical deforestation from their supply chains through public pledges, transparent sourcing, and the promotion of sustainable goods. It identifies palm oil, wood/paper, and meat (specifically beef) as key drivers of forest loss and provides sector-specific recommendations, such as strengthening RSPO standards for palm oil and reducing beef in processed meats to lower land-use pressure.

• Businesses can lead the transition to deforestation-free supply chains by making public pledges, sourcing and promoting sustainable goods, building transparent relationships with suppliers, and engaging with certification schemes or roundtables.
• Palm oil is identified as having the largest carbon footprint of all vegetable oils, with rapid expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia contributing to climate change through the destruction of tropical forests and planting on peatlands.
• The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards are currently insufficient because they lack critical greenhouse gas accounting policies and protections for high-carbon-stock forests or bans on planting on peat soils.
• Beef production is the most land-intensive driver of deforestation, utilizing approximately 60% of the world's agricultural land while providing less than 5% of its protein and 2% of its calories.
• While certification programs like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) exist, they do not explicitly prevent the logging of primary forests and lack widespread adoption in tropical regions.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2013). A Business Guide to a DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY CHAIN. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Business-Guide-to-a-Deforestation-free-Supply-Chain.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. A Business Guide to a DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY CHAIN. 2013. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Business-Guide-to-a-Deforestation-free-Supply-Chain.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=A Business Guide to a DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY CHAIN |date=January 2013 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Business-Guide-to-a-Deforestation-free-Supply-Chain.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2013business, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{A Business Guide to a DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY CHAIN}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2013}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Business-Guide-to-a-Deforestation-free-Supply-Chain.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }