NEWSLETTER | July 2022

Dear <<First Name>>,

This month, we welcome the release of the Global Reporting Initiative’s new Sector Standard for Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing, which was developed in collaboration with the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi).

Agricultural producers and processers can use the new Sector Standard to report comprehensively on their sustainability policies, activities, and impacts for all elements of the Accountability Framework – including on deforestation, ecosystem conversion, and the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, and workers.

The Sector Standard also guides companies on how to report their deforestation and ecosystem conversion footprints in alignment with the Accountability Framework, an essential step towards accounting for greenhouse gas emissions from land use change.

The new standard will come into effect beginning January 2024, but companies are encouraged to demonstrate leadership by applying it starting next year.

Read our GRI Sector Standard blog

Act on deforestation for net-zero emissions
New analysis from the UN Climate Change High-Level Climate Champions, Global Canopy, the AFi, WWF, and the Science Based Targets initiative shows over 90% of companies with significant forest, land and agriculture footprints that have committed to net-zero emissions are at risk of missing their climate goals due to a lack of action on deforestation. Read coverage of the report in Bloomberg.

Deforestation-free pension fund guidance
AFi coalition member Global Canopy has published a new guide on how to achieve deforestation-free pensions. It details how pension funds can integrate deforestation-free requirements into agreements with asset managers, as well as identify, assess, and eliminate deforestation, ecosystem conversion, and associated human rights abuses from their own portfolios.

HCV Network joins the AFi coalition
The AFi is pleased to welcome the High Conservation Value Network as our newest coalition member. The Network’s HCV Approach – a methodology to identify and protect ecosystems, biodiversity, and the needs of indigenous peoples and local communities where development takes place – is widely used as a tool to support implementation of key elements of the Accountability Framework.

The Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) is advanced through the work of a diverse coalition of organizations that are dedicated to protecting forests, natural ecosystems, and human rights by making ethical production and trade the new normal.

Learn more about who's involved here:

See who's involved