What’s more exciting than winning the Kentucky Derby? How about attending the Yum! Brands shareholder’s meeting in Louisville, Kentucky and getting a commitment for a meeting with their Chief Sustainability Officer, Roger McLendon?

Dogwood Alliance did just that on May 17th. Staffers Scot Quaranda, Haiz Oppenheimer, and Andrew Goldberg, along with board members Gary Phillips and Bob Cabin, took turns speaking directly to David Novak, Yum! Brands CEO, and the rest of the company’s directors about the damaging effects their paper packaging is having on Southern forests.

What’s more exciting than winning the Kentucky Derby? How about attending the Yum! Brands shareholder’s meeting in Louisville, Kentucky and getting a commitment for a meeting with their Chief Sustainability Officer, Roger McLendon?

Dogwood Alliance did just that on May 17th. Staffers Scot Quaranda, Haiz Oppenheimer, and Andrew Goldberg, along with board members Gary Phillips and Bob Cabin, took turns speaking directly to David Novak, Yum! Brands CEO, and the rest of the company’s directors about the damaging effects their paper packaging is having on Southern forests.

“They seemed to be listening more than they ever have in the past, and the board was definitely paying attention to what we had to say,” said Oppenheimer, Dogwood’s Campaign Organizer. “It was the first time they’ve ever made a commitment to actually meet with us.”

“This interaction was the culmination of just over two years of Dogwood’s campaign against KFC, the flagship of Yum! Brands’ holdings,” explained Quaranda, Campaign Director. “During our meeting with Roger McLendon, we will push them to develop a sustainability commitment for KFC. We certainly hope that they are meeting in good faith and that we’ll move forward together to protect Southern forests.”

Global Twist on the KFC Issue

Apparently Yum! Brands isn’t the only organization taking note of Dogwood’s campaign against KFC. Recently, Greenpeace independently launched its own campaign targeting KFC’s purchase of endangered forest paper from Indonesia, sold by Asian Pulp and Paper.  The Greenpeace efforts have included a robust email call to action and a banner drop at KFC/ Yum! headquarters shortly after the shareholders meeting.

“We’re excited that Greenpeace is also working to hold Yum! Brands and KFC accountable for their destruction of forests around the world while we’re working to do the same here at home,” said Oppenheimer. “It shows the extent of global forest degradation that this one company is responsible for, and the potential for worldwide forest conservation that could arise if they would simply incorporate sustainable practices into the way they do business.”

At the spring meeting of the Carbon Canopy, Dogwood Alliance’s forest carbon project, members and funders got out onto the land to “kick the tires” on the first two carbon sequestration sites, and companies came on-board to purchase carbon offsets. These first two sites, coming to market early next year, will provide important new revenue for landowners.

More than 20 people attended the meeting on May 20-21 hosted by Domtar at its Kingsport Mill in northwestern Tennessee, including representatives from Dogwood Alliance, Staples, Forestland Group, Domtar, Rainforest Alliance, Forest Stewards, the National Woodland Owners Association, the Nature Conservancy and two area funding partners.

Participants had the chance to personally explore the Pine Mountain Project, including 1,400 acres near Pound, Virginia and the Forestland Group’s Highlands property, covering 130,000 acres near Dante, Virginia.

After their field trip, Carbon Canopy members reviewed the steps that will have the carbon offsets from both sites ready to come to market early in 2013. “Preparing a carbon project is an enormous amount of work,” says Andrew Goldberg, Director of Corporate Engagement at Dogwood Alliance. “For example, we’ve created a plot survey grid that provides statistically valid data on every living stem over 5 inches wide on the entire property. We use that to model the yield of the property in terms of growth and carbon sequestration — and we must ensure that everything we do adheres to strict protocols created by the California Air Resources Board.”

The group also approved a five-year strategic plan that outlines expected growth and management activities.

With the sites almost prepped and with corporate partners stepping up to purchase the carbon offsets generated by these properties, the vision of the Carbon Canopy — to protect valuable forests while using them to produce income for landowners — is near reality.

