RESULTS MARKET TRANSFORMATION

The report details WWF's efforts to transform commodity markets through the promotion of credible certification schemes, corporate engagement, and policy influence. It highlights the growth of standards like RSPO and MSC, the integration of small-scale producers into sustainable supply chains, and the increasing commitment of major retailers and financial institutions to sustainable sourcing. The document argues that while significant progress has been made in moving sustainability from a niche to a mainstream requirement, further work is needed to scale these impacts and integrate them into national policies and landscape-level management.

• WWF focuses on 15 commodities that have the most significant impacts on biodiversity, water, and climate, particularly in priority conservation areas. These include timber, pulp and paper, whitefish, palm oil, soy, tuna, cotton, sugarcane, wild-caught shrimp, bioenergy crops, beef, wild-caught forage fish, dairy, farmed shrimp, and farmed salmon.
• The report identifies severe environmental and social pressures from soft commodity production, noting that agriculture, forestry, and land use account for approximately 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, food and fibre production drive 80% of worldwide deforestation, with beef, palm, pulp/paper, and soy responsible for over half of that deforestation.
• WWF has helped introduce and scale several credible certification schemes to drive industry-wide sustainability. These include the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), Bonsucro for sugarcane, and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). Some of these, such as Better Cotton and Bonsucro, already account for more than 3% of their respective markets.
• Sustainable production practices have provided measurable economic and environmental benefits for small-scale producers. In India, 8,800 cotton farmers using better management practices reduced water use by 30-51% and increased profitability by a third by 2012. In Sumatra, RSPO group certification for smallholders increased productivity by at least 20%.
• Corporate engagement has shifted significantly, with three-quarters of 100 identified influential companies now engaged in sustainable sourcing, compared to less than a quarter in 2009. Major companies like IKEA have contributed to the FSC certification of over 35 million hectares of forest worldwide.
• WWF is engaging the finance sector to mitigate risks associated with unsustainable production. This includes the '2050 Criteria' guide for sustainable investment and a compact with eight banks to remove tropical deforestation from their portfolios by 2020.
• The initiative has influenced public policy and regulation to move beyond voluntary standards. Examples include lobbying for the extension of Paraguay's zero deforestation law to 2018, helping develop a green credit policy in China, and supporting illegal timber regulations in the US, EU, and Australia.

APA

Jeffries, B. (2014). RESULTS MARKET TRANSFORMATION. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/617/90zaywlfnq_wwf_markettransformationinitiative2014_finalweb_lores_spreads.pdf

Chicago

Jeffries, Barney. RESULTS MARKET TRANSFORMATION. WWF International, 2014. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/617/90zaywlfnq_wwf_markettransformationinitiative2014_finalweb_lores_spreads.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jeffries |first1=Barney |title=RESULTS MARKET TRANSFORMATION |publisher=WWF International |date=November 2014 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/617/90zaywlfnq_wwf_markettransformationinitiative2014_finalweb_lores_spreads.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jeffries2014results, author = {Jeffries, Barney}, title = {{RESULTS MARKET TRANSFORMATION}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/617/90zaywlfnq_wwf_markettransformationinitiative2014_finalweb_lores_spreads.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }