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…)

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…)

Sprint, the third-largest wireless provider in the US, has finished at the top of the class in ForestEthics’ 2011 Green Grades Report Card.

In its fifth annual report card, ForestEthics gave Sprint the highest score, an “A,” in recognition of the company’s work to reduce the impact that its paper consumption has on the world’s forests.

This year, ForestEthics rated 12 large companies in the telecommunications, insurance and credit card sectors.  What’s the common denominator among these three sectors?  They all are noted for their heavy consumption of paper, especially those direct marketing offers that end up in our mailboxes.

Sprint received the highest grade for the following reasons: (more…)

Late last month, The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) announced a set of five ambitious sustainability goals for the forest products industry.

Published as Better Practices, Better Planet 2020, the AF&PA says these goals are the most extensive and quantifiable set of sustainability goals for any major manufacturing industry in the US. Specifically, by 2020, the AF&PA wants the industry to: (more…)