| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
IV GREENING (TRANS)NATIONAL LOGGING COMPANIES? STRATEGIES TO COMBAT ILLEGAL AND UNSUSTAINABLE LOGGING
One clear effect of globalisation is the global flow of international capital to the South. Possible 'push and pull' factors include lower operating costs, domestic logging bans, nepotism and slack environmental regulations in the South. The critical theme is how companies can work in a more sustainable manner and which strategies might be used for that: forest environmental services, national regulations, NGO pressure and certification. Others maintain that international business actually contributes to more sustainable forest operations in the South as they abide by international corporate regulations, rather than promoting a 'cut and run' policy. The following contributions address this critical debate, questioning how to effect organisational change in transnational and national logging companies towards a greener corporate policy.
GREENING OF FOREST INDUSTRIES IN THE SOUTH
By Peter Ho
In the North, a combination of government regulations, NGO pressure, market conditions and technological innovation has encouraged forest industries to act in a more environmentally-friendly way. What is far less clear is the extent to which the greening of forest business is catching on in developing countries, and whether or not an institutional and political framework conducive to corporate environmental responsibility is being constructed. Processes associated with globalisation indicate that whereas the global reach and influence of transnational logging companies has increased in recent decades, the power of certain institutions that might regulate business activities, notably those associated with the nation state and trade unions, is weak or declining in many countries in the South.
To what extent is the greening of logging companies a reality in the South? In other words, are we talking about the greening or "greenwash" of forest industries? What are its implications for sustainable development and what might non-governmental and governmental actors do to scale up and deepen corporate environmentalism in developing nations? What could be the role of "corporate self-regulation" and "voluntary incentives" such as FSC in this? These are the critical questions that need to be addressed in order to understand corporate environmental policy.
Further information:
Dr Ir Peter Ho
Environmental Policy Group,
Wageningen University
Postbus 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen
The Netherlands
E-mail: peter.ho@wur.nl