Australia is a global deforestation front—alongside Borneo, the Amazon and the Congo—and has the highest rate of mammal extinctions in the world. This is mainly driven by land clearing for beef pasture.

In Queensland–the centre of the crisis–over 1 million hectares of land was bulldozed for beef production between 2018–22 which impacted the habitat of hundreds of endangered species such as the Koala, Northern Quoll and Greater Glider and the Great Barrier Reef. The 22-23 Queensland data shows another 332,015 ha of forest and bushland were impacted by land clearing activity, 86% of which was attributed to livestock pasture.

15% of Australian beef is sold by domestic supermarkets, and Woolworths is the largest, accounting for a third of all retail grocery sales in Australia. This puts Woolworths and its suppliers at high risk of contributing to this crisis and at risk of financially material brand damage. 70% of Australians think Woolworths should be doing more to help protect iconic animals from extinction.

In its 2024 sustainability report, Woolworths committed to achieving no-deforestation across key commodities, including beef, by 31 December 2025. Yet in 2025, it removed beef as a high risk commodity from its commitment. According to the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFi), excluding commodities from deforestation pledges requires credible risk analysis proving they are not linked to environmental or social harm. Woolworths has not provided such evidence. Instead, it relied on the EU Deforestation Regulation’s (EUDR) country risk rating—an extremely flawed system that lists only four countries as “high risk,” excluding major deforestation hotspots such as Brazil.

This decision flies in the face of overwhelming evidence that beef is the single largest driver of deforestation in Australia, particularly in Queensland where land clearing and deforestation continues at unsustainable levels. By contrast, Woolworths’ competitor Coles has included beef in its no-deforestation commitments and begun publicly disclosing supply chain tracing efforts.

Woolworths’ deforestation pledge is tied to its emissions reduction targets, validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The SBTi requires companies in the Forest, Land and Agriculture sector, including retailers, to commit to deforestation-free supply chains in order to meet climate targets. Without addressing beef-driven deforestation, Woolworths cannot credibly reduce its emissions or claim alignment with net-zero pathways, since land-use change and Scope 3 emissions are central to its climate impact.

Through its beef sourcing, Woolworths is at risk of contributing to deforestation in Australia – and its current No Deforestation implementation plans will not significantly change this.