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Featured updates:
Opaque rubber supply chains are obscuring deforestation and biodiversity risks
Leading natural rubber companies – including Pirelli, Hankook and Continental – lack vital supply chain transparency and traceability, as concerns about competition and accountability obscure risks to tropical forests and threatened species. Data summary Launched on 28 March, the research…
Due diligence to tackle deforestation: why financial institutions must be included in upcoming UK legislation
As major legislative strides are being taken to eliminate deforestation from commodity supply chains – with the recently adopted EU Deforestation Regulation leading the way – financial flows have so far been overlooked in regulatory attempts to address the drivers…
Latest news:
15 additional natural rubber companies selected for assessment
ZSL currently assesses the environmental, social and governance public disclosure and commitments of 15 producers and processors of natural rubber on its SPOTT platform. In 2022, ZSL will expand in scope to assess an additional 15 companies incorporating, for the…
Thematic Guide to Free, Prior & Informed Consent (FPIC)
Setting a clear free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) policy is a vital step for organisations to demonstrate that they commit to avoiding adverse impacts on indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) groups. Download guide This guide is designed to…
Oil palm and biodiversity: Company commitments and reporting in 2020
Unsustainable palm oil production plays a significant role in biodiversity loss in tropical forests, and this must be a focus area for both the industry and its stakeholders to remedy. In order to do this, palm oil companies and their…
Exploring Collective Bargaining Agreements in the Palm oil sector – A research report by CNV
Issues associated with labour rights (such as health and safety problems, low wages, lack of contracts, and high production targets that require long working days) are widespread in the palm oil sector. Meanwhile, the trade union culture is not very…
Open Timber Portal and SPOTT: Raising the bar for corporate disclosure in Gabon
In April 2021, the World Resources Institute’s Open Timber Portal (OTP) launched its first transparency rankings of forestry producers in Gabon, aimed at incentivising companies to disclose evidence that they are operating in compliance with forest management legislation. ZSL attended…
Timber and pulp companies failing to report on commitments to Indigenous peoples and local communities
Assessment summary: ZSL (Zoological Society of London) is calling on the world’s leading timber and pulp companies to overhaul their commitments to local and indigenous communities and biodiversity conservation, as they release their annual assessment of 100 of the…
Sustainable finance and tropical forestry: a series of financial institution case studies
How do different financial institutions approach non-financial information and ESG issues when considering tropical forestry companies and supply chains exposed to timber, pulp and paper products sourced from tropical regions? To illustrate the variety of approaches which are available to…
Congo Basin countries move toward a timber export ban
Following the virtual intergovernmental conference of ministers from Congo Basin countries, a communique was released, agreeing a log export ban covering seven of the member nations of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). This group includes Cameroon,…
Keeping track of companies’ commitments to the environment
Deforestation due to commodity production, most famously, palm oil, has gained increased public awareness over recent years. The commodity’s production has been a dominant force in wildlife declines seen in many countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. However, with the product’s…
Company selection updates for 2021 SPOTT Palm Oil assessments
SPOTT assesses the most impactful producers, processors and traders in the palm oil sector on their public disclosure regarding the organisation, policies and practices related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Assessed companies are reviewed on an annual basis…