Frequently asked questions
What is Forest 500?
- Why is Forest 500 important?
- Why do you only include nine commodities in your assessments?
- How do you define deforestation and conversion?
- What is a Forest 500 ‘powerbroker’?
- Who funds the Forest 500?
- Do assessments include jurisdictions?
How are the Forest 500 selected?
- How are the Forest 500 selected?
- Have the companies identified been directly linked to deforestation?
- Do the financial institutions and companies included in Forest 500 change over time?
How are the Forest 500 assessed?
- What is assessed?
- What happens if the companies and financial institutions have commitments but don’t publish them on their websites?
- Are companies in different supply chain segments assessed differently?
- Do you assess the companies and financial institutions in the languages they operate in?
- How objective is the selection methodology?
- Do you review assessment methodologies to reflect policy developments?
What Forest 500 data is available?
- Do you release the detailed scoring?
- Is the data available to download?
- How can the Forest 500 data be used?
- How can I use this data as a financial institution?
How can I contact Forest 500?
What is Forest 500?
Why is Forest 500 important? Governments and companies endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests in 2014, calling for an end to commodity-driven deforestation by 2020. But the 2020 target date was missed, and deforestation continues to be driven by commodity production. We need to end deforestation to tackle the climate, nature and biodiversity crises, and meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement, the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use and the Global Biodiversity Framework. But many of the companies and financial institutions with the greatest influence on deforestation are still not doing enough to eliminate deforestation, conversion of natural ecosystems and the associated human rights abuses. Forest 500 holds them accountable through annual assessments of the strength and implementation of their commitments on deforestation, ecosystem conversion and associated human rights abuses.
Why do you only include nine commodities in your assessments? Forest 500 identifies, assesses and ranks the 500 companies with the greatest influence in the global trade of beef, cocoa, coffee, leather, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy and timber. The production of these commodities was linked to 68% of global deforestation from 2013 to 2023.
How do you define deforestation and conversion? Forest 500 uses the definitions of deforestation (including zero-net and zero-gross deforestation) and conversion (including zero-net and zero-gross conversion) as defined by the Accountability Framework. While deforestation specifically refers to the loss of natural forests, conversion extends to any change from a natural ecosystem to any other land use. The full definitions used can be found on the Accountability Framework initiative’s website.
What is a Forest 500 ‘powerbroker’? The companies included in Forest 500 are described as ‘powerbrokers’ because they have been identified as the companies with the greatest influence on deforestation through their production or use of at least one of the key forest risk commodities (beef, cocoa, coffee, leather, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy, timber). We select companies as powerbrokers based on their exposure to those commodities, which is identified using a variety of metrics. You can read more about our selection process below.
Companies that are powerbrokers for one commodity might also produce or use other forest-risk commodities. If their exposure is not sufficient to be classified as a powerbroker they are still assessed for the additional commodity under the Forest 500 methodology, but the scores are weighted lower for the ‘non-powerbroker’ commodity to reflect their reduced influence in that supply chain. The financial institution are the key lenders, investors and other financial institutions which provide the most finance, through shareholdings, loans and underwritings, and bondholdings to the powerbroker companies.
Who funds the Forest 500? Forest 500 is generously supported by Climate Arc, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
Do assessments include jurisdictions? Previous Forest 500 assessments (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) ranked key jurisdictions on their deforestation policies. Since 2018, assessments have focused on company and financial institution performance, rather than jurisdictions. Jurisdictions are still included in the selection process; key producing and trading jurisdictions are identified in order to guide the company and therefore financial institution selection.
How are the Forest 500 selected?
How are the Forest 500 selected? The companies selected are the largest companies in beef, cocoa, coffee, leather, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy, timber, supply chains. The Forest 500 selection covers commodity supply chains from producers to retailers. The financial institutions are those that provided the most finance through shares, loans and underwritings or bonds to those companies. The selection methodology is available to download.
Have the companies identified been directly linked to deforestation? The companies and financial institutions included in the Forest 500 have, through their supply chains and financing activities, significant influence over the production and processing of the commodities that drive deforestation. Through those activities they are at risk of causing deforestation, conversion of natural ecosystems and associated human rights abuses. To address these risks, the organisations can set and implement policies. Datasets like Mighty Earth rapid response reports and EJAtlas provide information on potential direct links to deforestation incidents.
