Pressuring Corporations and Markets
If corporations have the power to destroy the world’s forests, they also have the power to help save them.
Companies can make an impact by introducing zero deforestation policies and cleaning up their supply chains. That means holding their suppliers accountable for producing commodities like timber, beef, soy, palm oil and paper in a way that has a minimal impact on natural forests and the climate.
Companies can also introduce paper procurement policies that set ambitious targets to maximize use of recycled wood, pulp, paper and fiber in their products and ensure that any virgin fiber used is certified by a third party certification system such as the Forest Stewardship Council.
But these corporations haven’t taken action on their own.
That’s why we’re investigating, exposing and confronting environmental abuse by corporations. And thanks to your actions, major companies are changing their ways.
Learn more about what corporations like Kimberly-Clark, Kraft and Burger King have done on their end to stop deforestation.
Promoting Sustainable Consumer Options
When consumers speak, corporations listen.
Individuals can make a difference in the fight to save forests by setting the best example. We can all use the power of our purchases to put pressure on companies that have bad environmental practices.
By buying recycled or certified wood products, only supporting brands with zero deforestation policies, and getting others to do the same, we can send a message loud and clear that companies need to be part of the effort to create a deforestation-free future.
Changing the Politics
If we’re going to stop deforestation, we need government to do its part.
Specifically, we need world leaders to embrace ambitious domestic and international forest policies based on the latest science.
In the U.S., we use laws like the Wilderness Act, the Lacey Act and the Roadless Rule to protect our forests and stop illegal wood products from entering the US marketplace. We also support and use global treaties like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to help protect forests and the endangered plant and animal species that rely on forests for habitats.
And globally, we urgently need commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in tropical forest developing nations. Forests for Climate is one way to make that happen.
Forests for Climate is a landmark proposal for an international funding mechanism to protect tropical forests. Under this initiative, developing countries with tropical forests can make commitments to protecting their forests in exchange for the opportunity to receive funding for capacity-building efforts and national-level reductions in deforestation emissions. This provides a strong incentive for developing countries to continually improve their forest protection programs.