Greenpeace UK

Latest: KFC campaign goes global

Bustar Maitar — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:04:02 +0000

This week saw the launch of new global campaign to stop KFC turning rainforests into trash, by cutting deforestation out of its supply chain.

All week Greenpeace activists have been taking the message to KFC while thousands of people around the world joined the revolt to end KFC’s secret recipe for rainforest destruction.

Our investigation team found KFC has been using rainforest fibre in their packaging in the UK, China and Indonesia and that they have been using paper supplied by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) – the same company that Greenpeace exposed this February for having illegal timber in their supply chain.

The campaign kicked off at KFC/Yum’s’s Kentucky HQ – nicknamed the “White House” -- where US activists scaled the giant front columns to deliver a message directly to KFC executives. In response, like a headless chicken, different parts of the company said different things. Yum claimed that 60% of their paper is from “sustainable” sources – but then KFC later upped it to 80% in Facebook postings. Not the most convincing or consistent messaging. More concerning, the company doesn’t define what “sustainable sources” are. That isn’t really surprising given that neither KFC nor Yum have global paper buying standards or policies in place. “Sustainable” just becomes anyone’s guess.

Then, in the UK, a buffoonery of orangutans descended upon the KFC HQ in Woking to greet employees on their way into work in the morning and to tell them all about how the Colonel is turning rainforests into rubbish. A couple of hours later, they were spotted in front of a KFC on Oxford Street, where they occupied the storefront for 2 hours in the sweltering heat while Greenpeace activists talked to KFC employees and members of the public about how Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is supplying KFC with packaging products that are made from Indonesia’s rainforests.

In China where KFC is the country’s biggest fast food company homeless orang-utans and tigers were spotted outside a KFC in Beijing, holding the banner “My home is NOT your disposable food packaging!"

KFC responded in the UK by boldly claiming that their packaging is 100% sustainable. How then do they explain the presence of rainforest fibre in their packaging and the fact that our research has categorically confirmed links between the food giant and APP, including in the UK.

A revolt is truly in the air as more and more people are getting inspired to protect Indonesia’s rainforests from KFC. If you haven’t joined the revolt yet then please do – just pick your revolting packaging character and share with your friends. The more you share the bigger your revolt will become and the harder it will be for KFC to ignore the global call to stop turning rainforests into trash.

Join the revolt now and be a part of the global movement to change KFC’s secret recipe for rainforest destruction.

KFC executives have their heads in a bucket

Chris Eaton — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:40:51 +0000

KFC Packaging showing the name of the supplier PT Pinto Deli, an APP subsidiary

Yesterday we released a report exposing KFC for driving rainforest destruction and pushing tigers toward extinction. Sadly, KFC executives have responded by putting a big bucket of denial on their heads.

The company first said that 60% of their packaging in the US comes from “sustainable” sources. Then, they said it was 80%. Hmmm. Then, they started to claim that they don’t buy from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) in the UK or US.

There are so many things wrong with this statements, we’re going to have to take them one by one.

First, KFC is clearly buying paper products that originate from APP. There is plenty of evidence in our report. I hope KFC executives take the time to read it. But, another way to prove this is with pretty pictures. Above is a photo of a box containing napkins destined for use in KFC. If you look at these napkins you’ll notice that the name PT Pindo Deli. This is an APP company based in Indonesia. Beyond this clear link, we had the napkins tested by an independent lab. You know what they found under the microscope? Mixed Tropical Hardwood wood fiber – in other words, the remnants of rainforests.

Second, KFC executives are using the word “sustainable” in a very creative way. Their mysterious 60%-80% figures seems to include controversial clearcut logging that has been criticized for years by conservationists. If this is what the Colonel calls “sustainable” he has a bad case of denial.

Third, KFC’s statement is specific to the US. This ignores its massive global operations. China – not the US – is KFC’s largest market now. And, buying policy standards (or lack thereof) made in Louisville affect forests around the world.

This is all getting way more complicated than it needs to be. KFC and parent company Yum! Brands clearly have problems in their supply chain. They can be fixed. Other companies have taken on the same issues and figured it out. A global policy that sets standards for the kinds of paper the company will buy – if properly implemented – would do the trick.

But, that won’t happen with a culture of denial. The first step is admitting you have a problem. C’mon Colonel…we know you can do it.

Want to help pull the bucket off the Colonel’s head? Click here to get involved and spread the word worldwide.

