Environment and sustainability news and comment Dec 2009

THE recent announcement by Nestle that it will only use certified sustainable palm oil is the latest in a number of high-profile pledges from multinational companies. Cadbury is now using Fairtrade cocoa in some of its products and the majority of cartons produced by Tetra Pak in the UK and Ireland can be made from paperboard sourced from FSC certified forests. These are all impressive achievements but it is important for companies to ensure that they have the necessary partnerships and supply chain infrastructure in place to ensure that they can meet and sustain such ambitious targets. However, in addition, it is imperative that businesses in the developed economies consider the broader impacts their demands for more environmentally friendly products have on suppliers in the developing world. Many of these participants in the global supply chain do not always have access to the finances, technology and resources to meet the ever-increasing demands of Western producers. Indeed, simply expecting suppliers to switch to “sustainable” production does nothing to address the local problems of deforestation, habitat loss and social conflicts caused by the monoculture of palm oil production. It is important that companies, in conjunction with governments and consumers, continue to push the green agenda forward. However, our collective aims and aspirations must be sustainable in both the short and long term. This means offering direct help to improve and develop the productive capacity in the supply chain to provide the more environmentally friendly primary products we are asking for. In short, it is necessary to think about the wider implications our purchasing decisions have on communities in the developing world.

Nicole Clucas is a researcher at Corporate Citizenship.

Companies must take steps to tackle the impending natural resource crunch
A study conducted by the Natural Value Initiative (NVI) released on October 23 has found that several organisations have not prepared adequately for the increasing pressure on ecosystem services which are defined by the research as the benefits that are obtained by humans from the natural world such as flood regulation and timber. The report analysed thirty one companies across the beverage, food, tobacco and retail sectors and reviewed how organisations rely on biodiversity and other environmental systems throughout their supply chains. The research found that Unilever and Marks and Spencer’s were the only companies that were close to best practice and were distinguished by their comprehensive, strategic and risk focused approach to the issues involved. The NVI has also developed a benchmarking tool, the Ecosystem Services Benchmark that can be used by investors to analyse the extent to which organisations are addressing or not addressing the risks that are associated with the loss environmental systems.
Contact: The Natural Value Initiative
www.naturalvalueinitiative.org

Beef and leather companies unite to stop the destruction of the Amazon
At a ceremony in Sao Paolo on October 5, four of the world’s biggest beef and leather organisations, Mafrig, Bertin, JBS-Friboi and Minerva agreed to ban the purchase of cattle from land in the Amazon that has been newly deforested. This move is due partly to pressure from British companies such as Princes (the corned beef manufacturer) which has joined Clarks, Adidas and Nike by announcing that it is determined to terminate contracts with suppliers unless they can guarantee that their products do not have a role in destroying the Amazon. This event follows the publication of Greenpeace’s report, ‘Slaughtering the Amazon’ in June of this year which revealed the link between the destruction of Amazon rainforest and cattle ranching. Greenpeace now states that it will now ensure that this agreement is enforced adequately and is extended to the entire cattle industry in Brazil.
Contact: Greenpeace
www.greenpeace.org.uk

Apple and Sony Ericsson lead in the removal of chemicals from electronic products
ChemSec and Clean Production Action released a report on October 6 that analysed organisations in the electronics industry that are reducing their use of chemicals which can produce health and environmental problems. The report, ‘Greening consumer electronics: moving away from bromine and chlorine’ includes seven organisations that have implemented environmental solutions removing the need for brominated and chlorinated chemicals. Scientific studies have demonstrated that large uses of such chemicals have led to the formation of very toxic dioxin compounds. Apple has a programme which restricts the uses of all of bromine and chlorine compounds across all of their product lines and has a range of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardant (BFR) free products. Sony Erisson is removing harmful chemicals from its products and is also producing chemical inventories for all of its product lines.
Contact: Clean Production
www.cleanproduction.org

Green Awards shortlist announced
On October 15, the shortlist for the Green Awards was released. The event aims to reward companies for creative work that communicates the importance of corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and ethical best practice across any sector and marketing discipline. There are 16 categories which include best green international campaign and best green campaigner, which focuses on individuals and small groups that champion sustainability. Shortlisted organisations include The Climate Group, in the best green charity and best green integrated campaign category, British Gas in the best green PR campaign for its green streets initiative and the Wool Packaging Company for its woolcool insulated food packaging in the best green packaging category.
Contact: Green Awards
www.greenawards.co.uk

Water refill stations launched in London
Chilled water refill stations were set up in London from October by HydraChill following discussions with Thames Water, Greater London Authority and Transport for London. In the first trial, HydraChill’s machines were installed at Hammersmith bus station and the Tower Bridge museum and can fill bottles up to 500ml with chilled water for a charge of 20 pence. All proceeds from the initiative will be donated by the company to Waste Watch, the charity that aims to alter the way that people use environmental resources. According to the charity, only a third of the 13 billion plastic bottles that were sold in the UK last year were recycled and the new machines encourage consumers to reuse their bottles and so prevent waste. If this trial is a success, then it is hoped that the machines will be extended to underground, bus and railway stations across London and the south east before the 2012 Olympics are held.
Contact: Hydrachill
www.hydra-chill.com

