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This London Climate Action Week, the government has confirmed its intention to introduce mandatory due diligence on tackling illegal deforestation in supply chains.  

techUK welcomes the UK government’s announcement to finally bring forward its own deforestation regulation which is explicitly aligned with the EU, as this will bring greater certainty for businesses and benefit our members. We also eagerly await further confirmation as to whether the consultation will include details around mandatory human rights due diligence.  

Where has this come from? 

Let’s back up. In 2021, the UK passed the Environment Act, which includes a provision for government to establish a due diligence system for ‘forest-risk’ commodities via secondary legislation, the proposed Forest-risk Commodities Regulation (FRC). This followed a 2020 consultation, and was subsequently followed by a 2022 ‘implementation’ consultation. 

However, at the same time the EU was busy designing its own EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), adopted in 2023, alongside its Corporate Sustainability and Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Initially intended to come into force in 2024/2025, the EUDR faced backlash from businesses and both European and third countries around salient issues such as compliance burden, competitiveness and trade barriers. As such, the EU eventually revised and delayed the implementation until 2026/2027.  

Meanwhile, contending with political shifts, the UK effectively shelved its plans to introduce the FCR, as well as broader mandatory due diligence (i.e. for human rights). This delay, alongside the lack of alignment between EUDR and proposed FRC in terms of commodities covered, business scope, or enforcement mechanisms, has created significant uncertainty and burdens for businesses over the past few years. 

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