An investigation by Global Witness alleges that Big K, a major British charcoal brand, sources materials from a company operating in Paraguay's Gran Chaco forest, which has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. The charcoal supplier, Taruma, buys large volumes of wood from deforested cattle farms, including one of the largest in Paraguay owned by BrasilAgro, a subsidiary of agro-giant Cresud. The farm, which stretches over 60km2, has cleared over 28,000 hectares of forest, an area larger than Birmingham. Cresud is responsible for over 170,000 hectares of deforestation in South America over the last 20 years. Taruma stated that it complies with Paraguayan law in its sourcing practices and does not play a role in decisions by landowners to convert land. The UK law designed to ensure supply chains are free of deforestation remains unenforced five years after it was passed by Parliament.

Big K emphasises its commitment to sustainability on its website and includes a section on sourcing from the Gran Chaco.

“We believe that responsible sourcing is achieved by only using trees that are due to be cut down,” the statement reads.

“Although there may be some suppliers that buy illegally sourced charcoal, our due diligence procedures ensure that that we do not engage with these suppliers in any way. The charcoal we source is government controlled, coming from land that is cleared for cattle rearing.”