Private sector commitments to protect tropical forests by using only sustainably sourced commodities “lack the teeth” to make meaningful change, and this is putting corporations’ own balance sheets at risk as well as the environment, according to two new reports.
The tropical forest think tank, Global Canopy Program, says that not enough companies have robust deforestation policies in place to ensure their supply chains are forest friendly, and as a result the goal to end deforestation by 2030, established in the New York Declaration on Forests, is unlikely to be achieved. The declaration is a voluntary commitment signed by businesses, governments and NGOs in 2014.
The GCP “Forest 500” report, released today, looks at 500 companies, investors and governments most closely linked to global supply chains of soya, palm oil, beef, leather, timber, pulp and paper.
About the author
Sophie Edwards
Sophie Edwards is a Devex Contributing Reporter covering global education, water and sanitation, and innovative financing, along with other topics. She has previously worked for NGOs, and the World Bank, and spent a number of years as a journalist for a regional newspaper in the U.K. She has a master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies and a bachelor's from Cambridge University.