Nestle commits to sustainable palm oil
Nestle announced on October 26 that it will only used Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) by 2015, when it expects adequate supplies to be available. Nestle uses processed palm oil, which often comes from multiple sources, for its products. The company states that it will continue to work with its suppliers to investigate the traceability of all sources of palm oil. Nestle has been associated with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil for several years and has applied for full corporate membership. As part of the company’s policy on environmental sustainability, Nestle has pledged to give preference to suppliers who aim to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their operations as well as their use of resources. It also aims to find multi stakeholder solution to the environmental issues caused by planting palm oil plantations in South East Asia.
Contact: Nestle
www.nestle.co.uk

WWF finds most European palm oil buyers fail sustainability test
WWF released the Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard on 27 October which found that the majority of palm oil buyers in Europe are not purchasing certified sustainable palm oil, despite its availability and the previous commitments by several organisations to buy it. The analysis scored the performance of 59 of the most prominent retailers and manufacturers in Europe that purchase and use palm oil in their goods. 10 of the 50 organisations scored 20 or more points, which WWF considered to be showing definite progress on their commitments to buy and utilize sustainable palm oil. 19 of the companies scored from 0 to 3 of a potential 29 points, indicating that they have taken little or no action to stop using non-certified palm oil. WWF stated the organisations that scored the most points signaled to the rest of the industry that it is possible to translate commitment into action and change the market. WWF has been campaigning for palm oil buyers to commit to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil since 2003 and has worked with industry since then to ensure that the RSPO standards include robust social and environmental criteria.
Contact: WWF International
www.panda.org

Fairtrade is given £12 million in funding
The Department for International Development announced on October 10 that £12 million in new funding has been made available for Fairtrade, a move which will help twice as many farmers in the developing world to work their way out of poverty. The funding will allow another 1 million producers to be included in the scheme which will provide benefits to 7 million people in poorer countries. The Fairtrade mark has been in existence for 15 years; sales increased by 43% 2008 in the UK and by 22% globally. DFID has supported Fairtrade since 1997 and has provided £3 million to date to finance work to develop more Fairtrade products and to include more producers in the system. Shoppers in the UK will see the Fairtrade range expand to possibly include new lines such as wood, fish and a variety of fruit and vegetables. The Fairtrade Foundation welcomed the move and praised DFID’s leadership and the strong signal the increased funding will send to campaigners in the UK and producers in the developing world.
Contact: The Department for International Development
www.dfid.gov.uk

Food waste from McDonald’s will power buildings across Britain
McDonald’s announced a new initiative on October 28 that diverts waste from its restaurants in London from landfill to be converted into energy. The scheme is being used by 25 of its restaurants in London which have implemented the programme energy from waste. The waste is collected by Veolia Environmental Services and taken to a combined heat and power plant in South London where it is converted into energy which is ploughed into the National Grid. The London programme has been reviewed by The Carbon Trust and has decreased the company’s carbon emissions by 48%. This project will divert 2,500 tonnes of waste from landfill each year, the energy produced will be enough to power 22 million light bulbs for an hour or provide an evening’s worth of light for every home in London.
Contact: McDonalds
www.mcdonalds.co.uk

Tetra Pak to use the Forest Stewardship Council label on products
Tetra Pak announced on October 29 that many of its customers in the UK and Ireland will be able to use the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label when 75% of the cartons made by the company will become FSC certified within the next 12 months. This forms part of the organisations ongoing aim to attain certified traceability from forest to consumer according to the FSC and builds on their launch of a range of FSC packaging for Sainsbury’s in 2007. Tetra Pak’s commitment will see supply increase from 200 million FSC certified packs available across the world in 2008 to more than 1.5 billion packs in the UK and Ireland alone.
Contact: Tetra Pak
www.tetrapak.com

New register launched of information on emissions from European industrial facilities
On November 9, the European Commission and the European Environment Agency launched a new European pollutant release and transfer register which contains information about the emissions of pollutants to air, water and land from industrial sites in Europe. It includes annual data for 91 different substances and covers over 24,000 facilities. It also includes other information such as the amount of type of waste that is transferred from facilities to waste handlers both inside and outside each country and the volume of waste water. The new register aims to improve public access to environmental information and allows users to find out which facilities produce the most pollutants. The information in the register covers 30% of total nitrogen oxide emissions and 76% of total sulphur oxide emissions to the air in the 27 EU countries and Norway.
Contact: The European Commission
www.europa.eu

In Brief

Ethical Consumer rates chocolate brands for chocolate week
Ethical Consumer released a report on October 12 rating 38 chocolate brands under four main headings of environment, human rights, animal rights and politics to produce an overall ‘ethiscore’. Top rated brands include Divine and Traidcraft, while companies ranked at the bottom of the table included Mars (with an ‘ethiscore’ of 2 out of a possible 20), Nestle, Tesco and Asda (which all scored zero out of 20). Ethical Consumer’s report states that other than the ethical leaders who ensure that human rights and environmental standards are high across their supply chains, there are several issues that need to be tackled. Over a third of cocoa traded across the world comes from the Ivory Coast, where INTERPOL rescued 54 children used as slave labour from plantations in August this year.
Contact: Ethical Consumer
www.ethicalconsumer.org