Harms to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including violations of the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), often go hand and hand with tropical deforestation. This is due to the fact that production of commodities that drive deforestation – such as beef, soy, palm oil and cocoa – often occurs in areas that overlap with Indigenous lands. For example, JBS meatpacking plants, which supply many European supermarkets, were recently found to have purchased beef from farms illegally located in the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon.  
Across the 350 companies with the highest exposure to tropical deforestation – as assessed in Global Canopy’s Forest 500 assessment – the average score for the strength of commitments to test for the FPIC of Indigenous Peoples is only 21%. This is only a marginal improvement over the average score of 17% in 2018. According to the Forest 500’s 2022 methodology, companies who have commitments to test for FPIC prior to acquiring new interests developments, or expansions receive a score of 67%. To receive a perfect score, companies must also commit to not proceed with operations unless consent has been given by Indigenous peoples and local communities. 

Harms to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including violations of the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), often go hand and hand with tropical deforestation. This is due to the fact that production of commodities that drive deforestation – such as beef, soy, palm oil and cocoa – often occurs in areas that overlap with Indigenous lands. For example, JBS meatpacking plants, which supply many European supermarkets, were recently found to have purchased beef from farms illegally located in the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Territory in the Brazilian Amazon.  
Across the 350 companies with the highest exposure to tropical deforestation – as assessed in Global Canopy’s Forest 500 assessment – the average score for the strength of commitments to test for the FPIC of Indigenous Peoples is only 21%. This is only a marginal improvement over the average score of 17% in 2018. According to the Forest 500’s 2022 methodology, companies who have commitments to test for FPIC prior to acquiring new interests developments, or expansions receive a score of 67%. To receive a perfect score, companies must also commit to not proceed with operations unless consent has been given by Indigenous peoples and local communities.