April 13, 2017 3:32 PM EDT
Back in December, I wrote a blog post about the importance of beef as the largest driver of deforestation. The following month, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council wrote a blog on their site, TheOilPalm.org, arguing that my blog proved that palm oil had been unfairly blamed for deforestation, and demanding an apology. Here’s why they’re wrong. Read more >
January 24, 2017 2:39 PM EDT
One important development of the past decade is the large number of corporate commitments to eliminate deforestation and exploitation from their supply chains. In response to the demands of civil society, and recognizing the critical value of their brands’ images to their bottom lines, dozen of companies have pledged to become deforestation- and exploitation-free by specific dates—often 2020 or sooner. But how can we—the consumers who buy their products and insisted that they act—know whether they’re actually doing what they promised?
December 14, 2016 4:30 PM EDT
In working to change the world, there’s always a need to keep asking ourselves whether we’re focusing on what’s most important. This certainly applies to the effort to end tropical deforestation, which is why I and my UCS colleagues have put a lot of emphasis on figuring out what causes—and in particular, which businesses—are the main drivers of deforestation. Unfortunately, a recent study indicates that that global corporations that have committed to ending the deforestation they cause, have got their priorities backwards. And it suggests that the NGO community—and that definitely includes me—may have had our priorities wrong too.
August 1, 2016 10:14 AM EDT
I took a close look at Restaurant Brands International’s commitments in terms of tropical deforestation, and found that their plan is lacking in real action. The framework raises more questions than it answers. Here are four of them. Read more >
July 27, 2016 2:03 PM EDT
Tropical forests have always held great allure for me. Growing up in Iowa, my most memorable experiences of the tropics happened at home, where I poured over every issue of National Geographic, read books by explorers and dreamed of going to the same places myself. Read more >
