On 18th May 2021, European-based members of The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition signed a statement from 11 consumer goods companies entitled “Business leaders support bold EU actions to eliminate imported deforestation”.

The statement calls for the EU (European Union) to adopt strong legislation to stop imported deforestation within the European market, which would help send a strong message to suppliers and traders, set the bar for procurement policies, and facilitate greater collaboration between importing and producing countries.

Eight of the 11 signatories are members of the CGF and the Forest Positive Coalition: Carrefour, Danone, Jerónimo Martins, METRO AG, Nestlé, Reckitt, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco.

Government and stakeholder engagement is one of the Coalition’s four Coalition-wide Actions. By working with governments to create enabling environments for forest positive policies and collaborating with NGOs to inform its approach and implement participatory strategies, the Coalition believes its work will be stronger. Currently, the Coalition is initially focusing its government engagement efforts in Brazil, China, the European Union and Indonesia.

The Forest Positive Coalition was formed in 2020 by The Consumer Goods Forum and brings together 20 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers, with a combined market value of around $2 trillion, to take collective action to remove deforestation, forest conversion and degradation from key commodity supply chains. For more information about the Coalition’s actions to create a forest positive future, visit the Coalition’s website.