Moo Free vegan chocolate company pushes UK government on deforestation bill

The new law would require larger companies in the UK to show where they source certain commodities - including palm oil, rubber, soya and cocoa.

According to the BBC, tree-felling and the clearing of land is responsible for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

With deforestation in the Amazon increasing dramatically this year, the UK government recently opened a six-week consultation as the first step in a proposed plan to insist that businesses publish information showing the origins of products or face a fine.

Andrea Jessop, CEO of Moo Free, said, “We welcome this move and it can’t come soon enough. We’ve been saying for a long time that businesses need to stand up and be counted with regards to how they source their products. Despite the wide availability and continually falling costs, we’ve chosen to never use soya products or palm oil. Our cocoa is either organic or UTZ/Rain Forest Alliance certified and comes from one single source in the Dominican Republic​.”

Jessop said although the details are currently unclear, she hopes this move will encourage businesses to be more transparent about their supply chains and consider using products that are less environmentally damaging.

“Of course, we don’t know what the penalties will be​,” said Jessop. “Some huge companies may find that it’s cheaper to pay the fine than modify their supply chain. However, we’ve spent 10 years showing that sustainable business is profitable. So change is possible and we're keen to see what happens next​."