Request for Proposals (RFP)

White paper: linking soft commodity sourcing and JREDD+

 

Summary Information

RA Department: Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) (within Global Programs)

Location(s): Any location (consultant selects place of work)

Commitment: Approx. 20-30 working days

Desired start date and duration: April to September

Under direction of: Jeff Milder, Director, AFi

 

About the Rainforest Alliance and AFi

The Rainforest Alliance (RA) is an international nonprofit organization working at the intersection of business, agriculture, and forests to make responsible business the new normal. We are building an alliance to protect forests, improve the livelihoods of farmers and forest communities, promote their human rights, and help them mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.  We envision a world where people and nature thrive in harmony.

The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities. For more information, please visit http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/about. 

The Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) is a collaboration of 23 leading environmental and human rights NGOs – supported by a secretariat hosted by RA – to create a ‘new normal’ of responsible supply chains in agriculture and forestry. The AFi provides the Accountability Framework as a global reference to set goals, take action, and report progress towards supply chains that are protective of forests, other natural ecosystems, and human rights. Hundreds of companies worldwide use the Accountability Framework to help transform their supply chains. The AFi also works to strengthen and align the enabling environment for responsible supply chains across climate, nature, human rights, and corporate disclosure instruments. This includes supporting aligned policies and actions by financial institutions, industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives, reporting and assessment systems, government, and civil society.

 

Project context and objectives

Jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) and supply chain initiatives to deliver deforestation-free or sustainable agricultural and forestry commodities are both approaches that aim to curtail deforestation and associated greenhouse gas emissions in forest-rich regions. However, to date these strategies have been almost entirely siloed from one another. This creates risks of misaligned policies and actions as well as missed opportunities to increase private sector investment, political support, and effective jurisdictional policies and programmes for forest conservation.

This project aims to establish an analytical and practical foundation for strengthening synergies between JREDD+ and sustainable supply chain strategies. Specifically, it will identify, assess, and communicate how companies that source soft commodities can invest in, engage with, or benefit from JREDD+ programs to advance their business objectives and sustainability mandates while supporting forest conservation.

These insights will be developed through technical analysis, stakeholder interviews, and review of real-world examples, and documented in a white paper. This white paper is expected to be published at or around New York Climate Week to help catalyze near-term action by supply chain companies as well as ongoing discourse, development, and innovation to strengthen synergies between sustainable supply chain initiatives and JREDD+.

This initiative is a core focus of the workstream on “Linking supply chain strategies and JREDD+ to protect tropical forests” established under the COP30 Action Agenda launched in Belém and convened under the auspices of the Scaling Jurisdictional REDD+ Coalition and the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP).

The white paper will be oriented primarily to the audience of companies that source agricultural and forestry commodities, and additionally to the JREDD+, forest carbon, and carbon market communities (including JREDD+ implementers and stakeholders as well as those involved in standard-setting, carbon methodologies and accounting, and service provision). Its main purposes are to:

• Raise awareness of opportunities to strengthen synergies between JREDD+ and sustainable supply chain strategies to protect tropical forests.
• Educate supply chain companies (ie, soft commodity offtakers) about JREDD+ and its potential relevance to their business.
• Identify specific modalities through which companies can invest in, engage with, or benefit from JREDD+ to advance key business mandates (eg, regulatory compliance, achieving goals for deforestation-free supply chains and emissions reductions, risk mitigation, and supply chain security and resilience).
• Establish a foundation for further dialogue, investment, and policy design to bridge the JREDD+ and sustainable supply chain spaces to strengthen forest protection.

 

Consultancy Scope of Work

The consultant will lead research and writing of the white paper described above, with guidance and oversight from members of the AFi Secretariat. This work will be carried out through the following five components.

Component 1: desk research

Conduct research on the range of potential modalities by which supply chain companies can invest in, engage with, or benefit from JREDD+. This includes at least eight modalities already identified by the AFi Secretariat, including some that may result in quantified climate outcomes recognized by emissions accounting frameworks, as well as other forms of contribution or engagement. For each modality, research and analysis should include, as appropriate:

• Describing the modality, including by drawing upon examples of its application (if any).
• Assessing relevant rules and methodologies for accounting for carbon emissions, removals, and credits, as well as for supply chain deforestation and conversion, to determine whether and under what circumstances the modality may be used in alignment with those instruments.
• Assessing how the modality may help supply chain companies fulfil or advance key regulations, mandates, or targets.
• Elaborating an example or scenario that demonstrates the modality, including emissions reductions or deforestation reduction realized and/or credits accrued over time, using a real or hypothetical context in which commodity sourcing and JREDD+ co-occur.

Deliverable: Research brief summarizing the modalities considered and, for all that appear potentially viable, the above information for each modality. The brief may be developed in a format that feeds directly into the consultation package and/or draft white paper.

Component 2: stakeholder interviews

Conduct semi-structured interviews with approximately 20 key stakeholders representing supply chain companies (ie, commodity traders and large downstream buyers), jurisdictional leaders, and experts on JREDD+, emissions accounting, and carbon markets. These interviews should serve to:

• Understand each stakeholder’s interest in better linking supply chain strategies and JREDD+ in general (eg, what objectives they would hope to advance and what would constitute success).
• Invite the stakeholder’s ideas and perspectives on any of the modalities on which they have expertise or interest.
• Identify ‘low hanging fruit’ to create greater synergy between JREDD+ and sustainable supply chain strategies as well as ambiguities, practical challenges, or structural barriers that may stand in the way of progress.
• For company interviewees, understand specifically which business mandates and business cases the company is most interested in pursuing through or in relation to JREDD+ (eg, regulatory compliance, achieving goals for deforestation-free supply chains and emissions reductions, risk mitigation, reporting and claims, or supply chain security and resilience).

