Published today (13 January) by Global Canopy, the analysis states that these 93 financial firms have collectively provided more than $2.6trn of investment in, and lending to, the 350 corporates that are the most exposed in the world to deforestation risks.
Banks and investors named and shamed in the non-profit’s ‘Forest 500’ report include the world’s three biggest asset managers, BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, as well as banking giants including Santander, ScotiaBank and Wells Fargo. UK-based firms on Global Canopy’s list of deforestation laggards include Legal & General, Janus Henderson, Baillie Gifford, Schroders and Prudential UK.
The report also argues that simply having an anti-deforestation commitment or set of principles is not good enough. Of the 57 finance firms with commitments in this space, less than half (23) have reported progress publicly in the past 12 months, according to Global Canopy. Moreover, the report reveals a general trend towards businesses making environment-related commitments on forests but not human-rights-related commitments to protect and empower forest communities.
Also detailed in this year’s Forest 500 report is an updated analysis of how major companies producing and using forest-risk commodities are approaching the transition to deforestation-free value chains. Commodities covered include palm oil, soy, beef, leather, timber, pulp and paper.
The analysis reveals that while two-thirds of the companies do have a deforestation policy of some kind – a proportion that has been steadily increasing – only 28% have policies that cover all of the forest-risk commodities they use. Moreover, less than one-tenth of the firms have stated that deforestation is a direct financial risk.
As with the financial firms, many of the companies with deforestation policies were not reporting progress sufficiently. Of the 233 firms with some form of commitment, 40 have provided no progress data at all within the past 12 months. A further 50 have reported on progress for some, but not all, of the commodities covered by their commitment. No companies publicly disclosed how many hectares of deforestation they have identified across the entirety of their supply chain network.
Among the businesses to recieve Global Canopy’s lowest ratings this year are fashion brands Steve Madden, Jimmy Choo and Versace; retailers SPAR International and Deichmann; restaurant firms Domino’s and Inspire Brands; food manufacturers Land O’Lakes and Kikkoman; luggage giant Samsonite and health and beauty major Natura&Co, which owns the Body Shop.
