Executive summary

The OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains (OECD-FAO Guidance) helps enterprises in the agricultural sector observe existing international standards for responsible business conduct in agricultural supply chains. The OECD-FAO Guidance is an example of the growing recognition of how risk-based due diligence can help enterprises identify and respond to risks in their operations and global supply chains. In addition to due diligence actions taken by enterprises, several governments have adopted or plan to introduce, mandatory obligations of due diligence in global supply chains, including to address deforestation concerns.

Business decisions made by companies sourcing, processing and selling agricultural commodities or food products may have an impact on forests, which can include deforestation. As a salient risk related to sourcing, deforestation can also have larger impacts on ecosystems and the people depending on them. However, many enterprises struggle to understand how risks of deforestation and forest degradation can manifest in their supply chains, including on practical measures they can take to identify, prevent and address these risks through risk-based due diligence.

This Handbook was developed by OECD and FAO to help companies embed considerations on deforestation and forest degradation into their responsible sourcing and corporate due diligence efforts. It is informed by FAO’s extensive work and experience on halting deforestation and forest degradation and promoting responsible governance of tenure. The handbook builds on the leading international, government-backed standards on supply chain due diligence and responsible business conduct: the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct and the associated due diligence framework introduced in the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct. This Handbook demonstrates how the OECD-FAO Guidance can be applied to address deforestation by contextualising existing recommendations and helping users understand how to proactively introduce due diligence and reduce the potential risk of deforestation taking place in their supply chains.

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