KFC’s secret recipe: rainforest destruction

Ian — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:10:30 +0000

KFC no good for rainforests

No matter what you think about fast food, you’ll no doubt agree that rainforests shouldn’t be trashed to make packaging destined for the rubbish pile. But that’s exactly what’s happening. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is supplying KFC with packaging products that are made from Indonesia’s rainforests.

The original Colonel Sanders couldn’t have imagined the company he founded in 1930 would be driving rainforest destruction half a world away from where he started it in Kentucky, USA.

But a new Greenpeace International report, ‘How KFC is Junking the Jungle’ shows just that. Thorough supply chain research and forensic testing has revealed how KFC is buying paper products made from rainforest fibre, supplied by APP. APP sources rainforest logs from the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. Last week the company made what it claimed were 'new commitments' to protect forests. In reality it will still continue to rely on rainforest clearance.

Today we are launching a global campaign to persuade KFC and parent company Yum! to clean up their act by cutting rainforest destruction out of their supply chains. To kick things off we’ve released a new video showing the Colonel freak out as his famous secret recipe is finally revealed.

Meanwhile our activists at the KFC headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky have also given executives a wakeup call they couldn’t ignore as they arrived for work this morning. A giant banner with a Sumatran tiger has been placed on the front pillars of the KFC headquarters reading: “KFC Stop Trashing My Home.” The building, nicknamed “the White House” because of its resemblance to the US Presidential residence, looks out on a lake where another team of activists deployed another banner to hundreds of Yum! Brand employees with a similar message.

KFC and Yum! have done the least of any of the top fast food companies to rid their supply chain of rainforest destruction, ignoring the evidence and dragging their feet for years as we and others have tried to get them to change their sourcing. If endangered animals like the Sumatran tiger are to survive in the wild, companies like KFC cannot continue to turn a blind eye to rainforest destruction.

But a revolt is in the air and we need thousands of people like you to join it.

We know KFC and YUM! can do better. Help tell the Colonel that his secret recipe for rainforest destruction is ‘no good’. Right now people across the world, are telling one of the world’s biggest fast food companies that responsible companies don’t turn rainforests into trash.

Join the revolt today and help change KFC’s secret recipe for destruction.

Junking the Jungle: how KFC is driving rainforest destruction in Indonesia

franziskag — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:59:29 +0000

Our research has revealed that KFC is sourcing paper for its packaging products from rainforests. This has been confirmed in China, the UK and Indonesia. Products found to contain rainforest fibre include cups, food boxes, French fries holders, napkins and the famous chicken buckets.

Our research has tracked a number of these products back to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a company that continues to rely on rainforest clearance in Indonesia. By purchasing paper from APP and by using paper made from rainforests, KFC and its parent company Yum! Brand Inc. are driving the destruction of forests in countries like Indonesia. These forests are a key defence against climate change and are habitat for many protected species, including the critically endangered Sumatran tiger.

Unlike a number of other major international companies, KFC and Yum! have no sustainability policies to exclude commodities connected to rainforest destruction. In fact, the group has consistently failed to even answer questions about its sourcing of products such as palm oil, soya and paper products.

We are calling on KFC, and its parent Yum!, to immediately implement policies to exclude deforestation from their supply chains and to suspend the use of any products from APP while it continues to clear Indonesia's natural forests.

Join the revolt now!

Junking the jungle

petespeller — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:32:15 +0000

Publication date: 22 May, 2012

Greenpeace International research has revealed that KFC is sourcing paper for its packaging products from rainforests. This has been confirmed in China, the UK and Indonesia. Products found to contain rainforest fibre include cups, food boxes, French fries holders, napkins and the famous chicken buckets. Greenpeace research has tracked a number of these products back to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a company that continues to rely on rainforest clearance in Indonesia. By purchasing from APP and by using paper made from rainforests, KFC and its parent company YUM! are driving the destruction of forests in countries like Indonesia. These forests are a key defence against climate change and are habitat for many protected species including the critically endangered Sumatran tiger.

Junking the Jungle

Actress Q'orianka Kilcher joins 7 day Amazon action

Eoin D — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:40:48 +0000

22 year old actress Q'orianka Kilcher climbs from a makeshift platform on the anchor chain of the "Clipper Hope" cargo ship and returns to the Greenpeace ship "Rainbow Warrior"

Image caption: 22 year old actress Q'orianka Kilcher climbs from a makeshift platform on the anchor chain of the "Clipper Hope" cargo ship and returns to the Greenpeace ship "Rainbow Warrior"

Actress and human rights activist Q'orianka Kilcher today joined the Greenpeace occupation of the anchor chain of a cargo ship in Brazil to protest the invasion of indigenous tribal land and illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest. The occupation is in its seventh day now and continues.

