The Soft Commodities Forum (SCF) enables collaboration between six leading agribusinesses to identify solutions to eliminate deforestation and conversion in soy landscapes in the Brazilian Cerrado. The Cerrado is one of Earth’s most biodiverse savannahs and home to 5% of the planet’s animals and plants. By working in partnership with producers, consumer goods companies, civil society, and governments, the SCF contributes to the preservation of high-priority ecosystems and the transition to more sustainable soy production supply chains, starting in the Cerrado.
The November 2023 annual report outlines progress across the SCF’s alignment of our strategy with the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C and the Farmer First Clusters initiative, and our three workstreams: land use monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and landscape transformation.
As of November 2023, the SCF has accomplished the following:
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Disclosure of deforestation- and conversion-free soy sourcing
- This year’s report presents the second round of DCF disclosures for soy volumes sourced in the SCF’s 61 focus municipalities. Third-party auditing for both direct and indirect sourcing has been adopted, strengthening data accuracy and reliability. SCF member progress on DCF performance related to all 61 focus municipalities is presented in the Monitoring Land Use section of this report.
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Indirect supplier engagement
- Recognizing the pivotal role of engaging with indirect suppliers in our journey toward traceability and guaranteeing DCF soy sourcing, we have placed a strong emphasis on accelerating engagement with indirect suppliers.
- Our structured three-step approach involves awareness-raising, capacity assessment and building, and co-development of action plans. Multiple training materials and a webinar series have been deployed to promote DCF practices to 35 indirect suppliers. In 2023, we have successfully engaged 21 indirect suppliers, classified by maturity levels (Class A, B, or C).
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A reinforced partnership with the Consumer Goods Forum and a renewed Advisory Group
- The SCF strives for meaningful engagement with several key stakeholders, including the Consumer Goods Forum Forest Positive Coalition (CGF FCP). Together, the SCF and CGF Forest Positive Coalition are investing in mutual solutions that contribute to the emergence of forest-positive landscapes.
- The SCF has also expanded its Advisory Group to encompass a diverse set of expertise, including carbon accounting, farmer engagement, and fundraising approaches.
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The Farmer First Clusters (FFC) initiative discloses initial results on farmer engagement
- Following an extensive design phase in 2023, the Farmer First Clusters has begun its implementation and is proud to announce that as of November 2023, 22 producers representing 144,365 hectares have enrolled in the initiative.
Access the SCF Reporting digital platform here.
Download the SCF progress report for November 2023:
English version
Portuguese version
Download the executive summary:
English version
Portuguese version