Deforestation is a major threat to the complex web that makes life a possibility on Earth, this includes yours and your family’s their future family, etc etc. No human ingenuity will ever replace this. However, one the biggest threat is our economy and the global institutions it creates.

Global companies and financial institutions remain to be the highest contributors to deforestation. With this said, many have made pledges to protect forests. But is this true?

A report titled, Forest 500, by non-profit research group Global Canopy, analyzed 350 companies that are most responsible for producing, using, or trading commodities that drive deforestation, and 150 biggest financial institutions that finance them.

The non-profit group found that one out of three companies had zero forest commitments, and 72 percent addressed some but not all of the deforestation-related commodities in their supply chain.

In the past year 28 companies published new commitment to address deforestation since last year, but only 11 of these have commitments for all the commodities they are exposed to. However, commitments mean shit because many of these companies lack a plan as how they’ll tackle these commitments. The most irresponsible sectors being soy, beef, and leather.

Companies love to greenwash and lie about their environmental conservation efforts. For instance, Amazon Inc. who touts working on creating an eco-friendly packaging system, when assessed in all six commodities (palm oil, timber, pulp/paper, soy, beef, and leather), only has deforestation commitments for the pulp and paper commodity. Marketing loves to smokescreen…as a matter of fact, that’s really mostly what they do.

Worse the the global companies, were the financial institutions of whom provide $5.5 trillion dollars to sectors responsible for deforestation. So in a way, financial sectors are funding deforestation and destruction of the planet and irresponsible waste of natural resources. Of the 150 financial institutions reviewed, 93 lacked a deforestation policy in investments and lending to commodities most forest-hazard in the supply chains. Even more unfortunate, these 93 companies provide about half the amount of money to the companies most likely to be a deforestation risk.

And as side note, but also important, the report also saw very few to almost zero of these companies and financial institution to have any sort of commitments to human rights.

What kind of men are working in these companies that are hell bent on destroying the planet of the sake of profits. Commitments for a better planet shouldn’t be a marketing scam, people and the companies they make up, should be held accountable for their actions.

Global Canopy. Forest 500 2022 Annual Report – a climate wake-up: but business failing to hear the alarm of deforestation. https://forest500.globalcanopy.org