The tropical timber and pulp industry is falling far short of reporting on its zero deforestation commitments, a new report finds.
The Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) latest SPOTT assessment, published on Wednesday, shows that most of the world’s 100 leading tropical timber and pulp companies have made little headway in disclosing their zero deforestation and traceability commitments, even as global pressure mounts to halt deforestation by 2030.
The assessments, which evaluate companies on their commitments to and reporting of sustainable and ethical practices, revealed an average score of 24.1% — a decrease from 37.1% in 2017 when the evaluations first started.
Even after excluding data prior to 2019, when a stricter and more comprehensive SPOTT scoring criteria was introduced, the overall score has stayed low, ranging from 20.9% in 2019 to 24.1% in 2024.
The proportion of companies monitoring deforestation within their operations has experienced only a modest rise, increasing to 14.3% in 2024 from 13.6% in 2019.
SPOTT, which evaluates commodity companies on their public ESG disclosures, found that some of the biggest consumer goods manufacturers globally, including Nestle, Mars, Hershey’s, PepsiCo, Colgate-Palmolive, and Procter & Gamble, source pulp and paper for packaging from SPOTT-assessed companies.
“We have seen small signs of progress, but the overwhelming story has been one of inertia,” said Sam Ross, ZSL’s sustainable business project analyst who led the assessment.
“Despite years of pressure and attempted engagement, our data shows many tropical forestry companies continue to fail in reporting even basic ESG data. Together, these top 100 companies manage forests almost the size of France – so their actions impact a significant area of the world’s forests.”
With growing regulatory pressure and the tightening of global environmental goals, it is more critical than ever for companies to take action to protect tropical forests and ensure the survival of wildlife and the wellbeing of over 1 billion people who depend on these ecosystems, ZSL said in a press release.
“After eight years of research, it’s clear that transparency is unlikely to come from the tropical forestry sector alone,” Ross said.
“Given their significant market presence and influence through sourcing and investment decisions, buyers and financers must play a crucial role by requesting detailed data, demanding transparency, and pushing for accountability within the sector.”
Most of the companies driving tropical deforestation are failing to address their impacts, with one-third lacking commitments and almost two-thirds showing little evidence of implementing them, the annual Forest 500 report found in February.
By Dimana Doneva – dimana@carbon-pulse.com
** Click here to sign up to our twice-weekly biodiversity newsletter **
