Webinar: Benchmarking Automotive Leather: Accountability in a High-Impact Commodity

Leather is the worst-performing commodity in the Forest 500 rankings, and the only one where 70% of companies have no public deforestation policy. Its deep ties to cattle-driven forest loss and widespread use in sectors like automotive make it a critical blindspot in current supply chain oversight. This webinar formally launched Rainforest Foundation Norway’s (RFN's) new Automotive Leather Benchmark, developed to assess and guide deforestation-free leather sourcing for the automotive sector. The webinar was co-hosted between the AFi and RFN.

This session was designed to:

• Highlight key takeaways from RFN’s updated Leather Benchmark
• Share the results of 10 leading global automakers and 5 major car interior manufacturers
• Outline the challenges and opportunities in sourcing deforestation-free leather
• Share actionable guidance for companies and investors 

Speakers:

The webinar featured voices in the automotive sector and sustainable finance, with information on the work they’re doing to support a deforestation-free future for the leather supply chain. Our speaker panel included:

• José de Melo
  Senior Supply Chain Adviser Cattle, Deforestation-free Markets, Rainforest Foundation Norway
• Joana Faggin
  Program Manager - Deforestation-free Supply Chains, AidEnvironment
• Jeff Milder
  Director, Accountability Framework initiative (AFi)
• Simona Rizzuto
  Lead Analyst Biodiversity, LBP AM
• Ingrid Tungen
  Head of Deforestation-free Markets, Rainforest Foundation Norway

Webinar recording: