HCSA Membership
A global coalition to end commodity-driven deforestation
A major strength of the HCSA is that our members represent a very broad range of interests yet share the same urgent imperative – to end commodity-driven deforestation and respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to their lands.
The breadth of HCSA’s membership is a powerful check on deforestation. It brings perspectives and expertise from some of the world’s largest agricultural and commodity user companies, international environmental and human rights NGOs and conservation experts – all with an equal voice in developing the HCSA as a practical, field-tested and transparent tool to halt and reverse deforestation.
This cross-sector cooperation has been central to establishing global recognition of the HCSA as the standard approach to implement No Deforestation commitments. Our members’ shared vision continues to drive innovation to adapt and apply HCSA methodologies at different landscape levels and expand to all commodity crops.
The collective leadership of HCSA is delivering verified conservation of High Carbon Stock forests, preventing biodiversity loss and respecting the rights of local communities.
Our Vision: Natural forests linked to commodity production and consumption are conserved and restored throughout the tropics in cooperation with indigenous peoples and local communities
How does HCSA collective leadership work?
Our members direct, scrutinise and oversee the application of the HCSA Toolkit and lead the direction of its development and adaptations. Each member group has an equal voice in decision-making and can initiate, participate in and lead HCSA’s committees, working groups and task forces. These are the key forums where HCSA’s innovations are developed and approved, and where mechanisms to maintain implementation standards are kept under review and updated when new research and evidence demands.
Our membership’s collective leadership and leverage is delivering growing international recognition of the HCSA as the standard approach to implement No Deforestation commitments in tropical landscapes. Cited by the United Nations an effective ‘No Deforestation Tool’ and ‘Nature Based Solution’ to climate change, implementing the HCSA supports 10 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – through halting deforestation, increasing carbon storage and ecosystem services, promoting biodiversity protection and restoration, supporting appropriate economic development and sustainable livelihoods.
The HCSA has been incorporated into global certification standards, including the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and the Climate Bonds Initiative’s forestry assessment criteria. The HCSA was awarded a ‘Top Innovator Winner’ of the Tropical Forest Commodities Challenge at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26 in 2021.
HCSA members are central to field-testing and trialling initiatives to overcome the challenges of implementing No Deforestation commitments on the ground.
Collaborations can be jointly conducted with HCSA members or with external partners, such as commodity certification organisations, to interrogate, test and develop common standards and processes to halt deforestation on a global scale.
Credibility and transparency
HCSA members are subject to ongoing monitoring of conservation outcomes under the HCSA Global Forest Watch Monitoring Platform. Our members’ assessment reports and annual progress report of implementation are complied and overseen by the HCSA Secretariat and published on our website.
There are five categories of HCSA membership: plantation companies, commodity users, NGOs, smallholder/farmer support organisations and technical support organisations. Each membership category applies the HCSA in accordance with rules set out in the Membership Requirements and Code of Conduct.
Our members
BASF
Ferrero
Paola Nogales
Procter & Gamble
Unilever
Rainforest Alliance
Greenpeace
Conservation International
Melissa Thomas
Our partners
We work with partners to extend the reach and impact of the HCSA to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities across tropical forest landscapes.
