Webinar: Understanding the Accountability Framework

Declan Foraise

The Accountability Framework aims to provide a global consensus on how to define a forest and how to track the impact that commodity companies have on deforestation the world. Launched in June, the Framework could have major implications for the way we manage our forests, farms, and fields.

24 July 2019 | For decades, NGOs have been pressurizing companies to produce and procure soy, beef, and other commodities in ways that don’t lead to deforestation. Hundreds of companies have responded by making so-called “zero deforestation” or “no deforestation” pledges, but there’s always been a catch.

Very few NGOs, and even fewer companies, agreed on what, exactly, constitutes a forest, let alone what constitutes deforestation or zero deforestation, for that matter.

Individual countries do have their own definitions of what constitutes a forest – usually specific heights and density and usages – but those definitions are all over the map, as are definitions of degradation, conversion, natural ecosystems, and restoration.

Confronted with this hodgepodge, companies threw up their hands.

“How can we deliver something if you guys can’t even agree on how to define it?” they seemed to be asking.

So NGOs spent the past two years creating a framework for holding companies accountable for their impacts on nature. They called it the Accountability Framework, and unveiled it last month.

Now you can learn more about the Accountability Framework by tuning in to an Innovation Forum webinar called “Delivering on supply chain commitments: Closing the accountability loop in 2020 and beyond.”

Hosted by the Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and featuring Dr Leah Samberg of the Rainforest Alliance and Philip Rothrock of the Forest Trends Supply Change Initiative, the webinar takes place tomorrow, July 25, and runs from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time.

It will address the following questions:

What is the Accountability Framework, and how can it be used to strengthen and accelerate company commitments?
What are the latest developments and new norms around supply chain transparency?
How the Accountability Framework and Supply Change guide corporate reporting?
How companies can measure progress and outcomes related to corporate commitments?

You can register for the webinar and learn more here.

You can also check out episode 47 of the Bionic Planet podcast, which features a 45-minute conversation with Innovation Forum head Jeff Milder.

You can access Bionic Planet on all major podcatchers, including RadioPublic, iTunes, Stitcher, and on this device here: