This past October, Dogwood Alliance’s campaign to reform fast food packaging was recognized with the BENNY 2011 Path to Victory Award, given by the Business Ethics Network (BEN) at their annual gathering in San Francisco. The Path to Victory Award recognizes the significant progress made in catalyzing corporate transformation in the last year through campaign work.
We at Dogwood Alliance are proud to receive this recognition from our colleagues and fellow activists working to change negative corporate behavior. Dogwood Alliance is a longtime member of BEN, a project of Corporate Ethics International, which is the largest network of non-profit, marketplace advocacy activists and organizations in the U.S. and includes activists from such notable organizations as ForestEthics, Greenpeace, Healthcare without Harm, the Humane Society of the United States, Rainforest Action Network, and the Teamsters.
The Business Ethics Network Executive Director Anne Pernick has said, “The American public is calling for corporate accountability and limits on corporate power. The activists in these campaigns are working to benefit us all, and they are winning incredible victories against powerful foes.” We agree! In this time of Occupy Wall Street, we are glad to do our part for the common good.
Over the last few years, Dogwood Alliance has been working hard to convince the largest users of paper packaging from Southern forests to use less packaging, use more recycled content, and ensure their paper packaging does not come from endangered forests in the South. Most recently our efforts have focused on the fast food industry where we have made great progress raising awareness about the impact of industrial forestry on Southern Forests. Just this spring, fast food giant McDonald’s announced a Sustainable Land Management Commitment that points the company in the right direction. And, of course, our Kentucky Fried Forests campaign against fast food behemoth Yum! Brands has already brought change to the largest restaurant company in the world, but we are still pushing for more protection for our forests!