Wal-Mart To Eliminate Wood from Illegal and Unknown Sources

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has committed to phasing out illegal wood sources from its supply chain and increasing its proportion of wood products originating from credibly certified sources.

The World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) announced that the giant retailer joined the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), an initiative created to save the world’s most valuable and threatened forests.

Within one year, Wal-Mart will complete an assessment of where its wood furniture is coming from and whether the wood is legal and well-managed. Once the assessment is completed, Wal-Mart has committed to eliminating wood from illegal and unknown sources within five years.

The company will also eliminate wood from forests that are of critical importance due to their environmental, socio-economic, biodiversity or landscape values and that aren’t well-managed.

Wal-Mart currently sources furniture from the Amazon, Russian Far East, northern China, Indonesia, and the Mekong region of southeast Asia. These areas include some of the most biologically diverse places on earth, places that WWF is working to protect.

"With nearly half of the world’s forests already gone, action is urgently needed," said Suzanne Apple, WWF’s VP for Business & Industry. "Wal-Mart’s commitment to support responsible forestry answers that call to action. WWF welcomes the company to a global community committed to healthy business and healthy forests."

The United States is the largest consumer of industrial timber, pulp and paper in the world. The U.S. is also among the top destinations for imports of wood from areas where illegal logging and trade are common, such as Indonesia, China and Brazil.

WWF works with private companies like Wal-Mart and public agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to promote responsible forest management that gives weight to social values, environmental conservation and economic benefits. The World Bank estimates that illegal logging costs developing country governments more than $5 billion per year in lost taxes and other revenues.

Wal-Mart’s commitment to promoting responsible forestry builds on the company’s collaboration with WWF. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart committed to purchasing 100% of its wild caught salmon seafood sold in the U.S. from sources certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) within four years.