Craig Kaderavek from Forestland Group noted the importance of recognizing carbon sequestration as a new way to add value to some of the millions of acres owned by the company. “This land has value that’s more than timber. Being able to generate income through carbon sequestration will make it more attractive to buy, hold and responsibly manage more land,” he said.

“It was invigorating to actually stand on two places that will be protected for the long haul from degradation, yet will be a contributing part of their local economies,” added Goldberg. “It is a win for the landowner, the forest products industry and for everyone in the region.”

Dogwood Alliance Delivers Up Sustainability at the YUM/KFC Shareholder’s MeetingEnvironmental Group Calls on Company to Stop Stonewalling and Start Protecting Southern Forests and Communities; CEO Advises Dogwood Alliance to Meet with Chief Sustainability OfficerLouisville, KY – This morning, Dogwood Alliance staff and board members attended the YUM! shareholders meeting to call on the company to end the destruction of Southern forests for the company’s paper packaging.  The message was loud and clear, “Our campaign will continue until your company changes!”

At this morning’s meeting, for the first time CEO David Novak advised the group to meet with Chief Sustainability Office, Roger McClendon.  This may represent a turning point in the company’s engagement with Dogwood Alliance.

Two years ago, Dogwood Alliance launched a public campaign targeting KFC because the fast food giant buys its buckets and a bulk of its paper packaging from endangered coastal wetland forests in North and South Carolina.  Over that period, KFC has continued to ignore concerns, refused to engage in substantive dialogue, and failed to adopt solutions.

KFC competitors have adopted company-wide policies setting goals for increasing the recycled content in fast food packaging, eliminating packaging that originates from the most egregious logging practices and purchasing packaging from suppliers that meet the high environmental standards of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.

“Wetland forests along the Atlantic Coast are being decimated by destructive logging for KFC’s paper packaging.  “It doesn’t have to be this way,” said Dr. Robert Cabin, a forest ecologist.  “With greater vigilance to its supply chain, the company can facilitate the protection rather than the destruction of our endangered forests and wetlands

“Dogwood Alliance has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies to increase the use of recycled paper and eliminate paper coming from destructive logging in ecologically sensitive forests.   Most companies realize it is important to enter into constructive dialogue to address concerns” said Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director at Dogwood Alliance, “Unfortunately, KFC has put up roadblocks at every turn and instead continues to buy paper packaging that is destroying critical wetland forests in the Southern US.”

Rather than take action, the company chose to ignore the facts and instead publicly promote the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a certification systems created by the paper industry which certifies destructive logging in endangered forests as “sustainable”.

Just last month, KFC used its influence to bar Dogwood Alliance, who had been invited and purchased a ticket,  from attending the Sustainable Operations Summit in New York City, where YUM Chief Sustainability Officer, Roger McClendon spoke on a panel called “Environmental Strategy as Business Strategy.”

Gary Phillips, a Dogwood Alliance board member stated “The energy KFC is exerting to avoid addressing the issues is a waste of resources and the company is spinning its wheels when it comes to taking real steps towards sustainability.  The public’s concerns are not going to just go away.”

Commitment to Improving Footprint in World’s Forests is Vague and Inconsequential

This morning, , the world’s largest paper company, announced twelve new voluntary sustainability goals to be achieved by 2020.  Rather than demonstrating leadership, the company failed to set meaningful goals that will have any significant impact on forests around the world.  Dogwood Alliance and leading environmental organizations expected transparency, a roadmap to success and leadership; these goals fail to achieve those results.

Forest product companies have huge environmental footprints, and their heaviest impacts fall in the world’s forests.  The environmental community and leading Fortune 500 companies have been looking for clear commitments to address these destructive impacts.  Unfortunately, these new goals provide slim guidance as to how the company plans to address these serious concerns.

is the largest paper company operating in the Southern US, which is the largest paper producing region in the world.  As the leading forest protection organization in the South, Dogwood Alliance has long campaigned to end the company’s destructive practices in the region, which sadly are not addressed in these new goals.

First and foremost, failed to set any meaningful goals around its fiber sourcing.  Rather than commit specifically to an end to logging of endangered forests and conversion of natural forests and forested wetlands to sterile tree plantations, the company relied on platitudes and rhetoric.

One way the company could have ensured aggressive and continuous improvement on the ground would have been to dramatically increase targets for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified virgin fiber.  Instead, they set an inconsequential goal of 15% increased certified fiber over the next eight years with no stated preference for FSC or clarity as to the goals for virgin fiber.  This is less than 2% increase per year.   has recently acquired Temple-Inland through a merger. By certifying Temple-Inlands’s existing recycled product lines alone, could achieve its meager certification goals with no measurable change on the ground for the forests of the world.

The one glimmer of hope is a stated commitment to addressing supply chain issues by 2013.  If you were looking for any specificity, though, you will not find it in this report.  Our hope is that will take a more aggressive approach in its next iteration, but until then, it is business-as-usual forest destruction from the world’s largest paper company.

On April 28th, the Arbor Day Foundation awarded Dominion Power’s Project Plant It! one of its 2012 Arbor Day Awards.  The irony here of course is that while Dominion is planting trees and reportedly “sparking a love of trees in children,” the company is gearing up for the wholesale burning of forests for electricity.  While planting trees is a good thing it will not mitigate the damage and destruction to entire forested ecosystems that will occur if Dominion starts burning trees for electricity.

Dominion is currently planning to open three new 50 megawatt facilities in Virginia that will burn wood to produce electricity.  Additionally, the company plans to burn wood along with coal at its massive new coal burning power plant in Wise County, Virginia.

Recent scientific studies document that burning whole trees for electricity will increase carbon emissions, accelerate industrial logging, and pose a greater threat to human health than burning coal.  If Dominion truly cares about trees, the company should make a public commitment to only burn wood waste and not whole trees at these facilities.  Instead, Dominion should emphasize only truly renewable energy sources like solar and wind, as well as invest heavily in supporting ratepayer efforts for greater energy conservation and efficiency.

To learn more about the threats to Southern forests from bioenergy, visit here.

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]A video recap of the shareholder meeting from Dogwood Alliance staff and board members:[/vc_column_text][space height=”15″][vc_video link=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pecAiKoYjI&feature=youtu.be”][vc_column_text]Thanks to all of our members who helped us get to Louisville for the YUM/KFC shareholder meeting.  Here is a link to the press release from today’s event: http://www.dogwoodalliance.org/2012/05/dogwood-alliance-serves-up-sustainability-at-the-yumkfc-shareholder-meeting/

And a few photos to brighten your day.  Special thanks to board members Gary Philips and Dr. Robert Cabin for making the trip with us and delivering a powerful message!

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

We need your donation today to get staff and volunteers to Louisville, Kentucky for the KFC shareholders meeting on May 17th! Help us protect our Southern forests!

[/vc_column_text][space height=”15″][vc_video link=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7sLEqPHl58″][vc_column_text]

We can’t let KFC shut us out of the May 17th KFC shareholders meeting. We need to be there to represent all your voices on behalf of our Southern forests.

Donate NOW to send forest protectors to the KFC shareholders’ meeting!

 

Click here for more information on the Sustainability Conference that KFC had Dogwood barred from.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Environmental Group Barred from Sustainable Operations Summit at Request of Yum! Brands/KFC

Invitation Revoked and Attendance Fee Refunded for “Fear of Protest”

New York City – North Carolina based forest protection organization, Dogwood Alliance, was denied entry this morning to the Sustainable Operations Summit even though the group had been invited to attend by the conference organizers. It was soon discovered that the refusal of admittance came as a result of a request from Yum!Brands/KFC, whose Chief Sustainability Officer, Roger McClendon, is speaking on a panel at today’s conference.

Michael Owens, VP at CraigMichaels, Inc. and conference organizer, stated in an email to the group, “It has been brought to my attention that you are planning on protesting YUM Brands and Roger McClendon at the Sustainable Operations Summit. While I am all for free speech, and I truly respect what you guys do, I cannot allow you attend the summit.” When pressed in a subsequent phone conversation, he revealed that he was informed of planned protest by Yum! Brands/KFC.

