The UK Government has announced a strengthening of its approach to tackling global deforestation risk in UK businesses’ supply chains and has set out new proposals to ‘further decouple UK consumption from global deforestation’.
Published: 21 July 2026
Authors: Angus Evers
What has the government proposed previously?
The Environment Act 2021 contains powers for the government to introduce regulations restricting the use by UK companies of ‘forest risk commodities’ in commercial activity. The previous Conservative government consulted in early 2022 on prohibiting larger businesses operating in the UK from using commodities including cattle (beef and leather), cocoa, coffee, maize, rubber, soy and palm oil grown on illegally deforested land. Those businesses would be required to publish information obtained through due diligence into their supply chains, identifying where any ‘forest risk commodities’ they placed on the UK market came from.
Despite the EU adopting a Regulation on Deforestation-free Products in 2023 (which applies in Northern Ireland), the UK Government has not taken the proposals it consulted on in 2022 forward – until now.
What is the government proposing now?
One of the last policy proposals of the Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer was to publish a policy paper on the UK’s approach to deforestation regulations. The policy paper states that the government aims to introduce regulations, including under the Environment Act 2021, alongside legislation that will strengthen the UK Timber Regulation.
At the core of the proposals is an obligation for qualifying businesses that use forest risk commodities and wood products to carry out due diligence to ensure these are produced in compliance with relevant local laws. According to the policy paper, businesses will need to establish a due diligence system, report on their activity and be able to evidence their compliance by collecting geolocation data on the origin of the specific products.
The measures are designed to strengthen the UK’s approach to tackling illegal deforestation, although the policy paper also states an ambition to transition to a deforestation-free standard, such as the one in the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), in due course.
The policy paper indicates that the information requirements under the GB regime will align with what is needed for a due diligence statement under the EUDR when exporting to the EU or moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Which commodities will be caught?
The requirements are intended to apply to the same commodities as the EUDR - namely wood, cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and certain derived products (e.g. chocolate and furniture).
Which businesses will be caught?
Businesses in Great Britain that trade in forest risk commodities and wood products, and that have an annual turnover of more than £1 million will be required to comply with the due diligence requirements. However, GB businesses with an annual turnover below £1 million that export goods to the EU or Northern Ireland will still need to comply with the EUDR, as there is no turnover threshold under the EUDR.
How will the GB regime interact with the EUDR?
The government has also committed to ensuring the measures will operate consistently alongside the EUDR, to protect the UK internal market and support export-led growth. It remains to be seen how this will work in practice, as whilst the proposed GB regime is concerned with illegal deforestation, the EUDR is concerned with any form of deforestation (including legal deforestation).
The EUDR will continue to apply in Northern Ireland to ensure that Northern Ireland’s unique access to the EU single market is maintained.
What happens next?
The Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer issued the policy paper and it is too early to tell whether the new Labour government led by Andy Burnham will take forward the proposals. Assuming it does, there will be a consultation on the proposals later in 2026, with a view to introducing regulations in 2027. The regulations will include provisions on enforcement and civil sanctions.
Large and medium-sized UK businesses operating within the EU or placing relevant products on the EU or Northern Ireland markets must comply with the EUDR from 30 December 2026. Micro and small UK businesses operating within the EU or placing relevant products on the EU or Northern Ireland markets must comply with the EUDR from 30 December 2026 for wood products currently regulated under the EU Timber Regulation and from 30 June 2027 for all other relevant products.
UK businesses that may be affected by the proposals should maintain a watching brief and wait for the anticipated consultation later in 2026. As a preliminary step it may also be prudent to begin mapping and assessing supply chains to identify commodities and products that are likely to trigger due diligence requirements.