How leading companies, NGOs and solution providers are working to address the myriad issues that can arise in any supply chain.
Half of the soil on our U.S. farmland is gone. Conventional agricultural practices and conversion of land to cropland caused this devastating loss. The good news is that the rate of soil erosion has declined, with an even brighter path ahead.
Though diamonds in today’s jewelry market are much more likely to be conflict free thanks to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, it can still be difficult to trace individual components back to their exact origins. IBM and a newly-formed consortium of gold and diamond businesses aim to make the jewelry supply chain more transparent through the use of
As we approach the 2020 deadline for many corporate sustainability pledges, plus the commitments made in the New York Declaration on Forests, sustainable business practices are front and center in the minds of decision-makers. The next twelve months will be pivotal in achieving these goals.
Choosing from the many existing compliance schemes can be challenging for organisations who strive to work with suppliers that provide decent working conditions, respect the environment and align with industry-approved resolutions.
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. Proposing a new idea and convincing others of its validity is no easy task. Even more so when you’re dealing with complex issues such as supply chain transparency, or trying to shift the ‘take, make and waste’ model of the fashion industry to one of circularity.
Shortages of raw materials, lower crop quality, and less secure supply are just some of the challenges companies may face due to an emerging pollination deficit – and businesses are largely unaware of the risks, according to a new report by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative. Around three quarters of food crops depend on pollination, making pollinators worth up to $577 billion annually, of which half comes from wild pollinators. However, pollinator populations are declining rapidly, with more than a third of wild bee and butterfly species facing local extinction.
Climate change is predicted to reduce the amount of arable land suitable for growing coffee by 50% by 2050. Climatic changes are already impacting coffee production around the world, threatening the global supply, and the endangering the livelihoods of the 25 million families who depend on its production.
Imagine that your local market stall or supermarket aisle is devoid of staple foodstuffs such as maize, apples and bananas, let alone more ‘exotic’ and luxury products such as chili peppers or hazelnuts (the key ingredient of Nutella, which recently caused havoc in Intermarché supermarkets in France when consumers clambered to buy jars of the cocoa hazelnut spread, which were being offered at a 70 percent discount).
Despite stakeholders’ increasing recognition to prevent human rights abuses in the extraction and trade of minerals, public reporting on conflict minerals by companies remains limited, and the quality and comparability of existing reports presents opportunities for improvement.
Cross-Posted from Walking the Talk. The Hershey Company has announced a new comprehensive strategy for cocoa sustainability with an emphasis on addressing pressing issues facing cocoa-growing communities such as poverty, poor nutrition, at-risk youth, and vulnerable ecosystems. Cocoa For Good will involve collaborative programs, partnerships, and a half-a-billion dollars in investments by 2030.
The week surrounding Easter has the highest consumption of chocolate in the year. For environmentalists, it can be a bitter reminder that many of the world’s primary regions for growing cocoa are experiencing dramatic decline in forest cover as land is cleared for agriculture. Cocoa is the top driver of deforestation in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire; countries that also rank 1st and 3rd for the highest rates of deforestation in all of Africa.
The team behind digital supply chain mapping platform Sourcemap has been busy. Their latest projects aim to bring a new level of transparency to two of the most notoriously difficult to track industries in the world: clothing and palm oil.
For the first time ever in Ghana, cocoa farmers have obtained official ownership of non-cocoa trees on their farms. Some 150 farmers in the country’s western region will now be able to include shade trees as part of their business plans, providing additional sources of income in the form of timber while reducing deforestation and the effects of climate change.
To raise awareness of the importance of forests and sustainable forestry, the United Nations has designated today, March 21, as the International Day of Forests. Paper is still a part of our everyday lives, but one thing people often don’t think about is how their paper choices can still support sustainability. To be more sustainable, it’s not about using less paper, it’s about using the right paper. A key part of the International Day of Forests is education.
The Brazilian Cerrado — the world’s most biodiverse savannah — is being deforested at an alarming rate. Over 40 percent of the original landscape has already been cleared, largely for the cultivation of soy for animal feed. As major agribusiness companies continue to convert land into soy pastures, what role do these companies — and the businesses around the world who buy from them — play in avoiding further damage to this important ecosystem?
New research from Stanford University reveals that the truth behind ethical and sustainable sourcing claims are far more complicated than previously imagined.
Despite decades of intense media and business attention, poor working conditions persist in global supply chains. Even Apple, recently announced yet again as the world’s most admired company by Fortune magazine, has struggled to address this issue.
The complexity of global supply chains has made it incredibly difficult for businesses to effectively drive sustainable social and environmental change. However, new funding and accessible online resources are making it easier than ever for businesses to overcome these deeply embedded challenges.
Crop diversity and water conservation are critical aspects of sustainable agriculture, but to truly future-fit our food system, ensuring soil health is imperative. To do this, DanoneWave has launched a new soil health initiative to build best-in-class programs to support sustainable agriculture in its farming communities.
Cape Town, South Africa could run out of water in a few months, literally turning off the spigot for some four million residents. If a solution to the crisis is not found, social unrest is feared. Beyond the human rights concerns, the region’s vegetable, citrus, grape and nut growers may face shortages as 40 percent of Western Cape Town’s water is currently allocated to agriculture.