This month wood pellet mills in the southern US that supply the UK's Drax power station were awarded 'sustainability' certificates under a voluntary scheme governed entirely by energy companies. The certificates provide no credible guarantee that the fuel does not come from ecologically valuable natural forests and wetlands, clear-cut and replaced by industrial plantations.
… Are the UK 'biomass sustainability standards' legitimising forest … August 2016 Comment Biofuels Forests Energy Sustainability Corporations UK USA … the UK's Drax power station were awarded 'sustainability' certificates under a voluntary …
Trawlers in an MSC-certified 'sustainable' lobster fishery producing have been caught in the act of using illegally modified nets to target valuable cod. The MSC has been notified but considers the evidence insufficient to act, so the lobsters still carry the MSC label.
… TBF's International Director, to comment: "Sustainability labels mean very little if … volunteers and supporters around the world. Sustainability labels mean very little if …
A new investigation of palm oil plantations, companies and auditors has found that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is failing to deliver on its promise, writes Chris Lang. Widespread fraud, collusion between auditors and companies, conflicts of interest, and a flawed complaints system mean that RSPO-certified palm oil may be destructively and illegally produced.
… community territories. Meanwhile, the head of sustainability at First Resources has been … certification system - meant to ensure ensure sustainability, human rights, labour …
Russia’s zapovedniks are some of the world’s most pristine wildernesses. For 70 years they were protected ruthlessly by the Soviet system, but recently they have fallen prey to Putin, the World Bank and ecotourists. Paul Webster reports on their plight
… development is his goal. But Russia’s biggest sustainability booster is undoubtedly the … them out. ‘The reserves do not need financial sustainability based on ecotourism,’ says …
The paper giant has been accused by Greenpeace of destructive logging and green-washing. But campaigners are mistaken, says APP boss Aida Greenbury - the company is supporting REDD projects and putting sustainability at the centre of operations
… is supporting REDD projects and putting sustainability at the centre of operations … who have repeatedly attacked APP over its sustainability policies and practices. Those, … exercise at the moment. As we all know, sustainability is a journey, not a …
The palm oil industry's repeated failure to keep its promises illustrates why global initiatives to achieve 'sustainable palm oil' must place communities centre-stage, writes FPP. Standard-setters like the RSPO must demand action, enforcement and accountability - not just lofty commitments that inspire hope, but rarely deliver.
… member companies to social and environmental sustainability. And the RSPO boasts many of …
The Drax power station in Yorkshire is the UK's biggest CO2 emitter, burns more wood each year than the entire UK timber harvest, and is a major importer of coal from strife-stricken regions of Colombia, writes Frances Howe. This Thursday campaigners will target the company's AGM to highlight its impacts on forests, biodiversity, climate and communities, in the face of Drax's PR offensive to make biomass appear 'sustainable'.
… further attempts at equating biomass with sustainability in people's minds. For lobbying … and popular opinion about the feasibility and sustainability of biomass. £1.5 million …
Think tank IPPR report advises government to extend climate change style laws to prevent breakdown across the natural environment.
… include binding targets, a new committee on sustainability to advise the Government … should be supported by a new Committee on Sustainability to advise the Government and a …
The proposed structure of Juncker's new European Commission sidelines sustainability issues and risks undoing years of environmental legislation. The European Parliament must now block his deregulatory assault on the EU’s climate, energy, biodiversity, pollution, chemicals and environmental health policies.
… Juncker's new European Commission sidelines sustainability issues and risks undoing years … demand to: 1. Establish a Vice-President for Sustainability coordinating the environment, … of the objectives of the REACH Regulation. Sustainability has disappeared from EU …
Forest foods are a vital source of nutrition for millions of people, writes Bhaskar Vira, and we need to make them an even bigger part of our diets for the sake of health, biodiversity, local economies, and to increase food global security in a warming world.
Forest foods - the tasty, resilient, sustainable answer to world hunger Bhaskar Vira | 1st June 2015 Comment Food Forests Africa Un allanblackia-woman-cut.jpg Forest foods are a vital source of …
Australia's Labor scored a big win in Victoria's election this weekend - and with the party's 'green' policies that's potentially good news for the state's exploited forests. Now's the time to keep campaigning for the early creation of a Great Forest National Park.
