Public consultation: Lithuanian forest certification system

According to a recent “nudge” campaign by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), marketing messages touting the environmental benefits of going paperless are falling on deaf ears. The results of the CRA campaign show that such green claims have little impact on the consumer’s choice for switching from paper to online options. In the CRA campaign, tax payers were encouraged to file online and eliminate paper filing. A nudge campaign involves using soft messages to “nudge” the audience to make desired choices. In this case, the campaign used different messages ranging from no specific environmental messaging to strong environmental messaging – including a promise to plant a tree when switching to online filing. The results show that environmental messaging was no more effective than generic messaging, with the nudge campaign having a negligible impact of about 1% increase in online filing. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sustainable forestry and its role in the consumer goods industry is on the agenda for the Consumer Goods Forum’s Sustainable Retail Summit, taking place 25-26 October in Lisbon, Portugal. Zero-net deforestation is a key objective of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) and many of its member companies. To achieve it, the CGF has recognized forest certification as an important tool within its sourcing guidelines. Sustainably managed forests provide many of the elements necessary for life on earth — air, water, food and shelter. Moreover, wood is renewable and one of the most environmentally friendly raw materials available, and the great news is, it is used in many of the products procured or manufactured by CGF members. Click read more below for additional detail.

Outdoor brands wasted no time blasting President Donald Trump’s new executive order about America’s national monuments. Patagonia called the move hypocritical and challenged his authority regarding public lands. And the Outdoor Industry Association, in a letter signed by more than 100 outdoor companies -- including Columbia Sportswear, REI, New Balance, Woolrich and the North Face -- says it is “deeply concerned” about the order, which could potentially lead to rescinding and resizing national monuments, as well as opening them up for mining and drilling. Patagonia has been girding its loins for Trump for some time. Last fall, it spent a reported $1 million running full-page ads urging people to “Vote for the Planet.” And it has been deeply involved in the controversy around the Bears Ears Monument in Utah -- 1.35 million acres designated by former President Obama late last year. When Utah passed a resolution asking Trump to remove that designation in February, Patagonia pulled out of Outdoor Retailer, the OIA’s major trade show, protesting Utah’s “hostile” approach to the environment. And last week, the company unveiled an ad about Bears Ears to run on PBS, as well as an extensive video and virtual reality film about the area, detailing its cultural significance, sport opportunities, with easy links to contact Ryan Zinke, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, to protest. click Read More below for more of the story