EIGHT TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
SAVE OLD-GROWTH WOOD
EIGHT TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
SAVE OLD-GROWTH WOOD
A group of US technology companies have agreed to look at their purchasing practices to make sure old-growth wood products are not being bought.
After working with the conservation group Forest Ethics, eight companies took out a full page add in a weekly Internet and news magazine, The Industry Standard, committing to not purchase products from old growth forests, to attempt to reduce overall use of paper fiber, and to increase their use of recycled paper. The future purchasing of Microsoft, AT&T, Intel, Texas Instruments, 3Com, IKON Office Solutions, Alta Vista and E*Trade may help save the last five percent of US old growth forests still left standing. Since it began its campaign, Forest Ethics has convinced 40 companies to eschew old-growth products.
A US Forest Service ban on old-growth logging made earlier this week may also help save old growth stands, if it isn’t reversed by the incoming administration of President-elect George W. Bush.
'The markets campaigns have created both pressure for the federal government to catch up with the corporate commitments that are being made and the breathing room to not be in the lead on this important issue,' said Todd Paglia of Forest Ethics. 'Now the burden will be on Bush to reverse a move that is parallel to policies at many Fortune 500 companies and aligned with public sentiment.'
The announcement of the company policies is part of a larger campaign to protect forests by harnessing the purchasing power of large companies. 'We want companies to understand the impacts that their purchases have on the environment. The high tech sector is a good example of the new market ethic where conscious buyers help protect ancient forests,' said Todd Paglia, Campaign Director for Forest Ethics.
'We have worked with homebuilders, lumber yards, Fortune 500 companies and now the high tech sector – the message we are sending to companies logging old growth forests is that there is no where to hide. Whether they are selling lumber, paper, pulp or packaging, the verdict from corporate America is that products made from old growth forests are unacceptable,' said Paglia.
Some Companies Still Lagging Behind, Yahoo and Adobe at the Back of the Pack
Not every company has agreed to ensure that its purchases are not paying for the destruction of our last old growth forests. 'Yahoo and Adobe have refused to address their impacts on the forests and typify a bygone era where large purchasers turned a blind eye to the impacts they have. We are urging them to stand up with their colleagues and do the right thing for the forests.'
Written by: Forest Ethics
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