Forest 500 significantly expands, ahead of momentous year for deforestation action

2025 will be a decisive year for action on deforestation. 

For the first time, businesses will be required to show that EU imports of key agricultural commodities are deforestation free, as EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements take effect at the end of 2024 (mid-2025 for small and medium-sized enterprises).

Moreover, 2025 marks the United Nations’ deadline for companies and financial institutions to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation from their portfolios. It is also the halfway point towards the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, the deadline agreed at COP26 for halting and reversing all deforestation and land conversion by 2030.

Next year, the eyes of the world will focus on deforestation as the biggest climate conference of the year, COP30, takes place in Belém, the closest major city to the Amazon. Nature is rapidly joining climate on the business and finance agenda. COP16 and COP30 are both key moments that will distinguish the leaders from the laggards.

Expanded scope includes more commodities, forest types and companies

In the lead-up to these deadlines, Global Canopy has significantly expanded the scope of its Forest 500 assessments. The aim of this expansion is to encourage more comprehensive action from the companies with the greatest ability to influence deforestation, ecosystem conversion and associated human rights abuses, and the financial institutions who finance them.

This year’s assessments will include:

• Three new commodities: In addition to palm oil, soy, beef, leather, timber and pulp and paper, we will now also assess companies on cocoa, coffee and rubber. This will closely align with the commodities included in the EUDR.
• All forest types: Deforestation is a global issue that companies must address across all types of forest. This is also recognised in the EUDR. This is why, at both our selection and assessment stages, we have expanded the scope of our assessments beyond tropical forests to include non-tropical forest types, including boreal and temperate forests. 
• An additional 150 companies: We have expanded our coverage to the 500 companies with the greatest impact on deforestation, up from 350 in previous years. The new companies include sports retailer Decathlon, tyre manufacturer Bridgestone Corporation, Hyundai Motor Group, chocolate manufacturer Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co and FinLav SpA, which owns coffee company Lavazza.

How are companies assessed?

Each Forest 500 company has been identified as a “powerbroker” for at least one of the nine commodities listed above, reflecting its exposure to the commodity or commodities in question. 

In a company’s total score, powerbroker commodities will be given twice the weighting of non-powerbroker commodities. Companies will also be assessed on any of the other commodities to which they are exposed through their supply chains. Identifying new powerbrokers, like those included in the new selection, will push more influential companies to drive change.

Next steps

All companies included in the 2024 Forest 500 selection have been notified by email and invited to a webinar to learn more about this year’s assessment methodology. 

Forest 500 will continue to assess financial institutions. The above changes to the scope of assessment also apply to them. Read more here.