SUSTAINABILITY approach. Kingfisher’s ambition is to ‘go beyond neutrality and seek to make a positive contribution to the world’s future’. The strategies mark an emerging trend: timber sourcing is increasingly recognized as a key sustainability aspect alongside water consumption, recycling and greenhouse gas emissions. The year 2012 also saw the inauguration of the world’s first FSC and PEFC certified olympic stadium in London and the opening of UK retailer Marks & Spencer’s giant Cheshire Oaks Eco-Store, which has achived full FSC project certification. These projects exemplify an ambitious array of eco-innovative designs and thoughtful procurement policies. M&S explains their approach to sustainability, ‘Plan A’, in this way: “We’re calling it Plan A because we believe it’s now the only way to do business. There is no Plan B”. Natural resources scarcity is a core factor An Ernst & Young survey of 272 mainly US-based companies found that 65 percent of CFOs are now involved in sustainability initiatives. One of the underlying reasons given for this trend is the growing scarcity of natural resources. As many as 76 percent ‘anticipate natural resource shortages will affect their core business objectives over the next 3-5 years’. The report also found that ‘66 percent have seen an increase in inquiries about sustainability-related issues in the past 12 months from investors and shareholders’. In a world of diminishing forests and steep growth of affluent populations, timber is set to become a scarce natural commodity. In order to stay in business, timber-based enterprises need to focus strongly on supply chain management. Timber certification is part and parcel of
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 18:59:30 +0000
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