Public consultation

The Accountability Framework was first published in 2019 as a roadmap for achieving agricultural and forestry supply chains that are protective of forests, other natural ecosystems, and human rights. Since then, hundreds of companies have used the Framework to set goals, take action, and report progress towards responsible supply chains. Thousands more use guidelines, metrics, standards, tools, and standards that have aligned with the Framework. 

The AFi is in the process of revising the Accountability Framework to continue to serve as an up-to-date global reference for responsible supply chains. This includes adding detail on key topics where companies and other stakeholders seek additional clarity. It also includes incorporating recent learnings and innovations on good practices, as well as new policy and regulatory developments.  

The updated guidance will better support companies and other stakeholders in taking effective and aligned action. It will also help them to address a multiple market, stakeholder, and regulatory mandates in an integrated manner.  

Consultation process and timeline  

The public consultation was open from 14 January through 14 March 2025. To learn more about the topics included in the consultation, please download the consultation brief. For additional information, watch recordings of AFi webinars where an overview of the consultation and each of the topics was presented. On 18 Feburary, the AFi hosted a webinar in Portuguese for Brazilian stakeholders in collaboration with Imaflora.

Download the brief     Watch a webinar

As the consultation period has closed, the AFi Coalition and secretariat will now incorporate stakeholder feedback into a set of revised Accountability Framework Operational Guidance documents. We will also publish a public consultation report that includes a non-attributed summary of the comments received and how they were addressed in the Framework revisions. The identities of commenters will not be publicly disclosed.

Topics addressed  

The public consultation focused on four sets of topics, all of which are common focus areas for companies working to achieve responsible supply chains: 

Supply chain traceability, assessment, and control 

The Framework updates will provide additional detail on each of the four forms of traceability and control addressed in the Accountability Framework: 

• production unit level traceability and control 

• area level traceability and control 

• use of certification 

• supplier control systems 

Supply chain management  

The proposed updates include additional detail on responsible procurement, determining appropriate responses to supply chain non-compliance, pathways back to compliance for producers with post-cutoff date deforestation or conversion, and responsible disengagement for persistently non-compliant suppliers.  

Verification  

This topic addresses different use cases for verification and good practices to fulfil each use case. This includes appropriate uses of and good practices for first-, second-, and third-party verification. 

Targets and progress  

This topic addresses improvement pathways for product volumes that are difficult to trace, such as derivatives and commodity volumes embedded in animal feed. It also includes additional detail on setting, pursuing, and fulfilling targets to support high ambition and sustained progress.