By Harry Holmes2020-09-04T11:29:00+01:00
Defra is regulating to make sure companies do not use commodities produced on illegally deforested land. Do the measures add up?
British companies are intimately linked, albeit inadvertently, to illegal deforestation around the world. For years, they have adopted voluntary commitments to tackle the problem but, according to a recent Global Canopy report, are still often falling short. Forty per cent of the companies assessed do not have any deforestation commitments in place, while half of those that do fail to report on them.
The UK government is now stepping in as it launches its ‘green recovery’ from the pandemic. Last week, Defra introduced proposals that will make it illegal for businesses to use agri-food commodities produced on illegally deforested land and will mandate due diligence requirements in order to enforce it.