On Wednesday, October 6, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) released the Fostering Overseas Rule of Law and Environmentally Sound Trade (FOREST) Act, which seeks to reduce commodity-driven illegal deforestation around the world. The legislation creates a risk-based framework for improving transparency in companies’ global supply chains; provides financial and assistance-based incentives to reduce illegal deforestation; adds deforestation to financial criminal statutes; and establishes a purchasing preference for deforestation-free products in the federal procurement process. The bill also establishes an advisory committee, made up of companies and civil society groups, to inform its implementation.
