Sustainable and Resilient Value Chains: Advancing deforestation-free supply chains

This webinar launched our Sustainable and Resilient Value Chains report on deforestation and saw our experts and invited panellists translate its findings into actionable steps for standards bodies, companies, and policy-makers. The aim of this session was to showcase how a smart mix of tools can help prevent, respond to, recover from, and adapt to deforestation risk.

Speakers at this event included:

- Catarina Vieira, Member of the European Parliament (via video)
- Débora Dias, Senior Sustainability Manager, The Consumer Goods Forum
- Dr. Hermogene Nsengimana, Secretary General, African Organization for Standardization (ARSO)
- James Lael-Allotey, Senior Manager, Standards and Assurance Design, Rainforest Alliance
- Julia Inés Ocampo Duque, VP of Cacao Sourcing & Sustainability, Luker Chocolate
- Ricarda Von Meding, Legal and Policy Officer, European Commission

Key Takeaways

• Prevention and long-term adaptation have made the most progress, driven by no-deforestation rules, geolocation and satellite monitoring, and emerging landscape- and jurisdictional-level initiatives.
• Response and recovery mechanisms exist but need to be strengthened, particularly for indirect suppliers and smallholders, underscoring the need for clearer corrective action, stronger grievance mechanisms, and better support for producers.
• Landscape and jurisdictional initiatives are gaining momentum as a pathway to systemic change, with speakers noting that these models help coordinate public and private actors to address deforestation at scale but require long-term funding and strong local institutions.
• The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is already reshaping incentives, even with delays, by accelerating investment in traceability, legal reforms, and better alignment between public policy, corporate practice, and standards. Extended implementation timelines can give actors more time to prepare for compliance.
• No single actor or instrument can tackle deforestation alone—combining regulation, standards, private-sector action, and territorial approaches is essential to build resilient, deforestation-free value chains.