Many everyday items could be connected to deforestation, from your morning coffee to chocolate snacks, leather shoes and wooden furniture. Only 3% of major companies are taking action to stop forest destruction, according to a new report from NGO Global Canopy. The “Forest 500 Report 2025” examined 500 companies with the most influence over products most linked to deforestation: beef, leather, palm oil, soy, timber, paper, and newly added cocoa, coffee and rubber. This year’s report expanded beyond rainforests to cover all forest types. “It’s disappointing to see this lack of action from those with the most power to stop deforestation,” Emma Thomson from the Forest 500 and tracking lead at Global Canopy told Mongabay. “It is unacceptable that so many companies are still doing nothing.” The report identified 24 “persistent laggards,” companies that have never made any deforestation commitments despite being evaluated for more than 10 years. These include major U.S. businesses like Ashley Furniture Industries, beef trader Parker-Migliorini International, and Land O’Lakes (a “powerbroker” for palm oil, soy and paper packaging). Other significant offenders include the world’s largest pork producer, WH Group (owner of Smithfield Foods), China State Construction Engineering Corp., and Bright Food Group. Cattle at one of the 70,000 suppliers used by JBS, one of Brazil’s largest beef producers. Photo courtesy of JBS Some companies are backtracking and retreating from previously announced targets. The world’s largest meatpacker, Brazil-based JBS, which in 2021 became the first in its industry to commit to net-zero emissions by 2040 and…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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