The great irony is that the organization had no plans to protest KFC at the event. They were planning to attend so they could see the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer’s presentation on a panel entitled  “Environmental Strategy as Business Strategy.” Though the group has been attempting to meet with KFC to discuss the impact of its paper packaging on the forests of the Southern US for over two years now, KFC has yet to schedule a meeting with the group, and this would have been the first time they ever had the opportunity to meet Roger face-to-face.

“It seems that KFC’s environmental business strategy is to exclude environmental stakeholders in order to avoid addressing important environmental issues,” stated Andrew Goldberg, Corporate Engagement Director at Dogwood Alliance. “This kind of business strategy may be good for the bottomline but is disastrous for our climate and environment.”

The phantom fear of protest seems to be based on Dogwood Alliance’s campaign, “Kentucky Fried Forests,” which exposes how critical wetland and other important forests in the Southern US are being destroyed to make KFC’s fast food packaging, including the iconic bucket. The group has attempted to engage KFC, asking them to reduce their overall use of packaging, increase the use of recycled paper, and stop buying paper packaging that comes from the worst of the worst practices in the woods.

Dogwood Alliance has a long and successful track record working with some of the largest paper producers and consumers in the US. Through a combination of grassroots pressure and negotiation, Dogwood Alliance has catalyzed change at major companies, including Staples, Office Depot, Georgia Pacific, and McDonalds, and helped shift market demand away from paper products produced at the expense of the long term health of Southern forests in favor of recycled paper and sustainable forestry.

“I hope that KFC and the Sustainable Operations Summit will learn a valuable lesson from this embarrassing situation, and in the future acknowledge the real and urgent need to bring together environmental organizations and large corporations in a dialogue about the impact of their business practices on the environment,” continued Goldberg. “How can you expect to make headway on some of the greatest issues facing our generation if you deny leading critics and a dissenting view a seat at the table?”

# # #

Dogwood Alliance is increasing protection for millions of acres of Southern forests by transforming the way corporations, landowners and communities value them for their climate, wildlife and water benefits. Dogwood Alliance has revolutionized the environmental practices of some of the world’s largest corporations. To support Dogwood Alliance’s call for KFC to adopt sustainable packaging practices send a letter to KFC leadership via www.kentuckyfriedforests.com, for more information on the organization visit www.dogwoodalliance.org.

As the weather heats up, so does the pressure we’re putting on KFC!

A March Madness NCAA tournament round at the YUM! Brands Arena (named after KFC’s parent company) proved the perfect venue to call attention to the company’s support of destructive forestry practices. On March 17^th,Dogwood fielded a 7-man parody team, The KFC Forest Destroyers, outside the arena. Our team applied the full court press — giving away beach balls emblazoned with the campaign’s Kentucky Fried Forests logo and basketball trading cards highlighting KFC’s Chief Sustainability Officer Roger McClendon (a former all-American at Cincinnati) to those headed into the arena.

Watch all the highlights from this event in our new video!

In February, Dogwood released its new report, Greening Fast Food Packaging: A Roadmap to Best Practices. This report outlines eight key attributes of environmentally friendly fast food packaging, and provides simple guidance on how to assess environmental impacts in the supply chain.  It offers accolades to leaders in the fast food industry that have undertaken key initiatives that will help move the entire sector forward.  It also includes a realistic, workable action plan to focus corporate sustainability efforts.

“We hope that by boiling down complex issues into a straightforward, stepwise action plan, companies can make progress on their packaging, creating a win-win for our forests and the corporate bottom-line,” said Dogwood’s Campaign Director Scot Quaranda, who co-authored the report. “By following our roadmap and working with experts in key areas associated with the packaging supply chain, more companies can lead rather than lag further behind.”

And finally, the heat continues with our upcoming Day of Action on Tuesday, April 17th. Stay tuned for details in your inbox!