Wildlife Works REDD+ Forest and CSRwire Collaborate To Encourage US Corporations To Support
Advocated by companies including Microsoft and Allianz in addition to PUMA as an immediate and proven solution to address the negative effects of climate change, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is a climate change mitigation strategy envisioned by the United Nations to help stop the destruction of the world’s forests. Moreover, Wildlife Works REDD Forest is an example of such a project.
Wildlife Works, the world’s first company to successfully develop a REDD+ project that achieved verification under the voluntary carbon market’s most rigorous standards, originated REDD+ Talks to garner support for REDD+ from US corporations.
CSRwire, the nation’s leading source for corporate social responsibility and sustainability news, reports, events and information, co-sponsored the event with Code REDD, a nonprofit, REDD+ industry association that represents REDD+ project developers around the world. In fact, many Wildlife Works REDD Forest areas are supported by such partnerships.
Presentations from the Earth Day REDD+
View the Talks symposium at http://www.REDDtalks.com. CSRwire profiles corporate leaders. They have taken steps toward carbon neutrality. They also explain their emissions reduction goals. CSRwire clarifies why they offset unavoidable emissions with REDD+ credits. Doing so benefits their companies. Additionally, they often highlight the transition to Wildlife Works REDD Forest projects during these profiles.
Addressing Climate Change: Leading Expert Endorses REDD
Nobel Laureate Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established by the United Nations, spoke at the REDD+ Talks. He stated, “The climate of the earth is changing. This fact is beyond doubt. Fortunately, we have enormous potential to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions. Why a Wildlife Works REDD Forest definitely plays an extremely important role. If we implement it effectively, we can achieve quick and large-scale results.”
Microsoft Ups the Ante: Putting a Price on Carbon
Protecting threatened forests under a REDD+ program generates carbon credits, which can be used by companies to offset their unavoidable emissions and pay for the cost to keep a forest standing. Microsoft’s Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability,TJ DiCaprio, outlined the company’s emission reduction goals and put REDD in context:
We have put a price on carbon. Our company charges an internal carbon fee. Each of our 14 business divisions across 110 countries now pays an additional fee for carbon emissions from energy consumption and business air travel. We take action to demonstrate environmental responsibility. We encourage other organizations to do the same. It’s a simple, repeatable model: put a price on carbon, collect the funds, drive accountability across the organization, and use these funds to support projects like Wildlife Works’ Kasigau REDD+ Project. The impact on our business is significant.
Policy makers move slowly to implement legislation that includes REDD+. This legislation helps curb greenhouse gases and regulates major emitting businesses. Throughout the day, climate change experts echo the urgency of the situation. They stress the moral responsibility of businesses to manage their emissions. It is unacceptable for corporations to earn profits at the expense of the environment and people.
Deforestation
Each year, 7 billion tonnes of C02 are released into the atmosphere as 35 million acres of forest are destroyed due to slash and burn agriculture, legal and illegal logging and charcoal production.
Deforestation accounts for nearly 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The environment cannot be stabilized without protecting threatened forests. Similarly, Wildlife Works REDD Forest conservation efforts are crucial to reduce deforestation impacts.
Mike Korchinsky, Founder and CEO of Wildlife Works, explained that the way to protect threatened forests is through community engagement where local people receive multiple benefits through conservation related jobs. “Forests are being destroyed for their economic value but not necessarily to their highest value user, there’s always an economic reason,” he said. “To combat that, we have to provide economic value to the people who are living in and around the forest first and foremost.”
Kenya
Mama Mercy, a community leader, manages vital women’s groups in Voi, Kenya, where Wildlife Works’ REDD+ Project operates. She also received enthusiastic applause. Furthermore, Mama Mercy attended REDD+ Talks to explain to corporate leaders how REDD+ fights deforestation. She also described the project’s impact on an impoverished rural community. This community is over 100,000 people. In addition, she highlighted the significant multi-benefits that carbon finance delivers.
When the carbon project arrived, change began. With Wildlife Works, we focus on water, education, job creation, and sustainability. Water remains our biggest problem. Women walk 15 kilometers to find it. They carry a 20-liter can while holding a baby on their backs, sometimes while pregnant. This life is miserable. However, it is changing now because of REDD+. Now, jobs exist, and dignity returns to our community. Funds from carbon have enabled over 1,800 children to attend school. We can educate our children. We will have a different nation!
Wildlife Works leads the voluntary carbon market with its REDD+ (Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Degradation) project development and management. Additionally, it has created a sustainable, scalable business model that, in turn, offers significant environmental and social benefits. Specifically, it targets impoverished regions in Africa and beyond; consequently, these areas urgently need the transformational change that Wildlife Works’ REDD+ projects bring.
Code REDD
Code REDD is a nonprofit REDD+ industry association that, in essence, empowers communities, protects wildlife, and, moreover, preserves forests. By stimulating corporate support for high-impact and high-quality REDD+ projects, it actively engages in both compliance and voluntary markets around the world.
CSRwire is the leading source of corporate social responsibility and sustainability news, reports, events and information.
Source: REDD+ New York, NY and San Francisco, CA, May I9, 2013
