A report by a leading not for profit organisation has warned that major companies and financial institutions are still not doing anywhere enough to halt the steady march of deforestation.

Global Canopy’s 10th annual Forest 500 report reveals, despite some pockets of progress, voluntary private sector action has failed to generate meaningful progress on commodity-driven deforestation.

The report and ranking, which tracks the policies and performance of the 350 most influential companies and 150 financial institutions most exposed to deforestation risk in their supply chains and investments, found almost a quarter (23%) of the companies and financial institutions that have featured in each of the 10 annual assessments since the Forest 500 was established have still not published a single commitment on addressing deforestation.

Niki Mardas, executive director of Global Canopy explained: “There is no solution to climate change without ending deforestation. Almost every country in the world has committed to join in efforts to urgently address and reverse deforestation. Yet, after a decade of being in the spotlight and numerous engagement attempts, it is remarkable that this group of highly exposed companies has failed to produce a single publicly available deforestation commitment. Ignorance has long since ceased to be a defence.”

“Our assessments show that 37% of Forest 500 companies have published a deforestation commitment for at least one commodity but not for all of the commodities they are exposed to and have influence over.” The report stated.

Global Canopy added in 2014, just 11% of financial institutions in the Forest 500 had published a deforestation policy. Ten years later that figure has risen to 45%. But this means that the majority (55%) of financial institutions with the highest exposure to deforestation in their portfolios are still yet to set a single policy. This includes BlackRock, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price.

“Eighty-five percent of financial institutions still do not have a publicly available policy for all the four highest risk commodities – soy, cattle products (beef and leather), timber products (timber and pulp and paper), and palm oil – which drive two thirds of tropical deforestation,” it added.

The report continued: “Our assessments show that the human rights abuses linked to deforestation are being largely ignored across the board. Just 1% of the companies assessed in 2023 had a publicly available commitment in place for all of the human rights commitments across at least one of the highest risk commodities they’re assessed for. None had this for all commodities. 28 companies that have been continuously assessed since 2014 have scored 0 for human rights in the Forest 500 every year.”

Commenting on the report Mike Barrett, WWF’s executive director of Science and Conservation said: “We can’t avoid dangerous climate change if we lose our tropical forests. It is clear from this report that voluntary action by business isn’t working, and we need regulation to stop the destruction of forests that are home to indigenous peoples and many endangered and iconic species.

“The UK Government is two years overdue on promised action to take illegal deforestation out of UK supply chains. They could implement these measures immediately and could go further to take all commodities that cause deforestation from our shelves and not just those linked to illegal deforestation.”

“Voluntary action alone doesn’t cut it; regulation is the only way to make the vital shift to the system as a whole that the world so urgently needs,” Mardas concluded.