AFi Finance Tool

Soft commodity production and trade is linked with widespread deforestation and human rights violations. For financial institutions that invest, lend, or underwrite in the agriculture or forestry sectors, this can translate into material financial risk tied to legal, operational, and reputational issues. To manage these risks effectively, financial institutions need a systematic and targeted approach that they can apply across their portfolios. The AFi Finance Tool was created to provide exactly that. 

What is the AFi Finance Tool? 

The AFi Finance Tool helps financial institution assess, engage, and drive progress on deforestation and related risks across portfolios, in alignment with the Accountability Framework. It is designed to support financial institutions in integrating deforestation and related risk considerations into their day-to-day decision-making and operations.   

Whether your financial institution is just beginning to address deforestation risk or would like to strengthen its existing approach, the tool provides structured and actionable process to do so. 

The AFi Finance Tool consists of two complementary resources:    

1. Criteria and Data References (Excel workbook): This resource provides a structured set of criteria to assess portfolio companies’ progress in addressing deforestation and related risks in their agricultural and forestry operations and supply chains. It also identifies credible data sources for each criterion from established disclosure and assessment initiatives, including CDP, Forest 500, Forest IQ, and GRI. Furthermore, the tool outlines how each criterion aligns with the PRI Spring Company Assessment Framework.
2. Stewardship Guide: Based on the same criteria, this Guide provides a practical reference to help financial institutions engage with portfolio companies on deforestation and related risks as part of their stewardship activities. This includes identifying priority topics for engagement, formulating asks, and following up through ongoing stewardship.  

Who can use the AFi Finance Tool? 

The AFi Finance Tool is designed for financial institutions engaged with companies that produce or source agricultural and forestry commodities. This includes investors, banks, pension funds, and other capital providers and asset managers. 

How to use the AFi Finance Tool 

The AFi Finance Tool can be used flexibly by financial institutions at different stages of progress in assessing and managing deforestation and related risks in their portfolios. A typical workflow is as follows: 

• Step 1: Start with the Criteria and Data References workbook to assess deforestation-related risks using benchmarked external data sources, including CDP, Forest 500, Forest IQ, and GRI.
• Step 2: Use the Stewardship Guide to interpret the results from Step 1, which includes distinguishing between data gaps and weak performance, and collecting additional information where needed. Then prioritise the most material gaps and translate these into a targeted engagement strategy.
• Step 3: Monitor company progress over time to evaluate the effectiveness of your engagement strategy, and escalate actions where progress is insufficient.
• Step 4: Update the assessment periodically to track changes. Use updated assessments to refine portfolio-level priorities and engagement accordingly. 

Who created the AFi Finance Tool? 

The AFi Finance Tool was created by the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) in collaboration with the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). It was developed with input from AFi Coalition members including CDP, Ceres, and Global Canopy, as well as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The Tool was piloted by PRI Spring Signatory Investors and refined based on their feedback. 

Find out more

• Join our webinar on 27 May 2026 to learn more about the tool and how financial institutions can manage deforestation risks in their portfolios.
• Learn more about how the Accountability Framework can support the finance sector on our dedicated page for financial institutions.
• Download the AFi Finance Tool today by clicking the link below.