AFi Wrapped: What we achieved in 2024
9 December 2024
The AFi team reflects on the past 12 months, celebrates progress, and looks ahead to 2025.
As 2024 comes to a close, the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) is taking stock of a busy year supporting companies meet their supply chain goals in an ever-changing regulatory landscape. The private sector has grappled with many challenges in 2024: from ensuring commodity supply chains are managed responsibly, to embedding climate and nature strategies into their operations, and working towards meeting legal requirements.
For much of the year, many companies prepared to prove their products are free from deforestation ahead of the looming deadline of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), originally scheduled for implementation on 30 December 2024. After the 12-month delay was approved, companies must start off 2025 ready to accelerate action towards EUDR compliance.
After back-to-back nature and climate summits (CBD COP16 and UNFCCC COP29), the AFi is reflecting on a year of collaboration and research to help companies protect forests, natural ecosystems, and human rights. In 2024, we set out to update key parts of the Accountability Framework to ensure it reflects cutting edge research and work with members of the AFi Coalition to advance our shared goals.
“2024 was a year of intense focus but also uncertainty for efforts to de-link supply chains from deforestation, conversion, and human rights abuses. New regulations including the EUDR prompted rapid changes and new innovation, but by year-end the target had moved,” said AFi Director Jeff Milder. “Calls for heightened transparency sat in tension to ‘greenhushing’ trends. And while climate and nature continued to rise on investors’ agendas, translating this attention into tangible action to address these risks in agriculture and forestry remained a work-in-progress.”
“I’m proud of the work the AFi team has done this year,” Milder said. “And I’m thankful to our Coalition members and partners who have supported broad use of the Framework to drive progress in supply chains around the world.”
Let’s look back at what we have achieved this year:
In 2024, the AFi...
Updated the Common Methodology for corporate reporting
In January, we published an updated version of the Common Methodology for Assessment of Progress Towards Deforestation- and Conversion-Free Supply Chains. It offers a set of recommended metrics that can be used to assess company policies, actions, and performance on eliminating deforestation, conversion, and associated human rights abuses from commodity supply chains. It is intended to support aligned approaches when assessing corporate performance by buyers, investors, financial institutions, and civil society.
Published new and updated definitions of the Accountability Framework
In February, we published new and updated definitions of key terms used throughout the Accountability Framework’s guidance. We improved the specificity of definitions to support clear determination of the no-deforestation and no-conversion status of products and production units. We also revised some definitions to support respect for human rights, and to clarify key concepts related to trade and traceability.
Launched the AFi e-learning platform
In April, we launched the AFi e-learning platform, an online educational resource designed for companies that produce or source agricultural or forestry commodities, as well as organisations supporting companies on their sustainability journeys. The platform offers a range of educational modules on actions companies can take to achieve supply chains that are free from deforestation, conversion, and human rights violations in line with the Accountability Framework. More modules are coming in 2025!
Published the Time for Transparency report on corporate disclosure
In May, the AFi published Time for Transparency: deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains in partnership with CDP. The report contained an analysis of 1,498 disclosures from 881 companies on the deforestation- and conversion-free status of their commodity supply chains. The report found that only one-fifth of disclosing companies provided comprehensive and high-quality information for at least one supply chain, 64 of which reported achieving at least one 100% deforestation- and/or conversion-free commodity supply chain.
Kicked off a new workstream on non-forest ecosystem conversion
In July, our team kicked off a new workstream on identifying and defining non-forest ecosystem conversion. Working with the World Resources Institute (WRI), we hosted stakeholder workshops in the United States and Brazil, as well as two sessions showcasing the latest research on non-forest ecosystems at the Global Land Programme’s 5th Open Science Meeting in Mexico. This new workstream aims to bring together experts in ecology, geospatial monitoring, and policy analysis to gather information that will help AFi and WRI teams to develop actionable definitions and guidance for commodity sourcing in non-forest natural ecosystems.
Published our explainer on no-deforestation commitments under SBTi FLAG
In November, we published an explainer document on setting no-deforestation commitments under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Forest, Land, and Agriculture (FLAG) requirements. The answers offered in this explainer provide recommendations in response to common questions about which companies need to set these commitments, for which commodities targets should be set, how companies can approach the 2025 target date required by SBTi, and other related topics.
Built more awareness of the AFi and the Framework
As a mission driven programme, it's crucial that we increase awareness and appreciation for our work. We are pleased to confirm that this year has been a success! In 2024, we have increased our social media audience by 23%, our website visitors by 73%, and our mailing list subscribers by 142%, compared to 2023.
Demonstrated use of the Framework
In addition, we continue to publish content that highlights the value of the Framework and the organisations supporting our efforts. This year, we published case studies of three companies that are using the Framework in their operations: Mars, Sainsbury’s, and Walmart. Additionally, we published case studies of nine multi-stakeholder initiatives aligning with the Framework: Beef on Track, Book Chain Project, CGF FPC, GHG Protocol, Leather CTA, Retail Soy Group, SBTN, Soy on Track, and UK Soy Manifesto. Excitingly, we also expanded our delivery partner programme, with the addition of two new consultancies: FAI and Nextra.
Looking ahead
Next year, the AFi aims to publish several revisions to the Operational Guidance documents that make up part of the Accountability Framework. This includes updates to our guidance on supply chain management, monitoring and verification, and several human rights-related guidance documents. We also plan to put out new guidance on certification and explainers on emerging regulation.
“2025 will be a critical year to re-affirm the importance of deforestation-free commodities and to ensure that regulations, voluntary initiatives, investor action, and transparency measures are all pulling in the same direction,” said Milder. “Together, we can speed the transition to a future where commodity supply chains are fully protective of forests and people.”
Happy holidays to all that celebrate and a very happy new year. We can’t wait to get started in 2025!