ForestEthics Because protecting forests is everyone’s business.
ForestEthics Because protecting forests is everyone’s business.
2011 Annual Report
ANNUAL REPOR T
2011 Highlights In the past year, we continued to fight the uphill battle with incredible results. From convincing huge corporations to take action related to toxic tar sands and deceitful “green” labels, to making progress towards preserving some of Canada’s wild places, we continue to make the impossible possible.
By the close of 2011, we had convinced 14 major brands— including Comcast, U.S. Bank, and Allstate—to commit to move their brands away from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s (SFI) phony forest certification seal. This work is critical because greenwash like the SFI covers up destructive logging practices and gives customers a false sense of security. SFI certifies more than 100 million acres of forests in North America, and is owned and operated by the logging industry. We believe customers deserve the security of independent third-party certification.
Stop SFI Greenwash
Tar Sands Canada
In 2011 the Canadian arm of our Tar Sands campaign coalesced an unprecedented level of public opposition to the Enbridge Corporation’s Northern Gateway Project, a proposed pipeline which would introduce crude oil supertankers to the world renowned shorts of the Great Bear Rainforest, threaten the fresh water supply and salmon bearing streams of dozens of northern communcities, and and lock North American into a dirty energy future. We’ve brought an international spotlight to the threat posed by this pipeline by garnering press in outlets as far-reaching as The Economist, National Geographic, Outside magazine and The Globe and Mail.
Great Bear Rainforest
Sacred Headwaters During the summer of 2011, our international Get the Shell Out online petition amassed more than 60,000 signatures in less than three weeks. This wasn’t just noteworthy to us – it caught the eye of Shell Canada’s CEO, who met with us a few weeks later. As a direct result of our meeting, she made unprecedented statements regarding Shell’s conditions for abandoning its planned coal-bed methane drilling in British Columbia’s Sacred Headwaters. It’s a region so stunning that John Muir called it the “Canada’s Yosemite”. Prior to this meeting, Shell had never indicated that abandoning its plans was even a possibility.
Throughout 2011 , we worked to develop a joint proposal with some of the biggest logging companies in British Columbia to help take the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements to the next level by achieving full Ecosystem Based Management (EBM). EBM revolutionizes forestry by prioritizing what needs to be maintained for ecosystem integrity, as well as human well-being. EBM has never been applied at this large scale anywhere in the world. We also exposed TimberWest for its unsustainable logging in the Southern end of the Great Bear Rainforest, prompting the company to commit to cooperate with the other logging corporations in working towards a sustainable solution.
Keep LEED Strong
Stopping US Demand for Tar Sands In December, our Tar Sands campaign scored its greatest victory yet by convincing Chiquita to avoid trucking its products with fuels from tar sands refineries. This announcement set off a massive controversy in Canada and earned extensive coverage, including stories in the Financial Times, Mother Jones, and Forbes.com. We’ve now convinced 16 companies to publicly confirm action they have taken in their transportation footprint related to Canada’s tar sands.
Some of trader joe’S beSt valueS
aren’t found on itS ShelveS. For example, the commitment to avoid shipping products with extremely toxic and dirty fuels from places like Canada’s Tar Sands. Transporting all of the food and products that we buy to the shelves of our local stores consumes an enormous amount of energy. And all shipping fuels, i.e., gasoline and diesel, are not equal. In fact, the Tar Sands are a source of extreme energy that is used to make shipping fuels – giant strip mines visible from space are used to produce a synthetic form of oil that destroys forests, endangers wildlife, including endangered caribou, and has a higher toxic and global warming footprint than traditional oil. Worse still, US and Canadian communities are facing health threats because of toxic pollution from Tar Sands operations, including pipelines and refineries. All of which are great reasons to avoid the Tar Sands if you are a values driven company. Trader Joe’s joins nearly 20 other major companies who similarly have distanced themselves from Canada’s Tar Sands. That’s a good market trend for the planet. Congratulations to Trader Joe’s for putting its values first to eliminate its use of extreme energy like Canada’s Tar Sands.
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In September 2011, we mounted a coordinated effort with our allies to exert pressure on the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to maintain the strength of its globally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard for building. The USGBC was considering changes that would allow virtually any wood – regardless of how its source-forests are managed – to earn credits toward LEED certification. This would move green building demand away from products that help protect forests. What ForestEthics did, which included running the above ad in the Toronto Star, organizing public actions at the Greenbuild conference, and engaging more than 4,000 supporters to take online actions, helped the USGBC agree to take the unprecedented step of entering a third draft and comment period before the LEED 2012 standards are released.
Boreal In 2011, we convened three meetings of the Boreal Business Forum (BBF), a group of 14 major companies with a combined market value of $140 billion. Those companies, including Limited Brands, Office Depot, Staples, and Lowe’s. The BBF, and the tremendous buying power that it represents, are our best tool for securing the implementation of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement — the largest conservation initiative in the world.
2011 Financials Audited financials for the year ending December 31, 2011
Revenue
2011 Revenue Breakdown
Foundation Grants
2,387,663
Contributions from Individuals
227,653
Program Revenue (fee for service)
100,000
Other Revenue
93,674
FOUNDATION SUPPORT 85%
TOTAL SUPPORT AND REVENUE
2,808,990
Expenditures
Program Services Boreal Forest Campaign
250,977
BC Forests Campaign
356,158
Tar Sands Campaign
711,627
Sacred Headwaters Campaign
338,936
Paper Campaign
172,643
Stop SFI Greenwash Campaign
247,141
OTHER 3% PROGRAM REVENUE 4%
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS 8%
TOTAL PROGRAM SERVICES 2,077,482 Support Services
General & Administrative
187,545
Fundraising
479,023
2011 Expense Breakdown ADMINISTRATION 8%
TOTAL SUPPORT SERVICES
666,568
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
2,744,050
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets
64,940
DEVELOPMENT 17%
Net Assets-Beginning of Year 1,083,131
1,148,071
Net Asset (End of Year)
CAMPAIGNS & PROGRAMS 75%
Staff & Board SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
Kayla Henson
BOARD
Todd Paglia, J.D., L.L.M.
Administrative and Campaign Associate
Andrea Leebron Clay, Board Chair Kevin Johnson, President James Clay, Treasurer Michael Uehara, Secretary Marika Holmgren Stuart Sender Anne Kroeker angel Kyodo williams Neal Gorenflo
Executive Director
Mary Humphries
Kristi Chester Vance
Director of Development
Deputy Director
Valerie Langer
Pierre Iachetti
Director of BC Forests Campaign
Conservation Director
Jason Paglia
Aaron Sanger
Assistant, New Media and Material Manager
Director, US Campaigns
Claire Richards
Matt Westendorf
Development Associate
Claire Rosenfeld
Chief Operating Officer
Online Communications Coordinator
Melyssa Rubino
STAFF
Campaign and Administrative Associate
Jim Ace Stop SFI Greenwash Campaigner
Jolan Bailey Canadian Outreach Coordinator
Matt Brown
Rangan Sanguanchaiyakit Accountant
Nikki Skuce Senior Energy Campaigner
Samantha Stanley
Director of Communications
Online Specialist
Stephen Danner
Geeta Tate
Senior Development Officer
Grant Writer
Max Fleisher Database and Office Administrator
Karen Tam Wu Senior Conservation Campaigner
Adam Gaya
Paras Upadhyay
Organizer, US Campaigns
Senior Accountant
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••• Advocacy • Solutions • Action www.ForestEthics.org San Francisco One Haight Street San Francisco, CA 94102 415.863.4563
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