Home Depot Plywood
In the runup to Home Depot’s May 19 shareholder meeting, the advocacy group Friends of the Chocó launches a campaign. The campaign goal is to highlight the company’s practice of carrying Sandeply plywood. It’s a Home Depot exclusive that comes from Ecuadorian manufacturer Endesa-Botrosa. The plywood is deforesting primary tropical rainforests in western Ecuador’s Chocó region. Just 3% of western Ecuador’s original forest remains intact.
The campaign includes a new film documenting the devastating impacts of Endesa-Botrosa’s old-growth logging operations. Extracting plywood-veneer wood in the Chocó, a full-page ad in yesterday’s Atlanta Journal Constitution, mobile billboards in and around Home Depot’s Atlanta headquarters that read “Learn how The Home Depot is destroying the rainforest,” and a detailed report about the impacts of Sandeply on the Chocó to Home Depot corporate leaders, board members, and investors. The film and other documents can be viewed on www.homedepot-deforestation.
Home Depot Uses Plywood that Destroys Rainforests
Home Depot’s sale of Sandeply contributes to the deforestation of one of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests, according to an ad in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. This sourcing practice also leads to increased carbon emissions, destruction of endangered wildlife habitats, and the devastation of the Indigenous Chachi community’s forest home. The ad claims that Rodgers raised this issue with Home Depot’s CEO Craig Menear and VP of Sustainability Ron Jarvis four years ago. However, it appears that no changes have been made since then. The deforestation continues, and Sandeply products can still be found on Home Depot’s shelves.
Supply Chains
Home Depot’s decision to include products linked to deforestation in their supply chain isn’t just ethically questionable or contradictory to their sustainable sourcing goals – it’s a major strategic misstep. The Friends of the Chocó have pointed out to Home Depot’s leadership that sourcing Sandeply from Endesa-Botrosa puts the company at significant risk, both in terms of reputation and compliance.
What’s more, this choice could hurt Home Depot’s competitive edge. Their rival, Lowe’s, has implemented more comprehensive sourcing policies. Policies that explicitly exclude products from deforested areas like the Chocó. Home Depot’s policies, on the other hand, don’t have such clear-cut restrictions. This gap in policy not only raises ethical concerns. However, it could also impact Home Depot’s standing in the market. That’s especially as consumers become increasingly aware of and concerned about environmental issues.
By continuing this practice, Home Depot isn’t just falling short on its environmental responsibilities. For it’s potentially setting itself up for future challenges in an increasingly eco-conscious marketplace. This situation highlights the growing importance of sustainable practices in business strategy. Especially where environmental responsibility and business success are becoming increasingly intertwined.
The Report
The report urges Home Depot to stop carrying Sandeply and end its supply relationship with Endesa-Botrosa. However, if that is not possible, it calls for souring sustainable 100% plantation-grown alternatives. Moreover. it calls on Home Depot to improve its sustainability policies and supply chain management. In addition, the goal is for Home Depot to no longer carry products that destroy primary tropical rainforests.
[Atlanta, GA – May 16, 2022]
