Last week, the AFi team spent several days engaging with AFi Coalition members and leaders from business, civil society organisations, finance, and policy at London Climate Action Week (LCAW) 2026. 

Attending events like LCAW supports the AFi’s core mission of ending deforestation within commodity supply chains. This event provided a critical opportunity to strengthen connections between responsible commodity sourcing and the priorities of governments, local communities, and other stakeholders. 

Despite progress by some leading companies and legislation like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), forest and nature loss, alongside associated human rights abuses, continue to occur in areas where commodities are produced and sourced.  

To address these impacts, stakeholders need to scale solutions that connect responsible sourcing commitments with action on the ground. AFi Director Jeff Milder and Partnerships Lead Ana Lima were at LCAW to further this work. 

AFi priorities at LCAW 2026 

Influencing corporate action on responsible sourcing

The AFi participated in discussions on the private sector's role in ending deforestation, focusing on implementation pathways.

Using the Accountability Framework, companies can address deforestation and associated climate risks in their supply chains. The Framework offers good practice on policy development, monitoring and traceability systems, and supplier engagement. However, overcoming systemic barriers will also require companies to take targeted action particularly in high-risk sourcing regions and complex supply chains. 

Event spotlight: 

The AFi co-hosted a plenary session with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), The Nature Conservancy, and Satelligence at the Nature4Climate Nature Hub on the role of the private sector in ending deforestation. 

Hosted at ZSL London Zoo, the session included two panels with speakers from FSC, Global Canopy, HSBC, Louis Dreyfus Company, ofi, PepsiCo, and Satelligence. 

The panellists discussed the growing convergence between accountability mechanisms, corporate action, and government roadmaps—and how these can be better aligned to create measurable, collective progress. 

Strengthening the business case for place-based action 

The AFi is developing new guidance to help companies address risk and drive improvement at the level of sourcing areas, landscapes, and jurisdictions. 

To further this work, we joined events focused on aligning market expectations, company reporting, and locally-led sustainability mechanisms. This engagement informs the AFi’s aim to create stronger incentives for companies to engage in place-based actions. 

Event spotlight:  

AFi Partnerships Lead Ana Lima joined a panel hosted by ISEAL and SourceUp at their Resilient Landscapes event. The panel focused on how to translate landscape impacts for corporate reporting.  

During the session, Ana outlined how the AFi is working to advance landscape-level approaches and create relevant guidance. 

Exploring the role of jurisdictional REDD+ in commodity supply chains 

As part of the COP30 Action Agenda, the AFi is leading a new analysis on how companies can engage, invest, and benefit from jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) to support forest conservation in tandem with responsible supply chain strategies.  

Jurisdictional approaches can help companies comply with regulations, achieve climate and sustainability goals, and minimise disruption in their supply chains.  

Event spotlight:  

The AFi hosted a roundtable discussion exploring how companies and financial institutions can utilise landscape scale initiatives to support forest protection and restoration while building business resilience within supply chains.   

The discussions will inform a white paper on this topic, expected for publication in Q3 2026. The paper will spotlight current opportunities and future possibilities for company investment in the context of JREDD+ to support more durable forest conservation and resilience. 

The session included speakers from the COP30 Brazil Presidency, the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), AFi Coalition member Proforest, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). 

Fostering locally-led monitoring and traceability systems 

Effective monitoring and traceability mechanisms grounded in local contexts are essential to expanding responsible commodity production to all markets. 

Scaling these approaches can strengthen domestic forest governance while enabling companies to implement supply chain due diligence, reduce risk, and demonstrate compliance more reliably and cost-effectively. 

Event spotlight:  

The AFi co-hosted an event with Coalition members Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) and WWF that explored how these emerging systems can support deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains across different market contexts, including the EU and China. 

During the session, we heard valuable perspectives from FAIRR Initiative and RFN on what downstream companies need from sourcing regions to enable DCF sourcing and reduce supply chain risk in both Chinese and European markets.  

We also heard examples of state-level approaches that support DCF sourcing. These included the Selo Verde traceability platform and others in Brazil, as well as local initiatives in Indonesia. Many sourcing regions are developing systems that provide the credible, verifiable information that buyers and regulators increasingly require. 

Ensuring finance protects both forests and people 

The finance sector plays an essential role in curbing deforestation and its related human rights and environmental risks. This is due to the capital it provides to companies that produce or source soft commodities. In recognition of this fact, the AFi recently released its Finance Tool, designed to give financial institutions a clear approach to assess and engage their portfolio companies to drive meaningful process. 

In addition, more investment is needed for conservation initiatives that align with key climate and nature goals. 

Event spotlight:  

The AFi co-hosted a closed-door, investor-focused dialogue with Global Optimism and the Brazilian government. The session included representatives from the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), an investment fund designed to reward tropical forest countries for preserving standing forests.  

The dialogue explored how the TFFF investment mechanism can develop effective guardrails to ensure the protection of forests and Indigenous Peoples. 

Looking ahead to the future 

Insights gathered from stakeholders at LCAW will directly inform the AFi's ongoing development of the Accountability Framework guidance, as well as future work on JREDD+. The AFi’s engagement at LCAW also contributed to the COP30 Presidency's Action Agenda and deforestation roadmap.  

The task ahead for the AFi is to make responsible sourcing and landscape-level sustainability mutually-reinforcing at scale. To advance this agenda, the AFi will continue to create clear, practical pathways between corporate ambition and long-term positive outcomes for forests, natural landscapes, and people in commodity-producing regions.