We were lucky enough to get a healthy dumping of snow over the weekend. Whilst I defrosted from a good old stomp through the white stuff with a cup of tea, I surveyed the footprints we’d left behind in the garden on our way back in. You could see exactly where we’d been, which bits had been left untouched and it got me thinking about the footprints we leave that aren’t so easily spotted. Our actions and choices leave an impression on the natural environment, but if we can’t see the marks we make, how can we tell how much impact we’re having?
We may never set foot in one, but the choices we make on a daily basis leave a footprint in tropical forests. The products we buy, the fuel we put in our cars, even the food our pets eat can have an impact.
And it’s not just us – it’s companies too and due to their size and scale, many companies can have a profound impact on the natural environment through the way they operate and the products they make or stock.
On Tuesday, the Forest Footprint Disclosure Project published its annual review based on the findings of a questionnaire sent to hundreds of large private companies asking them to disclose their forest footprint, which is the total amount of deforestation caused directly or indirectly by an organisation or a product. You can click here to read the full report.
Whilst the findings can’t give an actual number for a forest footprint, they can give an overall idea of how much or little companies are doing to solve the issue of deforestation in their operations and supply chains. The report focuses on the usual suspects in terms of commodities – palm oil, soy, beef, timber, and biofuels.
The results show some familiar faces amongst the sector leaders - Nike, Sainsburys, Marks and Spencers, Nestle and British Airways all came top in their areas. The review also names those companies who declined to take part in the exercise, which includes household names like Greggs, Debenhams, Volkswagen and BP. We don’t know why they didn’t take part, but we hope they’ll step up next year.
One important thing the report did show was that whilst companies are making progress and are starting to think about how their business affects tropical forests, there’s still an awful long way to go. We need more companies to assess the impacts they have on tropical forests, come up with ways of reducing those impacts and most importantly, put these into practice.
If you could find out more about the forest footprint of any business, which would it be?