Supermarkets must do more to stop deforestation, says Barclay

SUPERMARKETS will be forced to ensure that products on their shelves do not contribute to illegal deforestation, Steve Barclay will announce today.

The environment secretary will say palm oil, cocoa, beef, leather and soy products will be covered by the legislation, in an attempt to stop British products contributing to deforestation, in a speech at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai. Agricultural expansion causes an area the size of the UK to be ploughed up each year to meet British demand for products.

“I find it heart-rending to see the way illegal deforestation is destroying the habitats of tigers, jaguars, orangutans and many other endangered species,” Mr Barclay said. “It’s why we are cleaning up supply chains to make sure that big businesses in the UK aren’t responsible for illegal deforestation.”

Legislation was first introduced in the 2021 Environment Act, but could not be enforced until the Government had laid out the products to which it would apply. Green groups have said the laws do not go far enough because they only cover illegal deforestation.

Some 70 per cent of deforestation for global products is illegal, but there is little understanding of where goods on British shelves come from. Several supermarkets have vowed to clean up their supply chains to stop illegal deforestation for products such as soy.

Under new legislation, businesses that have a global annual turnover of £50 million and use over 500 tonnes of regulated commodities a year will be banned from using them if sourced from land used illegally.

These businesses will also be required to undertake a due diligence exercise on their supply chains and to report annually.