Zero-deforestation commitments: strong adherence but limited real-world impact

Professor Matthieu Stigler co-authored a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It examines whether corporate commitments to eliminate deforestation from supply chains have had a real impact on Indonesia’s palm oil industry.

Over the past decade, many companies have promised to stop sourcing products linked to forest clearing. But an important question remains: do these commitments genuinely reduce deforestation, or do they mainly formalize changes that would have happened anyway? To answer this, the researchers combined detailed information on company–supplier relationships, corporate sustainability policies, and satellite-based measurements of forest loss, comparing areas connected to committed companies with similar areas without such commitments.

The results show that areas tied to committed companies exhibit very low levels of forest clearing, suggesting that firms largely respect their pledges. However, deforestation declined at nearly the same pace in areas not covered by these commitments.

This indicates that the improvements cannot be attributed to corporate action alone. Instead, broader factors—such as regulations, weaker economic incentives, or the fact that much of the accessible forest had already been cleared—played a key role.

These findings highlight an important lesson: while corporate commitments help maintain good practices, their environmental impact depends strongly on the wider economic and policy context.

Access the study: Zero-deforestation commitments in Indonesia’s palm oil sector achieve high compliance but no additionality

> Read the University of Geneva press release

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