You can follow updates here, and find more photos of Q’orianka’s occupation of the anchor chain.

The 22 year old is known for her role as Pocahontas in Terence Malik’s 2006 Oscar nominated “The New World”, in which she co-starred with Colin Farrell. She also recently co-starred with Cuba Gooding Jnr. in ABC’s “Firelight”. Q'orianka's activism has already taken her to places like the World Peoples’ Summit on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth in Tiquipaya, Bolivia in 2010, and even jail for a peaceful protest at the White House in Washington D.C.

As long as activists occupy the anchor it’s impossible for the ship to dock and load its cargo of pig iron, a key ingredient in the steelmaking process. New Greenpeace research shows how pig iron is helping to destroy the Amazon rainforest and even contributing to slave labour in the region. The resulting steel is bought by global car companies for use in US factories.

Brazil's President Dilma is preparing to host the world’s elite in Rio a month from now. Dilma is this week considering whether to veto changes to Brazil's ‘forest code’ - a key law which has protected the Amazon for decades. It’s vital that she shows leadership to regain control and protect the Amazon. Q'orianka, who was tweeting today from the anchor chain, has also retweeted Greenpeace's call for Dilma to stand up and veto the changes.

Join: You can get involved here, or try our Find A Brazilian app to help get 1.4m Brazilians to petition their government for a zero deforestation law.

Investigating deforestation for soya in the Amazon

Sarah Shoraka — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:58:30 +0000

In February this year, I went to the Amazon to help monitor new deforestation for soya and to make a film to document it. Flying over the forest frontier and seeing how huge soya farms cut into it, I experienced a feeling of dread. I knew that current industry agreements forced by Greenpeace such as the soya moratorium and enforcement by the authorities in Brazil, were just about holding back the tide of deforestation. But I also knew that plans by the agribusiness lobby in Congress could soon open the flood gates.

These plans involve decimating the laws that govern forest protection in Brazil. At the same as I was flying over the Amazon, a new Forest Code was being pushed through Congress that would severely weaken protection for the rainforest and open up vast areas to destruction.

Fast forward to May and this destructive new law has almost been passed. Right now, the only thing standing between the Amazon rainforest and the chainsaws is Brazilian President Dilma. She can protect the Amazon by vetoing this new Forest Code. You can send her a message now and let her know we all have a stake in protecting this amazing ecosystem.

Occupying an anchor chain to protest deforestation in Brazil

James Turner — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:24:33 +0000

'Clipper Hope' Anchor Occupation, Brazil.

Image caption: 'Clipper Hope' Anchor Occupation, Brazil.

Right now Greenpeace activists have attached themselves to the anchor chain of a massive cargo ship here in Sao Luis, at the mouth of the Amazon. As long as they stay on the anchor it’s impossible for the ship to dock and load its cargo of pig iron which is destined for the USA. Pig iron is used in the production of steel for cars and is exported from Brazil ready for processing.

Over the past two years Greenpeace has collected evidence about a new rainforest scandal involving the production of pig iron. Our research shows how rainforest trees are being chopped down to make wood charcoal, which is then burnt in furnaces to make pig iron.

This is driving the destruction of the rainforest, but it’s not just the trees that are suffering. The wood is often taken from protected land which is the home of indigenous people like the Awa tribe who have relied on the forest for centuries.

And at the charcoal camps themselves people work under terrible conditions to feed the ovens with fresh wood. This is modern day slavery, where people are lured from their homes with the promise of money but landed with huge debts for accommodation and food which they cannot pay off. Often these people sleep with nothing more than a plastic sheet as shelter, breathing in charcoal particles and other pollutants as they shovel wood in and charcoal out.

Our activists have been holding up the cargo ship, the ‘Clipper Hope’, since Monday. You can read more about their protest and view pictures of the action and our latest investigation.

