My response to the UK Government Consultation - August to October 2020 - on "Due diligence on forest risk commodities"

The consultation is a first step in the right direction.  It sets out the proposed new legislation as a means to make supply chains more sustainable, by requiring large companies to undertake due diligence on their (global) supply chains regarding the sustainability of the harvesting of commodities (eg timber) from forests.  However,  inevitably this will initially fall short of being optimum for sustainability.  This is because it is currently expressed in a form that represents a type of "weak sustainability".

Thresholds (for the scope of the legislation) should be set to cover a specific proportion of the amount of forest risk commodities involved in the UK economy.  Those thresholds and proportions should be reviewed and revised every few years, and progressively tightened until the point of diminishing ecological returns.
​
I believe in "strong sustainability" and would recommend moving as swiftly as possible from the initial position to a position where the sum total of the world's natural capital is maintained and improved to a point of being optimal.  This will go beyond many nations' existing laws, and will need to be backed up by new international laws.