… Here are their pledges in full: Ecological sustainability "Labor recognises the intrinsic … and provide management which ensures sustainability of the environment, protection …
European Union rules to prevent 1.7 million tonnes of fish a year being discarded are being flouted.
… Fishing ministers 'ignoring sustainability' Emily Beament | 16th July 2019 … economic benefits rather than long-term sustainability. "Unless the discard ban is … to introduce other measures to ensure the sustainability of our fish stocks." This …
A 'Friend of the Sea' Dutch-owned trawler certified to supply 'sustainably caught' shrimp to the US and EU was arrested in Liberia after operating in an an area reserved for artisanal fishers, writes Peter Hammarstedt. The vessel, which had no licence and lacked the turtle excluders required by law, was discovered by the crew of Sea Shepherd's 'Bob Barker' in a joint mission with the Liberian Coast Guard to clamp down on rampant illegal fishing.
Sea Shepherd helps arrest 'sustainable' shrimp trawler for illegal fishing in Liberian waters Peter Hammarstedt Sea Shepherd | 26th May 2017 Activism Oceans Fishing Regulation Liberia USA EU …
A pilot study of American mothers' milk has found levels of the herbicide glyphosate around 1,000 times higher than allowed in European drinking water. Campaigners are demanding a ban on the use of glyphosate on food crops.
Glyphosate found in breast milk The Ecologist | 28th April 2014 News Food Farming Water Regulation USA EU mothers-milk-cut.jpg A pilot study of American mothers' milk has found levels of the …
Procter & Gamble has committed to use only 'no deforestation' palm oil by 2020. Greenpeace claims success for its campaign, focused on Head & Shoulders shampoo.
… to the complicated issue of palm oil sustainability" , said Len Sauers, P&G Vice President of Global Sustainability. "We are committed to driving …
The much-derided Common Fisheries Policy must be one of the EU's most unpopular aspects, write Bryce Stewart & Griffin Carpenter. But in fact it has been a notable success, reflecting public concern over bycatch discards and restoring sustainability to Europe's fishing grounds, and profitability to a long declining industry.
… concern over bycatch discards and restoring sustainability to Europe's fishing grounds, …
A succession of mega-corporations that have been driving rainforest destruction in Indonesia have recently announced 'no deforestation' policies. Bill Lawrance asks: is it too good to be true?
… And to make things worse, APRIL's new sustainability commitments won't be applied to …
A recently discovered peatland in northeast Peru contains two years worth of US carbon emissions, writes Joe Sandler Clarke, but it's under threat from the rapidly advancing 'palm oil frontier'. Now scientists are calling for the wetland's immediate protection - before it's too late to save it.
… rapidly in Latin America . The industry's sustainability watchdog, the Roundtable on …
Contrary to arguments advanced in a recent Ecologist article, the biomass industry supplying the Drax power station in North Yorkshire is a model of sustainability, writes Nina Skorupska, and delivers genuine, substantial emissions reductions compared to coal.
… station in North Yorkshire is a model of sustainability, writes Nina Skorupska, and … embraces rigorous external scrutiny of its sustainability practices, and demonstrates … larger than that which is in the UK. Sustainability regulation strictly prohibits …
Trees, woodlands and hedgerows do much more than enhance the appearance of Britain's rural landscapes, writes Mike Townsend. They diminish flooding, reduce erosion, assist water infiltration, enhance biodiversity - and we need more of them!
… simultaneously to improve the resilience and sustainability of their farms whilst …
With all diesel cars failing EU clean air standards in real world driving, and the worst 22 times over the limit, there's only one real solution, write Steffen Böhm & Ian Colbeck: adopt sustainable transport strategies to keep cars off our streets and break our dependence on them.
… Steffen Böhm is Professor in Management and Sustainability, and Director, Essex Sustainability Institute, University of Essex …
Rwandan authorities are partnering with communities to halt the decline of forest cover and produce wood, charcoal and fruit in a sustainable way
… it, the specific species they need and why. Sustainability was a problem, as they were … article first appeared on Climate Home . “Sustainability was a problem, as they were …