2Sustain

Make a purchase at any fast food restaurant, and it’s impossible not to notice the packaging waste generated. Usually, there’s the cup, the cover to the cup, the straw, the paper/plastic/box the food is wrapped in, the stack of napkins . . .

Why can’t fast food restaurants develop a “greener” way to package their products?

Fortunately, some are taking significant steps in that direction.

Last week, Dogwood Alliance released “Greening Fast Food Packaging: A Roadmap to Best Practices,” a report which

• outlines eight key attributes of environmentally friendly fast food packaging,
• highlights fast food industry leaders that are implementing key initiatives to help move the entire sector toward more sustainable packaging,
• provides simple guidance on how to assess environmental impacts in the supply chain, and
• offers a valuable action plan to focus corporate sustainability efforts.

According to the report, a few leaders have stepped out from the pack to take initiative on the development of sustainable fast food packaging. For example: (more…)

The world’s highest rates of deforestation, a key factor to rising atmospheric CO₂ levels and subsequent climate change, are occurring in the emerging economies of Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria, according to research released earlier this month by risk analysis and mapping company Maplecroft.

Maplecroft’s new  Deforestation Index concludes that economic growth, poverty, corruption and the rise of biofuels are among the major causes of deforestation in nine countries which Maplecroft now classifies as “extreme risk.”

These endangered nations are:

Rank      Country

1           Nigeria

2           Indonesia

3           North Korea

4           Bolivia

5           Papua New Guinea

6           Democratic Republic of Congo

7           Nicaragua

8           Brazil

9           Cambodia

The report also details specific challenges faced by different countries.

For example, (more…)

Earlier this year, toy and game maker Hasbro, Inc. directed its suppliers to stop using paper sourced from unsustainably managed forests.

Now, the company has unveiled a comprehensive policy intended to ensure that all procurement decisions align with the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability and support sustainable forest management.

Hasbro’s new Paper and Forest Procurement Policy (PFPP):

• sets stringent vendor requirements for credible third party certification (such as the Forest Stewardship Council) of fiber.
• requires that no sources of Mixed Tropical Hardwood (MTH) virgin fiber be used in products, including packaging.

The PFPP underscores a goal Hasbro already had established: By 2015, the company wants 90 percent usage of paper packaging and in-box game content derived from recycled material or sources that practice sustainable forest management. (For 2011, the goal is 75 percent.)

In addition, Hasbro has taken the supplementary step of achieving Forest Stewardship Council certification for its US manufacturing facility, and the company is pursuing similar certification for its manufacturing facility in Ireland.

According to Kathrin Belliveau, Hasbro’s Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Government Affairs, the company recognizes these moves have important strategic benefits. As I’ve mentioned before, “peak deforestation” creates three specific valuation risks for your company and its associated investment portfolios: (more…)

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is now the first US tissue maker to offer branded consumer tissue products that meet the sustainable sourcing requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

What is the FSC?

The FSC is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests.

FSC certification is a market-based, non-regulatory forest conservation system recognized globally for having the highest social and environmental standards in forestry. The program uses third-party experts to verify forest management practices and track materials as they leave the forest and become products downstream. As a result, any FSC labeled product can be traced back through the chain of custody to a certified source.

So now, Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex brand facial tissue and Scott Naturals brand products sold in North America will include fiber sourced from suppliers who have been independently certified to follow the highest standards in forestry management while also protecting high conservation-value forests and habitat.

Consumers will be able to identify FSC-certified Kleenex and Scott brand products by the FSC label on every package. (more…)

The UPS Foundation has pledged nearly $2 million in grants to help plant, protect and preserve trees in urban and rural areas in the US and around the world.

The company says this reforestation program is grounded in collaboration with several of the world’s leading environmental organizations and will help manage and preserve forests in the US, Belgium, Canada, Brazil and China.

Environmental sustainability is one of The UPS Foundation’s official philanthropic focus areas, and reforestation programs like this one re-plant and protect tree species that can store carbon, mitigating climate change. As the company points out, a recent study published in the journal Science found that in total, established forests and young re-growth forests in the Tropics soaked up nearly 15 billion tonnes of CO2, or roughly half the emissions from industry, transport and other sources. Trees also produce fossil fuel substitutes, such as biomass, and they provide flood control and water regulation benefits.

Here are a few highlights from the list of The UPS Foundation’s new forestry-focused grants: (more…)