Stories About Land & Forests
Found 302 stories. Page 15 of 16.
SCS Global Services Certifies One of the Largest Forest Areas in South Asia Under FSC Standard
SUPPLY CHAIN - Third-party certifier SCS Global Services has announced that Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation (UPFC) — which manages all aspects of forestry operations within the State of Uttar Pradesh, located in northern India bordering on Nepal — has met all of the requirements necessary to earn certification for responsible forestry under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standard.The Forest Management Certification encompasses 13 forest divisions covering a total forest area of 349,296 hectares. This area represents roughly 40 percent of the FSC-certified forest area in South Asia.
Here’s How Satellites Are Saving the World’s Forests
CLEANTECH - The world’s besieged forests have found friends in high places — in this case, very high. Remote-sensing satellites keep constant watch from hundreds of miles above the earth, collecting data that — when combined with information sharing and human networks around the world — can be used to preserve the world's forests, which are disappearing at an alarming net loss of 12.8 million acres each year (an area the size of Costa Rica).Although deforestation has slowed slightly since the 1990s thanks to conservation efforts, the situation remains dire.
Almond Farmers Explain the Switch to Organic in CLIF's Latest 'Farmers Speak' Video
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - Clif Bar has released the second installment in its Farmers Speak series. Where the first centered on organic oats; the second installment “gives voice” to organic almonds — a key ingredient in 17 products across the company’s CLIF®, CLIF® Organic Trail Mix, LUNA® and CLIF® Kit’s Organic Fruit + Nut Bar brand bars.The video tells the story of Burroughs Family Farm — which grows nearly 1,000 acres of organic almonds in Merced County, in California’s Central Valley — and the family’s decision to make the bold transition from conventional to organic farming practices.
Bad Palm Oil Production Practices Linked to Devastating Air Pollution, Haze, UCS Says
SUPPLY CHAIN - On top of the fact that palm oil production — the biggest driver of deforestation in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa and South America — is responsible for the rampant release of carbon emissions, the destruction of vital habitats for endangered species such as orangutans and the Sumatran tiger, and the production of methane-rich wastewater, a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) links unsustainable palm oil production practices with significant air pollution in Southeast Asia in the form of devastating haze.
3M and ForestEthics End Multi-Year Conflict Over Paper Sourcing Policy
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - After an often-heated six years of confrontation between activist group ForestEthics and paper and packaging giant 3M, the conflict finally came to an end yesterday as 3M announced its new paper and wood pulp sourcing policy. ForestEthics, which has been critical of the corporation’s sourcing policy, has applauded its new commitment to tracing its virgin wood fiber and ensuring it comes from renewable sources.
Past, Present and Future: The Road to a Sustainable Agricultural Sector
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Thick clouds of smoke, a suffocating heat. Forests, lush and green and bustling with all types of life, reduced to burned land and ashes. In Indonesia, in the 1997-98 fires, approximately 10 million hectares of rainforest, an area the size of Switzerland, were affected. The regional economic costs of the fires were estimated at $9 billion. These fires were set deliberately, by palm oil estates, to clear land for rapid and cheap expansion of their plantations, and to hide timber poaching and land theft.
Danone, Unilever Among 6 Major Companies With Comprehensive Deforestation Policies
SUPPLY CHAIN - Only six major companies and one investor — Danone, Unilever, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Kao Corp., Reckitt Benckiser Group, and financial services giant HSBC — have comprehensive policies in place to protect tropical forests, according to a new ranking by Global Canopy Programme (GCP).
Code REDD's New Crowdfunding Mobile Site Encouraging Concerned Citizens to 'Stand for Trees'
MARKETING AND COMMS - Code REDD announced the launch today of Stand For Trees, the first consumer campaign that uses the power of social media and crowdfunding to enable users to take action to reduce deforestation and curb climate change.Individuals are asked to purchase $10 Stand for Trees certificates, which each prevent one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmosphere while protecting threatened ecosystems that sustain forest communities and numerous endangered species.
Independent Evaluation - A Crucial Part of Our Zero-Deforestation Journey
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - Today marks two years since we launched our Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) and the anniversary is particularly significant as the Rainforest Alliance is publishing its independent evaluation of our progress. I believe this may be the first time that any company attempting to implement ‘zero deforestation’ in its supply chain on such a scale has submitted its programme to independent third-party evaluation.
