UK supermarkets: deforestation law necessary to protect trade and food security

Nine UK supermarket chains are calling on the government to stop delaying plans to implement an EUDR-aligned deforestation law, citing concerns around EU trade, climate change and food security.

In an open letter addressed to the respective Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Business and Trade and Northern Ireland, Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose say repeated delays to implement a deforestation law first introduced in 2021 has left UK businesses “in limbo”.

“It is concerning that, almost four years after the Environment Act 2021 became law, successive UK Governments have failed to enact the necessary secondary legislation to put its deforestation provisions into effect. This delay has left UK businesses in limbo; uncertain, and unable to fully respond to these challenges,” the letter says.

Market shift ‘impossible to achieve’ without regulation

Noting that they appreciate the UK government’s concern around any added regulatory burden, they argue that “well designed legislation” developed in consultation with businesses doesn’t risk hindering growth. 

Instead, a UK law mandating retailers to ensure they are not selling products derived from deforested areas would protect UK trade with its largest partner when the EU implements its own deforestation regulation (EUDR) at the end of this year.

“Moreover, voluntary actions, such as the UK Soy Manifesto, have demonstrated that a market shift even amongst the most committed UK businesses is impossible to achieve without a binding regulatory baseline in place. Deforestation is a clear example of a market failure that we are unable to address exclusively through voluntary commitments,” the supermarkets add.

Climate change mitigation and food security depend on deforestation law

Beyond their trade concerns, the companies warn that ending global deforestation is critical for their supply chains, which are already suffering the impacts of climate change. These impacts are driving food price inflation (particularly for forest-dependent cocoa) and reduced yields, and fuelling the cost-of-living crisis.

“We cannot achieve our own, let alone UK and global, goals to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss without protecting existing forests,” the letter notes.

For these reasons, the nine supermarket chains call on the government to adopt legislation aligned with the EUDR, recognise European Due Diligence Statements as credible evidence of due diligence without requiring further documentation or action, and ensure supply chain transparency is required within British supply chains after the point of import to give companies the information necessary to export products to Europe.