Nestle and P&G set to miss 2020 zero-deforestation target
Corey Aunger
Deforested land in Brazil. The World Bank says that between 1990 and 2016 the world lost 808,000 square kilometers of forest, an area larger than South Africa. (Credit: AP)

Deforested land in Brazil. The World Bank says that between 1990 and 2016 the world lost 808,000 square kilometers of forest, an area larger than South Africa. (Credit: AP)

The world's two largest consumer goods companies, Nestle and Procter and Gamble (P&G), have said they will miss their 2020 target of removing all ingredients that contribute to deforestation.

Both companies have been among the growing number of businesses declaring their commitment to have a deforestation-free supply chain by 2020.

Nestle, which owns global household brands including KitKat and Haagen-Dazs, said it believes it will fall short of that target. However, the swiss company predicted more than 90 percent of its "key agricultural commodities" will be "deforestation-free" by the end of 2020.

A spokesperson for US company P&G – which uses palm oil in its Tide detergent and Olay skincare products – said it, too, will fail to meet the goal by next year. 

This is despite a growing commitment among businesses to stamp out supply-chain sources that add to deforestation, according to a Global Canopy report.

The most recent Forest 500 report – which monitors the 500 biggest companies with supply-chain links to deforestation – noted that in 2018, 57 percent of the companies it monitors had committed to protect forests for at least one commodity they use.

This was up from 50 percent in 2014.

Nestle, the world's largest consumer goods company according to data company Statista, is leading the way in reaching zero-deforestation in its palm oil, soy and paper commodity usage – at 93 percent, 83 percent and 92 percent respectively.

Global Canopy, a non-profit organization working toward a zero-deforestation economy, said it calculates the percentage of zero-deforestation by looking at where a business sits in the supply chain and the number of products it sources that do not add to deforestation.

However, the report also noted that none of the companies it keeps an eye on will hit the 2020 target.

In 2014 a host of organizations including Nestle and P&G signed the New York Declaration on Forests, which sets out a target for a zero-deforestation supply chain. Other companies that have signed include McDonald's, Tesco and Kellogg's.

Greenpeace, the ecological organization, said it is skeptical of the promises made by companies such as Nestle and P&G.

"They've wasted a decade on half-measures and in that time vast areas of the natural world have been destroyed," said Anna Jones, global campaign lead for Forests at Greenpeace UK.

"They should be in crises talks right now, but they're still trying to grow demand for products that will drive forest destruction even further."

The environmental record of the world's businesses was in the spotlight at the UN Climate Action Summit this week as investors called on companies to step up deforestation efforts after a month of fires in the Amazon.

Nestle and P&G made these deforestation pledges in 2010 after being urged to do so by the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF).

CGF began the Zero Net Deforestation initiative the same year. The organization claims hundreds of members have agreed to cut out all sources of goods that add to deforestation by 2020.

Director of sustainability for CGF, Ignacio Gavilan told Reuters its member companies underestimated increasing demand for consumer goods and slack government forest regulations.

With input from Reuters