APP on Slow Progress of Zero Deforestation Policy: 'We Must Have the Courage to Continually Improve'
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - On Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of the launch of Asia Pulp & Paper’s (APP) Forest Conservation Policy (FCP), an unprecedented initiative aimed at defining a new standard and business model for achieving a deforestation-free paper supply chain, Rainforest Alliance (RA) released the results of its evaluation to gauge the paper giant’s progress on its commitments.
Trending: How Mars, Wilmar Are Making Good on Their Zero-Deforestation Commitments
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - The devastating effects of deforestation and efforts to end it are at the forefront of the sustainability conversation, and global corporations across a variety of industries have responded with zero-deforestation commitments. And, as both PepsiCo and Asia Pulp and Paper have learned in the last few weeks alone, there are plenty of NGOs and other stakeholders on hand to hold companies accountable if it appears they aren’t following through.
New MasterCard Rewards with Nike Carbon Offsets, Tracks Footprint Reduction
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Sustain:Green has created a new biodegradable MasterCard® rewards card, which provides carbon offsets for everyday purchases — specifically, helping to fund Nike’s Mata no Peito rainforest preservation projects in Brazil.
Timberland Reforestation Program Slowly Sowing Seeds of Change in Haiti
COLLABORATION - Timberland has long been one of the more proactive and socially responsible companies within the apparel industry, and this commitment has continued since its acquisition in 2011 by the multinational VF Corporation. The outdoor gear company has launched a bevy of social responsibility programs across the globe and reports on its environmental, social and governance progress quarterly. Now, leading up to the five-year anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake on January 12, the company is promoting the work it has done to help the Caribbean nation rebuild.
Fashion and Textile Leaders for Forest Conservation Begin Shift to Forest-Free Viscose
COLLABORATION - The newest trend in social responsibility in the apparel sector emerged in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam on Monday as several of the world’s most influential clothing brands gathered to develop a roadmap to creating a more sustainable supply chain and conserve endangered forests.
Rainforest Alliance Reinstates IKEA's FSC Certification
SUPPLY CHAIN - The Rainforest Alliance (RA) announced this week it has lifted the suspension of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificate of Swedwood Karelia LLC, a subsidiary of IKEA, following an independent appeals committee evaluation of the company’s 2013 annual audit.
FSC Suspends IKEA's Certification After Discovering Use of Old-Growth Forests in Russia
SUPPLY CHAIN - While Ikea has been leading the charge in its use of sustainably sourced cotton and promotion of LED lighting, it apparently should pay closer attention to its wood sourcing — the company recently got a slap on the wrist from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which suspended IKEA’s certification after discovering that the Swedish furniture giant’s subsidiary, Swedwood, has been cutting 600-year-old trees in Karelia, Russia, near the border of Finland.
Canopy Applauds Cutting-Edge LCA of Materials by Tissue Giant Kimberly-Clark
SUPPLY CHAIN - This week, Canadian forest-conservation NGO Canopy commended the world’s largest tissue manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark Corporation — global producer of Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex and dozens of other paper towel, diaper and family-care brands sold worldwide — on the release of a cutting-edge study of the existing and potential raw materials for its products. The comprehensive lifecycle analysis (LCA) was authored by the Georgia Institute of Technology, with Canopy bringing independent expertise to the advisory board.
NGOs Weigh In on APRIL's Spotty New Sustainable Forest Management Policy
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - WWF says it is cautiously welcoming a first attempt at a Sustainable Forest Management Policy (SFMP) by Indonesian pulp and paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL), released Tuesday. WWF notes that a commitment to support forest conservation areas equal in size to its plantations sets a new standard for the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia, but is concerned about certain loopholes in the policy, which Greenpeace says is ‘essentially a license to continue forest clearance.’
After Years of Pressure, Wilmar International Commits to Ending Deforestation Practices
SUPPLY CHAIN - Wilmar International, the world's largest palm oil trader, today announced a No Deforestation Policy in response to pressure from Greenpeace, NGOs and consumers around the world.
Two-Thirds of Scholastic Books Now Sourced From FSC-Certified Paper
WASTE NOT - Scholastic, Inc., leading publisher of books for children and young adults, announced on Monday that it now purchases 68.2 percent of its paper from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified sources, surpassing its original goal of increasing the amount of FSC-certified paper purchased for its publications to 30 percent by 2012.The global children's publishing, education and media company says that after making significant gains toward the FSC goal between 2008 and 2011, it increased its goal for 2012 from 30 percent to 35 percent of all paper purchased to be FSC-certified. Scholastic also pledged to by the same date increase its use of recycled paper to 25 percent, of which 75 percent would be post-consumer waste.
