The government of Colombia recognizes large commercial agriculture as one of the principal drivers for deforestation. Together with a coalition of private sector actors and representatives from civil society, stakeholders are working together in the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA) framework to halt tropical deforestation in the country. The efforts have since led to ground-breaking national zero-deforestation agreements in four supply chains, including palm oil, cocoa, beef, and dairy. 

These agreements seek to reduce deforestation by disassociating these commodities from unsustainable land use practices, which in turn produce a reduction on national greenhouse gas emissions and add other benefits to society. Colombian companies are adapting corporate policies and operations to meet the commitments, not without having to overcome some challenges in the process.

Climate Focus, in partnership with Solidaridad, is supporting Colombian companies in these four sectors/value chains by: 

• Conducting an assessment to identify key barriers faced to accomplish the zero-deforestation commitments;
• Assessing opportunities to overcome those barriers;
• Proposing a set of activities and recommendations to take advantage of those opportunities and advance towards the zero-deforestation pathway.

Our hands-on support to these companies aims to provide a holistically understanding of these challenges and design concrete strategies to overcome them.