It is important to understand to what extent these supply chain initiatives can effectively reduce deforestation in order to develop public policies at national or international level that can facilitate or complement the private initiatives. This discussion paper contributes to addressing this issue by analysing the functioning of supply chain initiatives to reduce deforestation.
The paper Can supply chain initiatives reduce deforestation? presents a framework of factors influencing the effectiveness of voluntary supply chain initiatives based on the literature available. Using this framework, four supply chain initiatives to reduce deforestation for major commodity production are qualitatively assessed and compared for their functioning in the context of a specific country. These initiatives are: the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Indonesia, the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS), the Soy Moratorium and the Cattle Agreement.