The Australian Conservation Foundation has expressed concern that Woolworths, Australia’s biggest beef buyer, appears to have abandoned its 2025 no-deforestation goal for Australian beef.
In its 2025 Sustainability report, Woolworths has lowered its risk ranking for beef, making Australian deforestation a lower priority.
“No one sells more beef to Australians than Woolworths, so it is extremely worrying the company appears to have abandoned its commitment to only sell deforestation-free beef by the end of 2025,” said ACF’s nature and business lead Nathaniel Pelle.
“The statement that Australian beef is a low deforestation risk is not supported by government data from Queensland and NSW that shows agricultural land clearing is increasing.
“All the evidence says beef pasture expansion by a minority of landowners is the number one driver of deforestation in Australia, eclipsing housing construction, mining and infrastructure many times over.
“This apparent walk back comes just a day after Coles made a new commitment to remove deforestation from its beef supply chain.
“Australian consumers ought to be able to walk in to a supermarket to pick up a steak and be confident that they are not contributing to the destruction of koalas’ homes. At Woolworths they can’t be.
“If I was a Woolies investor, I would be very concerned the company is not serious about sustainability after this regressive policy update.”
On Tuesday, ACF welcomed Coles’ commitment to no longer directly source beef linked to deforestation, which represents up to 85% of its own-branded product, by the end of the year, in accordance with the Science-based Targets Initiative.