The corporate conservation revolution

Mongabay.com is partnering with the Skoll Foundation ahead of the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship to bring a series of perspectives that aim to answer the question: how do we feed the world and still address the drivers of deforestation?

There’s a new kind of environmental hero emerging. They don’t live in Washington, D.C., and they’re known more for their interest in increasing earnings than in reducing greenhouse gases. They are found in an unlikely place: The Corporate Boardroom, and they’re making a big difference in saving the worlds forests and our climate.



In recent years, a group of visionary corporate leaders have been quietly teaming up with a growing number of environmental groups to take a hard look at what’s left of our planet’s natural resources. Together, they agree: we are past the point where our land and oceans can meet the food, energy and commodity demands of our planet’s seven billion inhabitants. More sobering still, they estimate that by 2050, at our current rates of consumption, it will require three planet earths to meet the needs of our expected population of nine billion people. The take-away message for businesses that rely on finite resources such as water and forests is that “sustainability” is no longer a matter of choice, but a matter of economic survival.

Deforestation causes significant resource depletion. We are losing tropical forests to logging, plantation agriculture, cattle ranching and mining at the alarming rate of an acre per second. Every year, we lose forestlands equivalent in size to the State of New York. Furthermore, bulldozed and burning forests now represent almost two billion tons of carbon emissions annually, or about 15% of all global emissions – creating more air pollution than all the vehicles of the world combined. Until recently, it seemed that the practice of deforestation would continue unabated, as companies strive to mine the raw materials they need to keep pace with the ever-increasing demand for consumer goods. Enter the unlikely corporate heroes.



Recently, a global association of 400+ leading retail and manufacturing companies, called the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), committed to insuring that their agricultural-based, product supply lines would become sustainable and deforestation-free by the year 2020. A CEO-driven organization, the CGF includes international corporations such as Unilever, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, General Mills, Cargill, Tesco, and others. Together, the CGF members have combined revenues of over $3 trillion, representing between 4-5% of global GDP. The CGF’s pledge represents a significant change in the purchasing practices of this group, and will have a profound and unprecedented effect on redirecting market forces toward sustainable agricultural practices and ending deforestation.

AUTHOR: JEFFREY HOROWITZ FOUNDER, AVOIDED DEFORESTATION PARTNERS Jeff Horowitz is the founder of Avoided Deforestation Partners, an international network dedicated to advancing U.S. and international climate and energy policies along with business solutions that include robust incentives to protect tropical forests. Since its inception in 2007, AD Partners has convened public and private sector leaders to inspire decision makers to implement strategies that reduce deforestation. Most recently, AD Partners facilitated a partnership between the U.S. Government and the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a network of 400 CEOs representing US $3.1 trillion in commodities. The CGF has committed to removing deforestation from their supply chain by the year 2020, thereby creating an incentive to accelerate demand for sustainably produced agricultural commodities that are deforestation-free. The AD Partners Rio+20 high-level event served as the platform for the announcement. AD Partners continues to play a leadership role in establishing public-private partnerships between governments, NGOs and major international corporations.

Clearly, not all vendor practices along the consumer goods commodity supply chain will transform overnight. However, according to assessments made by conservation experts (principally Jason Clay of WWF), if 100 key companies around the world can attain the goal of sustainably sourcing all of their raw materials, we would save 25% of our planet’s natural resources. Eventually, as other companies follow their lead, the percentage of resources saved could rise to 40% or higher. Much still needs to be done in the form of setting guidelines and tracking accountability, but this re-direction in the buying practices of major corporations and their suppliers could well represent one of the most significant environmental solutions of our lifetime.



While the impact of pro-environmental sourcing practices of the CFG member corporations and other enlightened companies are sure to have a profound impact on the fight to end global deforestation, the private sector cannot go it alone. Strong global partnerships between businesses, governments and civil societies will need to be forged to truly reflect the interests of all, and to ensure that these important coalitions can act together for the common good.



The U.S. Government and the CGF recently entered into such a partnership. The Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 was born shortly after the Rio+20 Conference in June of 2012. While still in the development stages, this new alliance is intended to help businesses and government more effectively coordinate their efforts to end global deforestation. Among other goals, the Alliance, which also includes the NGO community, intends to establish objective systems for measuring forest health, sharing best practices, and incentivizing forested countries for their conservation efforts. While just emerging, this partnership has the potential to be a model for the rest of the world and an important opportunity to implement and accelerate the move by corporate leaders. Time is not on our side!



While the world waits for U.S. lawmakers, China and the United Nations to once again take up the issue of climate pollution, businesses are indeed stepping up as environmental champions. Though they may be motivated more by their bottom line rather than by purely altruistic impulses, it’s nice to know that efforts to save the world’s forests and our climate are inspiring new and influential champions.




To discuss this commentary, please visit THE CORPORATE CONSERVATION REVOLUTION

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this op-ed do not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.com or its staff. Mongabay founder, president, and editor Rhett A. Butler served as an advisor to the Skoll Foundation from 2010-2012.

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