An NGO points to the inaction of many large companies
Many companies and financial institutions that contribute, directly or indirectly, to deforestation have no policy to protect forests, an NGO warned on Wednesday.
Image d’illustration.
AFP
In total, 40% of 500 companies selected to be “most at risk of accelerating deforestation” have “no policy” in this area, explains Global Canopy. The annual report focuses on 350 companies that consume raw materials linked to deforestation (wood, palm oil, beef, leather, paper, etc.) and the 150 banks and funds that finance them the most.
The study comes two months after an agreement adopted by more than 190 states under the aegis of the UN to try to stop the destruction of biodiversity, essential to humanity. This “peace with nature pact”, called the “Kunming-Montreal agreement”, aims to protect 30% of the planet by 2030 and to increase the annual aid for biodiversity in developing countries to 30 billion dollars. development.
And the European Commission proposed in June a law imposing on each Member State objectives for the restoration of ecosystems (forests, meadows, marine areas, etc.) damaged by pollution or intensive exploitation. “Ending tropical deforestation is crucial to achieving global goals” for climate and nature protection, said Niki Mardas, executive director of Global Canopy, in a statement.
$527 billion
Among the 200 companies without a clear strategy on deforestation: the car giant Volkswagen and the German shoe giant Deichmann, as well as the French food groups Savencia and Fleury Michon.
Savencia, concerned through its use of soybeans and palm oil, explains to AFP that it only buys “sustainable palm oil” and “commits to promoting collective action against deforestation linked to soybean production in South America. Questioned by AFP, Fleury Michon did not wish to comment.
As for financial institutions, 92 out of 150 have no policy to limit deforestation, including the largest investment funds in the world. In France, Global Canopy notably singles out Crédit Mutuel and the BPCE group.
Crédit Mutuel announced in December that it would “adopt a sectoral policy to combat deforestation” with financing rules published at the end of the first half of 2023. The bank, which brings together 14 of the 18 regional federations of the Crédit Mutuel group as well that the CIC network assures that “all financing which could participate, directly or indirectly, in the destruction of forests, in particular irreplaceable tropical forests”, will be excluded.
In total, the financial institutions scrutinized by Global Canopy financed up to 527 billion dollars of companies without any policy concerning deforestation.
About 100 companies, including Danone, LVMH and Unilever, have defined policies to stem deforestation for all risky raw materials, according to Global Canopy. But “only half are actively monitoring” the suppliers and regions concerned, notes the NGO, whose report notes however “the hope of progress”.
“Companies have never had better data, tools and guidelines to help them eliminate deforestation,” notes Global Canopy. “2023 is really the best year to act on deforestation,” Emma Thomson, lead author of the study, told AFP. “If companies and financial institutions act, it could have a big impact on the climate and natural crisis.”
AFP
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