Months before the rollout of the EUDR, the vast majority of timber companies sourcing high-risk tropical timbers for wood, pulp, and paper products continue are not ready to meet transparency requirements.
That is according to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which, in its 2025 SPOTT assessment of 100 major forestry firms, reports that only 18% disclose the countries from which they source, and a mere 4% can trace their supply chains down to the forest management unit (FMU) level. At the same time, Wood Central understands that none of the companies assessed publish georeferenced maps for all third-party FMUs, and just 3% report what share of their supply is verified deforestation-free.
“Protecting these forests isn’t optional – they keep our water clean, filter our air and stabilise our climate,” said Sam Ross, ZSL’s timber expert. “These gaps threaten upstream companies’ market access, investor confidence and compliance with tightening regulations – and the risk cascades down the supply chain.”
The findings come months before COP30 in Brazil, where forests will be a central focus, and as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) — which requires proof that products are deforestation-free — comes into force in December 2025. The deadline to halt global deforestation by 2030 is fast approaching.
According to the report:
- Tropical forest loss has doubled since 2023, with 18 football fields disappearing every minute.
- Logging alone accounted for 335,000 hectares lost in 2024.
- SPOTT-assessed companies manage 43 million hectares of forest, yet only 10% provide comprehensive FMU maps.
- Illegal logging still makes up up to 30% of the global timber trade, driving corruption and community conflict.
As it stands, the global timber and pulp trade is worth more than US$480 billion (£350bn) annually, meaning even minor traceability failures can undermine market confidence and regulatory compliance. ZSL stresses that the technology to close these gaps already exists — from satellite monitoring and independent verification to scientific origin testing — but uptake remains slow. “The solutions are already available,” Ross said. “What’s missing is not the technology, but the will to use it.”
Last month, Wood Central revealed that the world’s largest pulp, paper and lumber producer could be classified “deforestation-free,” in a move that would, in effect, reignite debate about a potential “green lane” for producers to meet the requirements of EUDR. It comes amid reports that the European Union, as part of the draft EU–U.S. Agreement Framework currently being thrashed out by officials, is working to “address the concerns of U.S. producers and exporters regarding the EU Deforestation Regulation,” with the aim of “avoiding undue impact on U.S.–EU trade.”
And whilst the United States is currently among the 141 countries classified as “low risk” under the current benchmarking system, Wood Central understands that trade officials are actively lobbying for US-based producers to be reclassified under a proposed “negligible risk” category now before the European Commission—a move that would streamline the due diligence process for all U.S.-origin products.
- To learn more about the country benchmarking system, click here to read Wood Central’s exclusive interview with Marigold Walkins and Kerstin Canby from Forest Trends last month.
