Deforestation made in Italy

The goal of the report “Deforestation Made in Italy. The responsibilities of Italian companies and consumers in global deforestation” is to shed light on the responsibilities that global trade supply chains cast on tropical forests. Following the first edition published in 2020, we have updated and expanded the analysis together with the University of Padua, in light of new available data and the changed European regulatory context.

This new edition – produced also thanks to the work carried out within the European project EMMA4EU, funded by the Erasmus+ programme – estimates the impacts embedded in Italian consumption of seven product categories: coffee, beef and bovine hides, palm oil, natural rubber, soy, wood and derived products, and cocoa. The analysis covers the period 2005–2023 and follows the framework of Annex I of the EUDR Regulation. The result is an updated picture of embedded deforestation, carbon emissions, and biodiversity impacts. Because even when forests are lost thousands of kilometres away, the chain that leads there often starts from our shelves.

Alongside deforestation processes – that is, the conversion of forests into other land uses such as agricultural areas, pastures, or urban areas — the report also examines forest degradation: the progressive reduction of the ecological integrity and functionality of forests, with the consequent loss of their capacity to provide essential products and services for local communities and the global climate.

The Context: Half a Billion Hectares Lost

According to the FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025, forests today cover approximately 4.14 billion hectares, equivalent to 32% of the world’s land area. Despite a slowdown in the annual rate of loss, between 1990 and 2025 nearly 0.49 billion hectares of forest were lost – an area equivalent to 16 times the surface of Italy. The main driver of this loss in tropical areas is permanent industrial agriculture, linked to the very products analysed in this report. The EU (and Italy with it) imports, consumes, and processes large quantities of these raw materials, bearing direct responsibility for the forests of other continents.

Italy in Third Place in Europe

The data show that Italian consumption of the seven products analysed put a total of approximately 594,000 hectares of forest at risk over the period studied — an area comparable to the entire province of Rome. On average, this corresponds to over 31,000 hectares per year, equivalent to around 45,000 football pitches.

In per capita terms: each Italian citizen is responsible, on average, for 100 m² of embedded deforestation over the entire period examined – about the size of an apartment. This figure places Italy twentieth in the world and third in the European Union, behind Germany and Spain.

The average associated climate impact is estimated at 9.45 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, equal to 2.5% of national emissions – equivalent to the emissions produced by over 2 million cars driven for a full year, roughly 5% of Italy’s vehicle fleet.

The Most Involved, products

The Regulatory Framework: EUDR

In 2023, the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, known as the EUDR, which prohibits the placing on the European market of products associated with deforestation. After numerous delays, its application is expected in December 2026. Companies that import or trade products falling under Annex I will be required to demonstrate that their supply chains do not contribute to forest loss. For the report, full implementation of the EUDR without further simplifications or delays is one of the most urgent actions needed.

“Despite a general trend toward decreasing embedded deforestation risk in Italian consumption – driven mainly by voluntary initiatives from some industrial sectors and EU engagement before global geopolitical priorities shifted in the post-pandemic era – our system continues to bear great responsibility for the impacts of Made in Italy supply chains. Significant collective action is therefore needed: full implementation of the EUDR without further simplifications and delays, concrete commitment from businesses toward zero-deforestation supply chains, strengthened independent monitoring, and above all, a transition toward more sustainable consumption models. A structural paradigm shift in the economic model toward a circular bioeconomy based on principles of sufficiency and shared responsibility is essential to reduce impacts and ensure lasting environmental, social, and economic benefits,” explain Mauro Masiero and Giovanni Bausano, the report’s editors.

Some Highlight from the Report

• Global forests are under pressure. Since 1990, nearly half a billion hectares of forest have been lost — 16 times the surface of Italy — driven by industrial agriculture linked to palm oil, bovine products, soy, wood, coffee, cocoa, and natural rubber.
• Italy ranks third in the EU. Between 2005 and 2023, Italian consumption put 594,000 hectares of forests at risk — 100 m² per citizen. A declining figure, but still significant.
• Two products, two countries, more than half the risk. Palm oil and bovine products from Indonesia and Brazil account for over half of total embedded deforestation.
• Deforestation is embedded in Made in Italy. The impacts cut across numerous sectors, including flagship areas of manufacturing.
• Urgent collective action is needed. Full EUDR implementation, zero-deforestation supply chains, independent monitoring, and a transition toward more sustainable production and consumption models.

The Role of Businesses

The data clearly show that Italy as a system bears strong responsibilities for impacts along global supply chains. This does not mean standing still: the report precisely identifies the levers available – business commitment to zero-deforestation supply chains, strengthened independent monitoring, full EUDR implementation, and a transition toward more sustainable consumption models capable of combining environmental goals, social rights, and local development.

At Etifor, we have worked for years to support companies in measuring and reducing their impact on nature. Understanding where deforestation sits within supply chains is the first step toward taking concrete action – and this report is a tool designed to do exactly that.