Do the financial institutions and companies included in Forest 500 change over time? The Forest 500 are identified using a methodology that takes into consideration issues such as company size, links to commodity supply chains, and market share within each industry sector. The selection is reviewed every two years to ensure the most relevant actors are assessed, with some small changes made annually due to companies merging or ceasing operations. The latest selection of companies and financial institutions was made in 2024. The 2024 selection process accounted for the expansion of commodity coverage and forest types. The next selection cycle is currently taking place and the updated methodology will be published in 2026.
How are the Forest 500 assessed?
What is assessed? The Forest 500 assessment looks at whether the most influential companies and financial institutions in forest risk supply chains (beef, cocoa, coffee, leather, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy and timber) address deforestation, conversion of natural ecosystems and associated human rights abuses risks. We do this by looking at their policy commitments, and their reporting on implementation of these commitments. This means the companies and financial institutions can be held to account against their commitments, and can benchmark their performance against peers. The Forest 500 assessment only takes into account publicly available information published by the companies or financial institutions on their websites.
What happens if companies and financial institutions have made commitments but don’t publish them on their websites? It is crucial that commitments and policies are made publicly available so all stakeholders can assess their robustness and hold powerbrokers accountable for their commitments and influence.
Are companies in different supply chain segments assessed differently? In 2020, the Forest 500 company assessment methodology was fully aligned with the Accountability Framework. As part of this alignment, several indicators within the ‘Reporting and Implementation’ section of the assessment methodology apply specifically to either upstream or downstream companies. Upstream companies are defined as producers and processors, while downstream companies are defined as traders, manufacturers, and retailers. Companies which are classed as both upstream and downstream for the same commodity are assessed on all nine indicators, which are weighted equally between upstream and downstream.
Do you assess the companies and financial institutions in the languages they operate in? Yes, wherever possible powerbrokers are assessed in the languages they communicate in, as well as in English. Forest 500 assesses in languages including: Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Standard Chinese and Swedish.
How objective is the selection methodology? The methodology used to identify the Forest 500 can be downloaded. We believe it represents the current best efforts to identify the key powerbrokers. Nevertheless, given the lack of reporting in some sectors and the scarcity of data, it is not possible to guarantee the accuracy of the information contained on this site.
Do you review assessment methodologies to reflect policy developments? We review and update the Forest 500 assessment methodologies for companies and financial institutions annually to ensure they align with best practice for the sector. In 2020, the company assessment methodology was tightened and fully aligned with the Accountability Framework. In 2024, it was aligned with the second update to the AFi’s Common Methodology. This sets out a common framework for companies seeking to address deforestation, ecosystem conversion and associated human rights in their supply chains, and outlines the best practice for companies operating in forest risk supply chains. Also in 2024, the company assessment methodology expanded to include more commodities, forest types and companies, which closely align with the requirements of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR requires businesses to show that EU imports of key agricultural commodities are deforestation free.
In 2022, the Forest 500 financial institution methodology was aligned with the Finance Sector Roadmap published in 2021, and thus is aligned with the AFi’s Common Methodology.
What Forest 500 data is available?
Do you release the detailed scoring? The full assessment methodologies are available online, and all scores (out of 100) are available to view on each company or financial institution profile or via the Rankings page.
Is the data available to download? The Forest 500 dataset can be downloaded from our website. Users can download company and financial institution assessment data, along with country selection data.
How can the Forest 500 data be used? The Forest 500 data can be used in a variety of different ways, from conducting analyses and identifying trends, to informing risk assessments and engagement processes with clients/suppliers. A list of potential uses of Forest 500 data can be found on our site.
How can I use this data as a financial institution? Financial institutions that would like to access data on the Forest 500 companies, should contact Forest IQ. Forest IQ was developed to meet the needs of financial institutions. It aligns, connects and curates the best available datasets on how companies address their links to deforestation.
How can I contact Forest 500?
How can I get in touch if I have questions on an assessment of a company or financial institution? Questions on specific assessments or our methodologies can be emailed to the Forest 500 team at: [email protected]
How can I get in touch with a press enquiry? If you have a press enquiry, please reach out to our Communications team:
Tel: +44 (0)1865 724333
Email: [email protected]
How can I get in touch with feedback? If you have any feedback or for any other information, get in touch via the contact form.