Greenpeace climbers abseil from the roof of Burger King's iconic restaurant in London’s Leicester Square in September 2019. They unfurl a giant banner linking the fast-food giant to Amazon rainforest fires and deforestation. | Image credit: ©Paul Hackett/Greenpeace
The world’s global consumer goods companies are decidedly not on track to
achieve goals of sustainable consumption and production by 2030; and industry
commitments to zero net deforestation by next year are now impossible, according
to new research by CDP.
The CDP Consumer Deforestation Report, No Woods for the
Trees,
analyses 22 companies according to scale and commodity use in the consumer goods
sector, including Food Manufacturers, Personal & Household Goods
Manufacturers and Fast Food Retailers. Due to their proximity to the
consumer, they face reputational risks from commodities linked to deforestation,
with potential risks to revenues. They also face operational risks from
disruption in the supply chain, especially in Asia and South America.
Despite the net zero deforestation target for
2020
set by the Board of the Consumer Goods Forum, only eight companies were found to
be deploying comprehensive forest and land-use management practices (including
regenerative agriculture and soil management). And increasing consumer demand
for transparency around sourcing threatens traditional business supply chain
models.
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These global consumer-facing companies are particularly exposed to ‘soft
commodities’ linked to deforestation — so-called Forest Risk Commodities
(FRCs) — with palm
oil,
soy and cattle playing a major role in product formulation; and paper
and pulp products essential to product packaging and marketing. According to
CDP, leading companies including
Nestlé and Procter &
Gamble have acknowledged
that they will fall short of the 2020 deforestation goal; CDP’s research shows
that just three companies achieved 100 percent certification in palm oil and
just one in timber.
While companies’ ambitious targets indicate they understand the need for action
on deforestation, none are taking concrete steps to significantly reduce
deforestation risk in their supply chains. European companies including
Danone, Nestlé,
Unilever and
L’Oréall — with larger reported
revenue and supply risks related to FRCs — focus on sustainable production
innovations and have more robust governance of deforestation-related risks. But
not all stakeholders are considering the hidden use of FRCs within their supply
chains.
Companies such as Tyson Foods and Restaurant Brands International (owner
of Burger King) rank last, thanks in part to their indirect exposure to soymeal through animal ingredients
and there is insufficient labelling for animal derivatives in consumer goods
(including bovine). These FRCs represent as much as 30-40 percent of procurement
costs for some companies and margins could be significantly impacted by price
volatility or increased price differentials between certified and non-certified
products.
“When it comes to deforestation and consumer goods, the go-to is palm oil;
revenue exposure due to palm oil can be significant. 45 percent of companies
reported revenue dependencies of at least 20 percent on palm oil,” said Carole
Ferguson, Head of Investor Research at CDP. “But leading global consumer goods
companies need to look closer at all the hidden risks they are running across
their supply chains and scratch below the surface. As we approach our planetary
boundaries, much more needs to be done upstream. These companies are well placed
in the value chain to act and fast. That starts with full and deep transparency
of supply chains for companies to hold producers to account and provide
consumers with full sourcing and product visibility.”
Historic bi-coastal resolutions call on major US cities to sever ties with meat companies linked to Amazon fires
Cattle graze in the Brazilian Amazon in 2015 | Image credit: ©Bruno Kelly/Greenpeace
Meanwhile, last week LA City Councilmembers Paul Koretz and David
Ryu joined Indigenous leaders and local activists to demand the City of Los
Angeles cease ties with any businesses linked to the horrific Amazon
wildfires
and Indigenous murders, which have been spurred by rampant animal
agriculture. Rallies were held in both LA and New York City to call for a change
in policies and behaviors that contribute to this existential threat, and to
call on the other 35,000 cities in the US to join a boycott of Brazilian meat
companies.
“Today, our two largest cities call for the other 35,000 cities in the United
States to join us in our boycott of Brazil, its cattle industry and the reckless
corporations profiting from deforestation, murder and climate madness. If we
lose the Amazon, we lose our critical carbon-sequestration defense, and we lose
the climate fight. Period,” Koretz said. "Let’s see if, by year's end, our
entire country of cities can join us and show the Brazilian government how much
we honor, respect and vitally need the Amazon Rainforest and its Indigenous
Peoples for our continued wellbeing."
An uptick in meat demand in developing economies has spurred South American
cattle ranchers to clear more of the Amazon for grazing and feed crops. Forest
fires throughout the Amazon have jumped 80 percent jump since last year, putting
vital resources and lives at risk. The Brazilian National Institute for Space
Research recorded over 41,000 fires throughout the country as a result of this
clearing. The Amazon’s trees play a vital role in absorbing CO2 emissions;
without them, those emissions are left to exacerbate climate change. Matters
stand to only worsen as meat demands skyrocket — which is especially true
regarding beef, demands for which increase 5 percent each
year, according to the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization.
US diets stand to drive up global temperatures higher than Paris Climate
Agreement targets, largely because they include high levels of animal products,
according to a 2014 study; leaders who spoke at the LA rally called on locals to
do their part by reducing how much meat, dairy and eggs they consume.
“As consumers, as cities and as global citizens, we have a choice — we can
continue to feed an industry that is destroying the Amazon rainforest and its
Indigenous Peoples, or we can stand together and fight for it,” Ryu said. “There
is no back-up Amazon Rainforest. The choices we make today will decide the fate
of this incredible ecosystem, and the fate of our atmosphere as a whole. I’m
proud to be a part of this global movement to save the one and only Amazon
Rainforest."
This is just the latest business action aimed at ending rampant deforestation
practices in the Amazon and holding offending companies to account: In August,
clothing giant VF Corporation — parent company of apparel and shoe brands
Timberland, Vans and The North Face — announced that it will no longer
buy leather from
Brazil;
the company said the Amazon fires are evidence of lax environmental governance
policies that are not only allowing, but encouraging, the country’s businesses
to contribute to the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest. Then, in
September, the world’s largest responsible investor group began appealing to
companies doing business in the
Amazon
to end the manmade fires raging through the forest. But the fires — and the
practices that created them — continue.
“We are facing a climate emergency, and we can’t continue business as usual
while the planet burns. We urge both city agencies and local businesses to cut
ties with any company linked to the multinational corporations responsible for
the fires still raging throughout the Amazon Rainforest,” said Brooklyn Borough
President Eric L. Adams. “Each individual consumer choice, corporate
decision and legislative policy must be geared toward making our planet more
sustainable and habitable for generations to come. But we can only achieve this
together. What we eat matters. Who we do business with matters. This resolution
is a first step in opening a broader conversation about how we overcome one of
the most significant challenges humanity has ever faced.”
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Nov 18, 2019 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET