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The UK government is strengthening its approach to tackling deforestation across the UK.
At COP26 in Glasgow, the UK committed to stop and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
Last week, the government followed up on this commitment with a proposed approach to move towards mandatory due diligence obligations for businesses. While the proposed approach remains open for consolation, it highlights a potential step change in line with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). See Fola’s latest blog on EUDR here.
The UK's new policy paper makes it clear that these measures operate consistently alongside the EUDR and that the information required for due diligence is broadly the same. The key difference is that the UK’s regulation specifically targets illegal deforestation (see below) and will ratchet up towards the EUDR’s scope for all relevant products to be “deforestation free”.
The UK government is aiming to introduce new regulations requiring businesses in Great Britain with an annual turnover of over £1 million and who use forest risk commodities and wood products, to carry out due diligence to ensure these are produced in compliance with relevant local laws. These new requirements are intended to apply to eight categories:
If businesses use these products in their operations, the proposed regulations will require them to establish a due diligence system, report on their activity, and hold proof of this compliance by collecting geolocation data about the origin of the specific products. It shows a clear move away from voluntary expectations and towards mandatory reporting.
The new regulation is not targeted as just large multinational organisations. It will affect all businesses with an annual turnover of £1 million and place the relevant products on the market.
The proposed rules are initially focused on illegal deforestation (e.g., in line with local laws). This means that the proposed regulation are less broad that those of EUDR which require all in scope products to be deforestation free. However, there is clear indication to move closer towards EUDR rules in the future.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-steps-up-action-to-tackle-illegal-deforestation