Deliverable: Interview transcripts and summaries, as well as a synthesis of findings and themes. The latter may be developed in a format that feeds directly into the consultation package and/or draft white paper.

Component 3: consultation brief

Consolidate the findings from Components 1 and 2 into a “consultation brief” that the AFi Secretariat can use to vet and refine preliminary ideas for the white paper. This brief should take the form of a slide deck of approximately 15-20 slides that can be used during a stakeholder event at London Climate Action Week (LCAW), in other presentations, and as a self-guided overview for interested stakeholders.

Deliverable: Consultation brief of approximately 15-20 slides created in the AFi slide template.

Component 4: draft white paper

Prepare a draft white paper that fulfils the purposes outlined in the “Project context and objectives” section and is elaborated as follows:

• The paper should be developed according to an outline co-developed with, and approved by, the AFi Secretariat. At the outset of the project, the Secretariat will provide the consultant with an initial annotated outline from which to build. This includes the following sections:
  • Introduction and objectives of the paper
  • An overview of JREDD+, aimed at companies that may not be familiar with it
  • Modalities – how supply chain companies can invest in, engage with, or benefit from in JREDD+
  • Company use cases – how investment and engagement in JREDD+ can help companies fulfil key goals, mandates, and business priorities
  • Criteria for effective and responsible company participation in JREDD+
  • Considerations for a broader bridging of JREDD+ and supply chain strategies
  • Conclusions
• Indicative length of the paper is approximately 20-30 single spaced pages, with the final length determined by the agreed-upon outline.
• The paper should build primarily from the outputs of Components 1 and 2 as well as from input collected by the AFi Secretariat at the LCAW stakeholder event.
• The paper should be written in accessible language considering the target audiences mentioned above. It should minimize jargon, explain key terms and concepts, and take a pragmatic orientation that emphasizes near term opportunities and business relevance of JREDD+ and the identified engagement modalities.

Deliverable: Draft white paper.

Component 5: final paper

Based on feedback from the AFi Secretariat and a small number of other reviewers, refine the white paper into a final version, including text and any supporting tables, boxes, and figures where useful to clearly present the material. The paper should be delivered in Word format; the consultant is not responsible for final document design.

Deliverable: Final white paper.

Deliverables schedule

Deliverables are due on the following schedule. The table also provides indicative level of effort estimates.

 

Component	Approximate level of effort (working days)	Deliverable	Due date
1	8-10 days	1. Research brief	May 29
2	6-8 days	2. Interview transcripts and synthesis	June 8
3	1-2 days	3. Consultation brief	June 18
4	5-7 days	4. Draft white paper	July 24
5	2-3 days	5. Final white paper	August 24

 

General Terms and Conditions for Request for Proposal

• Applicants must provide all requisite information under this RFP and clearly and concisely respond to all points set out in this RFP. Any proposal that does not fully and comprehensively address this RFP may be rejected.
• Proposals and/or any additional information received after the submission time and date are subject to rejection by RA.
• Incomplete proposals may be rejected by RA at its discretion.
• RA reserves the right to request additional information at any time during the procurement process.
• RA is at liberty to make multiple or no selections as part of the proposal process. RA also reserves the right to cancel the procurement.
• All proposal costs shall be borne by the applicant and will not be reimbursed by RA.
• It is the responsibility of every bidder to identify any information of a confidential or proprietary nature contained in its proposal so that it may be handled accordingly. However, RA cannot guarantee confidentiality.

Selection Criteria and qualifications

The consultant or consultant firm should meet the following minimum qualifications:

• Expertise on JREDD+, its associated frameworks and standards, and its implementation.

• Close familiarity with climate target-setting and accounting frameworks for the private sector, including SBTi FLAG and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard.

• Familiarity with sustainable supply chain policies, standards, and practices for the agri-food sector.
• Demonstrated ability to produce high quality work products on strict deadline.
• Demonstrated ability to translate and communicate detailed technical concepts into concise and business-relevant information and narratives.

Selection of the consultant or consultant firm is based on the following criteria:

1. Quality of the technical proposal and work plan
2. Relevant qualifications and past experience of the individual(s) who will work on this assignment, and of the consulting firm (if applicable)
3. Quality of work samples
4. Cost
5. Confirmation of ability and commitment to meet the specified deadlines

Proposal Process and Format

Interested consultants or consultant firms should submit a proposal that includes the following:

1. Technical proposal and work plan: A description (in two pages or less) of the proposed approach to the scope of work, particularly the consultant’s ideas for Components 1 and 2 as well as ideas for the white paper to fulfil its purposes vis-à-vis its target audience.
2. Summary of qualifications and past experience: A summary (in one page or less) of the relevant qualifications and experience of the consultant or consulting firm. This should be supported by:

• A list of all people who will work on the project and their roles
• CVs of these personnel
• Two or three references (with email and phone contacts) from recent comparable tasks or products

 

1. Work samples: Two or three work products from similar projects that illustrate the types of research, engagement, synthesis, and writing activities required for this project.

 

1. Financial proposal:

• Proposed fee to complete the work, in USD. This should be submitted as a fixed price proposal to complete the assignment.

 

1. Statutory Requirements: Upon request, the consultant should supply all required legal documents as may be required by RA and/or local law, e.g. work permit, bank details, registration details, tax documents etc. When opportunity is restricted to a specific location, only candidates authorized to work in the location will be considered.

 

RFP Timeline

The anticipated timeline is as follows:

• April 6: RFP issued
• April 24: Deadline for proposals
• Week of April 27: Top candidate(s) interviewed
• May 6: Contract awarded and project activities commence
• August 28: Project concludes

 

Thank you for your interest in working with the Rainforest Alliance and the AFi