Businesses in the UK could be banned from using products from land which has been deforested illegally.

New legislation proposed by the Government would require businesses operating in the UK to operate due diligence on they supply chains.

And Unilever, who have a factory in Gloucester, is partnering with a US tech company in a bid to tackle deforestation and environmental threats in its supply chains.

According to the Government plans, businesses would be required to publish information on where key commodities such as cocoa, rubber, soy and palm oil came from and that they were produced in line with local laws protecting forests and other natural ecosystems.

Any business which fails to comply will be subject to fines.

International Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith said: "We can't afford not to act as a country.

"There is a hugely important connection between the products we buy and their wider environmental footprint.

"There has been a lot of progress already to make the UK's supply chains more sustainable, but more needs to be done."

He continued: "We will continue to work closely with farmers, business and governments around the world to ensure that we can protect our vital forests and support livelihoods as we build back greener from coronavirus."

Unilever is teaming up with US tech firm Orbital Insight for the pilot project which is said would use geolocation data and satellite imagery to identify farms and plantations supplying palm oil mills.

It said the information would a picture of where crops originate to predict issues and take action where needed, starting with tests in Indonesia and Brazil.

Chief supply chain officer Marc Engel said: "Better monitoring helps all of us to understand what's happening within our supply chains.

"By companies coming together and using cutting-edge technology to carefully monitor our forests, we can all get closer to achieving our collective goal of ending deforestation."