Video: How does our consumption impact forests?

We’re living in a time of growing environmental urgency, and protecting the world’s forests has never been more critical. Rainforests like the Amazon and the Congo Basin play a key role in fighting climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon and supporting incredible biodiversity. Yet these vital ecosystems are under threat—driven by global demand for commodities like soy, beef, and timber. What we consume in Europe often has hidden links to deforestation in distant regions.

Using the case of soy imports from Brazil, this video highlights the complex connections between international regulations, global trade, and biodiversity loss. The CLEVER project provides research to support transformative change by helping shape fairer, more effective policies for forest protection. Watch the video below to better understand the role we all play in protecting our planet’s forests.

New paper on corporate accountability in commodity supply chains under the EU Deforestation Regulation

CLEVER Researchers Laila Berning and Metodi Sotirov (University of Freiburg) published the paper “Hardening corporate accountability in commodity supply chains under the European Union Deforestation Regulation” in the Wiley Regulation & Governance journal.

They analyze the EU Deforestation Regulation by drawing on accountability scholarship and institutionalist theories of regulation. The results show that the Regulation aims to enhance corporate accountability mechanisms through mostly state-based hard regulation of commodity supply chains, reducing the role of market incentives and private regulation. 

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12540

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