Businesses with annual turnover exceeding £1m could face mandatory checks on commodities associated with illegal deforestation under government proposals covering products sold and manufactured in Great Britain.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a consultation on new due diligence requirements for companies using timber, cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and certain products derived from those commodities.
The proposed framework would require affected businesses to establish whether the materials they use have been produced in compliance with relevant laws in their countries of origin.
Businesses could be required to collect information about the geographical origin of commodities, assess the risk of illegal deforestation, and maintain evidence demonstrating their compliance.
The proposed obligations would affect companies operating in food production, retail, manufacturing, cosmetics, furniture, and other sectors with international supply chains involving the specified materials.
Defra’s consultation, launched on 11 November, is seeking views on which products and businesses should be covered, how due diligence systems should operate, and the likely economic and administrative costs.
Responses can be submitted until 17 January 2027. The government expects legislation implementing the Great Britain framework to follow during 2027, although the detailed requirements have not yet been finalised.
Existing UK timber regulations already impose due diligence requirements on certain timber products. The new proposals would build on those arrangements and extend the approach to additional commodities associated with forest loss.
Traceability and international compliance —
Under the government’s intended framework, companies would need more reliable information about the production and sourcing of materials that can pass through several stages of processing and distribution before reaching British customers.
That could involve obtaining location data from suppliers, documenting relevant legal requirements, and assessing potential problems before commodities enter their commercial operations.
The proposals also cover certain finished or processed goods, including products such as chocolate and furniture, rather than concentrating exclusively on imported raw materials.
The government is seeking to align the information collected by businesses in Great Britain with requirements under the European Union’s Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products.
That regulation will begin applying in Northern Ireland in phases from 30 December 2026, creating a different implementation timetable from the proposed Great Britain legislation.
Businesses operating across Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and EU markets may therefore need to manage overlapping reporting and traceability requirements.
Ministers say alignment between the regimes should reduce unnecessary duplication and support the movement of goods within the UK internal market.
The consultation will also examine how the proposed requirements could affect smaller companies and how compliance costs should be managed.
Government estimates indicate that UK consumption of commodities associated with deforestation contributed to approximately 29,000 hectares of global forest loss during 2023, generating an estimated 9.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
These figures cover deforestation associated with consumption more broadly; they are not a measurement of illegal deforestation alone.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the government intended to strengthen confidence that products sold in Britain were not contributing to unlawful forest clearance overseas.
The proposals form part of the UK’s commitment, made at COP26, to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
Defra will consider consultation responses from businesses, industry organisations, and environmental groups before deciding the final scope and implementation of the regulations.
