SUSTAINABLE COMMODITIES
SUSTAINABLE COMMODITIES
ABOUT SUSTAINABLE COMMODITIES
Humanity needs food, but our current food system has burdened the Earth in exceeding its capacity and planetary boundaries. Agricultural, plantation and forestry commodities are central part of this system. Sustainable commodities are based on a simple understanding: how we produce, trade and consume commodities such as palm oil, cocoa, rubber, coffee, timber, and others today directly impact the state of our environment and human well-being now and in the future.
In many production areas in the tropical region, conventional commodity systems continue to contribute significantly to environmental damages, including tropical deforestation, land degradation (including peatland), climate crisis, and biodiversity loss.
WHAT WE DO
In response to these challenges, WWF-Indonesia promotes transformation in the governance and industry practices of commodity. This transformation could not be done through fragmented interventions, but through a comprehensive, end-to-end systemic improvement from upstream to downstream. This approach begins by ensuring sustainable agriculture, plantation and forestry practices in remaining natural ecosystems, rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems due to unsustainable commodity systems, to ensuring sustainable commodities products are widely accessible by the industry and public consumers.
UPSTREAM APPROACH
WWF-Indonesia promotes transformation sustainable and responsible agricultural, plantation and forestry practices both to protect nature and ensure smallholders are able to continue their production. Smallholder farmers are supported through technical assistance and improved market access to fair trade, while ensuring every commodity product is traceable from farm all the way to consumer.
DOWNSTREAM APPROACH
The transformation is enhanced through both corporate commitment and improved consumer knowledge and awareness. We encourage companies to adopt more transparent and sustainable sourcing practices, and for consumers to make more conscious choices for sustainable commodity products. In doing this, a strong market demand can help drive meaningful change at the upstream production level—building commodities consumption, trade and production that are better aligned for both human and nature.
POLICY AND ADVOCACY APPROACH
WWF-Indonesia strengthens sustainable commodity governance by promoting policies, regulations, and enabling systems that ensure deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) production and trade. This is achieved through policy advocacy, strengthening supply chain transparency and traceability systems, and facilitating multi-stakeholder coordination among governments, businesses, and other stakeholders at landscape, national, and global levels.
