Supporting landscape-level collective action in Brazil’s Cerrado

In September, Climate Week NYC provided the setting for the launch of the Sustainable Landscapes Partnership by the CGF Forest Positive Coalition (FPC) and the WBCSD Soft Commodities Forum (SCF). The Partnership aims to drive transformational change in key commodity producing landscapes in the Cerrado biome of Brazil by combining incentives for sustainable farming and resource management, while also establishing landscape-level goals and governance through multi-stakeholder collaboration. 

Proforest has been instrumental in the behind-the-scenes work to bring this partnership to fruition. We have long understood that some of the biggest challenges of sustainable agricultural production cannot be solved by individual companies alone. ​Landscape and sectoral initiatives are now recognised as essential approaches to address systemic issues, beyond an individual supply chain or sector. Our team in Brazil drew on the global experience of landscape initiatives that Proforest has facilitated since 2018 in Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico and The Philippines.   

As part of our advisory role with the CGF Forest Positive Coalition, we supported the development of the FPC Landscape Strategy, which sets an ambition for action that is proportional to the coalition’s footprint. We also supported the development of principles for landscape engagement, which ensure a holistic approach, support for governance, participation of local stakeholders and bottom-up approaches. 

In the soy sector, Proforest has supported collaboration between the FPC and the Soft Commodities Forum since 2020, co-facilitating meetings to ensure a common workplan across the two initiatives. This collaboration has resulted in alignment on priority areas for investment, governance principles and KPIs to monitor landscape impact. 

Building on our practical experience in landscape initiatives, Proforest has also been deeply engaged in development of the Western Mato Grosso consortium, together with IPAM, PCI Institute and Produzindo Certo. Our role has been to connect private sector commitments with local capacities and needs, targeting key issues and long-term impact. The Western Mato Grosso partnership has been selected as a proof of concept for the CGF-SCF partnership, to showcase the tangible benefits that this approach can deliver for people, nature and climate. The partnership now offers a common vision and proof of concept, with a call to action for companies, partners and the finance sector to support this landscape initiative and scale it further to the entire Cerrado.  

Proforest sees collaborative action as an essential component of responsible sourcing and production of agricultural and forest commodities. It’s at the heart of our way of working. We’re excited to help drive forward the Sustainable Landscapes Partnership, and look forward to seeing the real impact we can achieve across the Cerrado biome.  

Read more about the Sustainable Landscapes Partnership here.