Auto industry is a laggard on deforestation-free leather

Cattle ranching is the leading driver of Amazon deforestation, and leather is a key part of the value chain.

As part of our commitment to ending commercially driven deforestation, Rainforest Foundation Norway has benchmarked 10 leading global automakers and five major car interior manufacturers on their efforts to source deforestation-free leather.

The benchmark ranks companies on policy and strategy, implementation, disclosure and performance on a scale from 0-100%. None of the companies assessed managed a combined scored above 50%, with German car companies BMW and Mercedes leading the pack with a combined score of 47% and 45 % respectively.

Leather supply chain is a critical blind spot

Leather is the worst-performing commodity in the Forest 500 rankings and the only commodity for which 70% of companies have no public deforestation policy. Leather's deep ties to cattle-driven forest loss and widespread use in sectors like automotive make it a critical blind spot in current supply chain oversight.

The automotive sector alone represents approximately half of the value exported of Brazilian hides, a key factor being that it purchases fully processed leather, which carries a higher value than semi-processed hides."

Full traceability and deforestation-free commitments a must

The automotive industry cannot claim to be on a credible sustainability path while continuing to turn a blind eye to leather-driven deforestation. Investors must demand full traceability and deforestation-free commitments, and companies must act now to clean up their supply chains.

"Protecting forests is not optional. The automotive industry has the power and the obligation to ensure its supply chains do not drive deforestation or harm local communities, says Ingrid Tungen, Head of the Deforestation-free Markets team at Rainforest Foundation Norway.