They’re there because they want to end a cycle of destruction which starts in the Amazon rainforest and ends in car showrooms all over the world. They’re also sending a message to Brazil’s President Dilma, who is preparing to host the world’s elite in Rio in a few weeks time. Dilma is currently considering whether to veto changes to the ‘forest code’, a key law which has protected the Amazon for decades. You can join us in calling on her to show leadership, to regain control and to protect the Amazon by sending her a personal email.

Where's the forest protection in APP's ‘new’ forest protection policy?

Bustar Maitar — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:23:06 +0000

Forest and peatland clearance inside APP's Senepis tiger sanctuary

This morning in Jakarta APP invited journalists to the launch of what it’s PR people grandly referred to as the ‘biggest announcement yet’ which would ‘reveal APP’s greatest commitment to natural forest protection as part of its sustainability program’.

Greenpeace was deliberately stopped from entering the press conference where APP then announced what are apparently new measures to protect high conservation forests (HCVF) in Indonesia. Starting from the 1^st June APP said it will ’suspend natural forest clearance while HCVF assessments are conducted’ in areas ‘owned’ (more on that later) by the company.

Sounds positive so far, but allow me to illustrate the problem. Here is a snippet from an advert that APP ran in the New York Times back in 2006, titled ‘Conservation beyond Compliance’:

So if APP was already committed to action to protect HCV forests back in 2006 (and apparently earlier) then what, you might ask, has been going on for the last six years? Well, unfortunately not a lot of forest protection. The company has continued to be supplied by clearance of natural forests, including those of high conservation value. In fact, as the NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest has reported, APP has even cleared areas previously identified as high conservation value forests by third parties.

But this hasn’t stopped APP from repeatedly making this same claim. Just last year Aida Greenbury, who led at the Jakarta press conference today, stated that ‘any land which is to be converted must not contain High Value Conservation Forest (HVCF)’.

So, given the company’s track record, it’s a little difficult to see today’s announcement either as ‘new’ or something that can be welcomed as real progress. And that difficulty is made a whole lot worse when the small print is considered. The new commitments will apply to areas ‘owned ’ by APP. So how much of the supply chain do they own? Rather inconveniently no information or supporting evidence has been provided to answer that question, but we have heard previously that APP claims that less than half is controlled by the company. Not the most plausible figure.

It could have been so different if APP followed the approach taken by their sister company in the Sinar Mas Group, Golden Agri Resources. GAR introduced a forest conservation policy last year that committed the company to not develop its plantations on forests or peatland.

If APP wanted to convince customers and other stakeholders that it’s changing, why didn’t it follow GAR’s lead? Instead the company has thrown away a real opportunity to convince them that it is serious about reform. The losers continue to be Indonesia’s forests and peatlands, as well as the reputation of Indonesia’s forest sector.

Why has APP hired Mandelson, Prince of Darkness?

andy.t — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:23:31 +0000

Exactly what is Mandelson doing for APP?

Image caption: Exactly what is Mandelson doing for APP?

A Guardian investigation has revealed that Asia Pulp and Paper has contracted the former EU trade commissioner Lord Peter Mandelson (aka The Prince of Darkness) as an advisor. Mandelson has an impressive address book but, as this case shows, little regard for how those he advises make their money. Clearly issues around illegality and the fate of Indonesia's rainforests don’t concern this particular Labour peer.

So what exactly is Mandelson doing for APP? Details remain sketchy, but it's connected to the partnership agreement between the EU and Indonesia to tackle illegal timber that will come into force soon.

Under this agreement and connected measures, Indonesian producers - including in those in the Indonesian pulp and paper sector - will have to show that the timber going into those products comes from legal sources.

And this is where things get interesting. APP has made full use in its PR of a new Indonesian legality system for timber, SVLK, developed partly in response to the EU-Indonesia partnership agreement and recent illegal logging legislation adopted by the EU. The company likes to claim that it has a "zero tolerance" for illegal timber. The only problem is that sources in the know suggest APP’s supply chain may well not easily lend itself to legality checks.

Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that APP is currently embroiled in the illegal timber scandal we exposed earlier this year and is also being threatened with legal action by Indonesia's environment ministry over links to illegal logging.

Hiring Mandelson provides yet more evidence that APP's interests lie in spinning reality rather than reforming its practices. If the company is ever to prove it can operate legally and sustainably, it needs to urgently implement new, credible commitments to end its involvement in deforestation in Indonesia. That would be a considerably better use of the company's time and money than hiring yet another spin doctor, particularly one with a reputation like Mandelson’s.

Follow Andy on Twitter - @andyrtait