SUPPLY CHAIN -
With rainforest destruction and forced labor still urgent concerns in palm oil cultivation, a diverse group of NGOs and investor organizations, organized by Ceres, today released shared guidance for corporate reporting on company commitments towards responsible palm oil sourcing and production.
COLLABORATION -
This week, Duke Energy Carolinas announced that it will invest nearly $1.4 million to help protect wildlife habitat and land conservation efforts in South Carolina into the foreseeable future.
The Oconee County Conservation Bank will benefit from $618,000 to support regional land conservation and habitat preservation efforts, while the Foothills Conservancy Program will receive $762,000 for the Keowee-Toxaway Habitat Enhancement Program (KTHEP), which supports projects that create, enhance and protect fish and wildlife habitats along the shores of Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee, as well as in their watersheds.
NEW METRICS -
For the past year, climate change has returned to the top of the international agenda. While I was attending COP22 in Marrakech last month, the news broke that Trump had been elected President of the United States, with widespread possible implications not just for the U.S. but for the COP21 climate deal reached after such hard bargaining last year in Paris.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
There are about 3 trillion trees left on earth, or roughly 400 trees per person. Seems like a lot, but what if we told you that since the advent of human civilisation, half of all trees have been cut down, or that 15 billion trees are lost each year?
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
As companies and governments around the world are working to meet climate goals set out by the Paris Agreement, the IKEA Group’s 2016 Sustainability Report shows considerable progress towards its People & Planet Positive strategy and continued long-term investments in sustainability.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
In a new CDP study released last week, global companies — including Colgate Palmolive, L’Oréal, McDonald’s Corporation and Marks & Spencer — report that, on average, 24 percent of their revenues depend upon four deforestation-linked commodities: cat
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The 2016 results from the Global Canopy Programme’s (GCP’s) ‘Forest 500’ have been released, and they don't bring good news. The deforestation policy analysis of the world's most influential powerbrokers, including companies, financial institutions, and countries, reveals that targets for 2020 and 2030 are unlikely to be met at the current rate of progress.
NEW METRICS -
The value of ecosystem services has, up until recently, gone largely unrecognized by governments and corporations. While nature is inherently valuable for a variety of obvious reasons, putting a price tag on it isn’t exactly a straightforward process.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
A new feasibility study entitled Cotton: Export Market Potential for Smallholder Farmers in Haiti makes a case for reintroducing a crop that was once the country’s fourth-largest agricultural export, but which collapsed nearly 30 years ago through a combination of politics and policies.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Moving the needle on consumer behavior remains a monumental task - but a necessary one if we are to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With household consumption accounting for nearly 70 percent of economic activity in the United States, consumers’ choices can make a real difference. At the same time, consumers are faced with so many decisions in their day-to-day lives that “decision fatigue” is commonplace. We cannot expect consumers to weigh the environmental and social implications of each of their actions and purchases.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
After a year of intensive work, the High Carbon Stock (HCS) Convergence Working Group announced in Bangkok today that they have reached agreement on a single, coherent set of rules for implementation of companies’ commitments to “no deforestation” in their palm oil operations and supply chains.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Today, research groups released what they are calling the most comprehensive and detailed look at private sector progress on forest commitments. The report analyzes 600 companies engaged in the production of the “big four” globally traded commodities responsible for 40 percent of deforestation — palm oil, wood, cattle and soy. While forest protection commitments have surged, the report details mixed progress on their implementation.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Being a conservationist today means more than being a steward of the land; it requires an understanding of the ecological balance between man and animal, industry and ecology, necessary to maintain the health of the whole.
The American Forest Foundation (AFF) works with family forest owners in 13 Southeastern states where currently, there are 224 forest-dependent species listed as endangered or threatened, with 293 more that could be listed in the near future. These same forests support nearly 1.1 million people in rural communities with employment and supply raw material for consumer wood products globally.
PRESS RELEASE -
New campaign promotes FSC as one simple action with a profound impact.
For the first time, six publicly traded companies – some of which are competitors – have come together to promote the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) directly to consumers. The companies are HP Inc., International Paper, Kimberly-Clark, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. All sell FSC-certified products.
CLEANTECH -
One of the major challenges in stopping illegal deforestation in Indonesia is the existence of numerous, conflicting concession maps, based on which level of government, or ministry, you talk to. This means for companies such as Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), APRIL or Felda, the land they have been granted could also have been given to another company, or conflict with indigenous or customary community land. And that's a problem.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Certification, standards and labels have long provided an effective mechanism for raising awareness around a range of sustainability issues – from deforestation and overfishing, to carbon reduction and energy efficiency.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
This week, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released a report — authored by myself and UCS analyst Lael Goodman — that scored 13 fast food, retail, and food manufacturing companies on their deforestation-free beef commitments and practices.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
A new scorecard released today examined thirteen global fast food, retail and food manufacturing companies and found that even the top-scoring of the group are failing to protect South American tropical forests from being converted to pasture for cattle. The clearing of tropical forests contributes about 10 percent of all global warming emissions, and beef production is the largest contributor.
PRESS RELEASE -
Eastman team members are committed to investing in their communities, no matter where they are. At the Kohtla-Järve (KJ) site, team members have been involved in a number of endeavors that have made an impact in that small Estonian community.
Eastman began observing Earth Day events in 2013 in KJ. Volunteers recently used their time and talent to continue a tree planting project that was started last year.
In a commitment to environmental stewardship, 10 trees were planted last year in front of the administrative building, and another 10 trees were added this year.