The markets are watching: deforestation becomes a boardroom issue

of investors, it suggests, are increasingly aware of both reputational damage and the risk of their assets becoming stranded. The survey, conducted by financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, found that deforestation was the number one issue investors and shareholders didn’t want their investments exposed to. Seventy per cent cited it as a key concern – ahead of animal testing, tobacco and gambling. ‘Deforestation isn’t just an environmental issue – it’s a financial risk too,’ says Tara Irwin, senior environmental, social and governance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. ‘As forests disappear and climate change accelerates, key agricultural sectors are feeling the impact.’ She highlights cocoa production, which nearly tripled in value between 2020 and 2024, making it more valuable by weight than oil. By the end of 2025, the European Union – the world’s largest single market – could require companies to prove that their products are fully decoupled from deforestation or forest ...