By 2050, the world’s population is expected to exceed well over 9 billion people and some estimates suggest that demand for food will double, straining the planet’s capacity to feed growing populations. However, this isn’t just a matter for food security.
Food systems create 31% of GHG emissions. Globally, beef, soy and palm oil are among the leading drivers of tropical deforestation and conversion of habitats. Without a shift in the way the world produces food, traces, and finances agricultural commodities the growing demand for agriculture will continue to drive deforestation. An integrated approach at landscape, commodity & value chain level is needed to stop global environmental challenges driven by unsustainable land use.
The Good Growth Solution
The Good Growth Partnership aims to encourage sustainable production by driving demand for sustainably produced beef, palm oil and soy among consumers, policy makers, companies and investors. Coordinating with existing platforms and initiatives and engaging one-on-one with major market players, the Partnership works with key stakeholders to promote and improve transparency and to address market barriers which restrict sustainable production.
Through the FOLUR K2A Global Platform we strengthen the capacity of companies active in FOLUR countries through their supply chain, to engage in sustainable supply chain initiatives.
Our Goals at a Glance
Contact Margaret Arbuthnot of WWF to learn more about how the
Good Growth Partnership is generating responsible demand in commodity supply chains.
Number of Indonesian cities — Jakarta, Pekanbaru and Medan — where the Partnership aims to increase consumer demand for sustainable palm oil and influence companies in Indonesia to provide and promote products containing sustainable palm oil.
Number of influential companies, engaged in project activities, which are making new commitments to source reduced deforestation palm oil, soy, and beef.
Number of countries where supply chain transparency is increased through various tools and activities developed and conducted via the Partnership.
Number of new jurisdictions where soy and beef products are mapped from origin to destination.
Number of investors that have increased capacity to engage companies on reduced deforestation sourcing and disclosure.
Number of countries with improved policy frameworks in place to support reduced deforestation commodity markets.
Harnessing the Powerful Demand of Companies
Around three hundred companies control a majority of the global market for palm oil, soy and beef. There are even fewer traders that buy and sell the majority of palm oil, soy and beef to other companies.
The Good Growth Partnership is working with major commodity buyers and traders through learning exchanges, workshops and training to build demand for reduced deforestation commodities. The Partnership guides companies beyond commitments into action that reduces deforestation by providing tools such as Buyers Scorecards, commodity specific toolkits or monitoring protocols as well as capacity building opportunities.
In Asia, the Good Growth Partnership focused in its pilot phase on expanding zero deforestation and sustainability commitments in domestic markets. The Asia Learning & Exchange Program, administered by WWF, worked to engage companies headquartered throughout the continent to learn about the challenges and successes experienced by their counterparts on the journey toward more sustainable practices and zero deforestation. This included the organization of roundtable discussions with business, researchers, government and sustainability practitioners around sustainable palm oil sourcing in India, the world´s largest consumer and importer of palm oil. In Indonesia more particularly, efforts were directed to increase the capacity of companies to source zero deforestation palm oil.
In Latin America, the Good Growth Partnership built the capacity of global soy buyers to achieve their sustainability commitments. Companies made new commitments to source zero deforestation Brazilian soy sending clear market signals upstream, and the Partnership worked to increase awareness of sustainable sourcing options for Paraguay’s emerging beef market.
Incentivizing Sustainable Demand with Responsible Investment
Financial institutions play an important role in the demand for commodities as they invest in supply chain actors. When investors enact sustainable policies and safeguards to avoid practices that drive deforestation, companies can be compelled to shift the way they operate in order to remain eligible for investment.
The Good Growth Partnership worked with investors in Asia, as well as the United States and Europe, to heighten awareness of the growing risks involved in practices that are responsible for driving deforestation.
In Southeast Asia, only a small number of investors are analyzing risks related to agriculture. The Good Growth Partnership’s demand-investor work, led by WWF, directly engaged institutional investors to mobilize collective demand for transparency in Asian palm oil supply chains. WWF also worked with key stakeholders to train and disseminate guidelines on best practices for sustainable investment.
Responsible investing was also facilitated through the development of RESPOND, a tool facilitating the inclusion of Environment, Social and Governance criteria in asset managers´ portfolios, integrating natural capital risks into investment decisions and setting portfolio-level sustainability targets that are forward-looking, science-based and timebound.
To learn more about how the Good Growth Partnership’s work with banks to finance sustainable production, see our Enabling Sustainable Transactions Project.
Aligning Demand for Sustainability with National Policy
Policies that do not value the long-term benefits of forests and biodiversity can lead to, or even incentivize, deforestation. The Good Growth Partnership works to bring traders and buyers into the policy conversation with government.
The Partnership supported national dialogue and the development of principles for sustainable beef in Paraguay. Accordingly, a strategy was developed to position Paraguay as a premium and sustainable market for beef.
The Demand Project also engaged stakeholders in West Africa, including Sierra Leone, to support future markets for sustainable palm oil. By engaging corporate, government, and civil society stakeholders in the Africa Palm Oil Initiative, the Good Growth Partnership facilitated the development and implementation of national principles and action plans for sustainable palm oil in West Africa.
Creating Conscious Consumers
In some markets, agricultural products are sold in bulk, which negates opportunities for branding. This lack of awareness means many consumers unknowingly continue to buy products associated with deforestation or unsustainable production practices. In cases where businesses remain unconvinced of the need to shift their sourcing practices, consumers can leverage their influence and place pressure on brands.
Consumer awareness for deforestation-linked agricultural products is relatively limited in large developing economies, such as in Indonesia. To change this, the Good Growth Partnership focused its consumer awareness-raising efforts on major Indonesian cities. This included campaigning and engaging national media to promote the link between unsustainable palm oil production and the products consumers regularly buy, and the launch of a sustainable palm cooking oil in the country, in partnership with a major retailer.
Enhancing Transparency and Market Intelligence
Transparency throughout the supply chain is critical in the effort to reduce deforestation. It allows all supply chain stakeholders, including consumers, to make informed purchasing and investment decisions. Increasing transparency also enables credible tracking of deforestation commitments and puts pressure on actors who continue to fuel unsustainable production practices.
In addition to engaging key demand stakeholder groups, the Partnership provides companies and other stakeholders with the necessary tools to enhance supply chain transparency. For example in Indonesia, key district smallholder palm oil supply chains were mapped to retailers in major Indonesian cities.
One of the transparency tools delivered with support from the Partnership is the Trase (transparent supply chains for sustainable economies) platform. This open-access online tool maps commodity supply chains from origin to the country of import, linking impacts in producing regions to trading companies and global markets. An annual yearbook as well as a series of case studies and briefs, developed by Trase, synthesizes key findings on the deforestation risk associated with major companies and import markets.
The Partnership also provided market actors with additional information useful for decision-making, including news on market demand, its impact on deforestation, as well as relevant trends in consumption, investment, and corporate mergers and acquisitions. This information has been shared through quarterly Commodity Market Intelligence Updates and customized market analyses.