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The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative today announced that it has published its new Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT 4.0). The leading multi-industry tool to facilitate transfer of information throughout the supply chain in support of conflict-free sourcing, CMRT 4.0 includes an updated Standard Smelter List and numerous translation improvements.

A group of industry associations representing a total of 15,000 businesses launched the Conflict Minerals Resource Center, a website with compliance tools for new conflict mineral regulations

Ecodesk launched a monitoring tool for businesses to track conflict minerals in supply chain. They want it to be an eary warning system for non-financial factors in supply chain, providing an understanding of potential problems

Every Fall, college and universities across the country welcome companies on their campuses to provide networking opportunities for students. These events can include career fairs, interviews, and industry specific networking gatherings. One such company is PepsiCo, major user of Conflict Palm Oil and top corporate laggard in Rainforest Action Network's Snack Food 20. "Pepsi's palm oil supply chain is saturated with rainforest destruction, human rights and labor abuses, and species extinction," said Adam Stackable, an Oklahoma student, "I won't work for a company that uses Conflict Palm Oil." Adam and several other students confronted a Pepsi recruiter at Oklahoma State University and delivered a letter urging the company to take action to address the egregious practices in its supply chain.

The clock for corporates looking to get a handle on supply chain conflict minerals is starting to tick much louder. With just one year to go before stricter reporting is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission, many companies are still struggling to trace their sources for metals such as gold, tungsten, tantalum and tin, according to an analysis of reports submitted for the most recent reporting period.

Apple has released its annual Supplier Responsibility report, detailing its monitoring of supply partner labor practices, compliance with regulations and Apple's standards of business, the environmental impact of its product components and more. Apple highlighted its ongoing education investments in the report, detailing the growth in its worker rights and skills training up top.

Today, Rainforest Action Network released a new progress report ranking the relative strength of palm oil commitments made since the launch of its Snack Food 20 campaign two years ago. The 2015 progress report shines a spotlight on the laggards in the Snack Food 20 and outlines the actions that these companies - as well as the frontrunners who are pushing ahead on their commitments - can and must take to rapidly cut Conflict Palm Oil from our food system.

activists with Rainforest Action Network (RAN) delivered a set of demands to local food giant PepsiCo, Inc. regarding the company's use of the controversial food additive palm oil in its products. RAN recently announced a new national campaign to remove "Conflict Palm Oil" responsible for rainforest destruction, human rights violations and carbon pollution from America's snack foods.

This week, stakeholders continued to take action to pressure companies into turning over a new leaf when it comes to their sourcing practices - around what has become known as Conflict Palm Oil.

Buying electronics used to help fund war in Africa. Now big tech companies like Intel are working to make sure their money isn't used for destruction.

The euphoria over rise in world tiger population early this year may have been misplaced for India as the official data placed before Parliament shows that 98 tigers died in the country by November 16, 2016, a steep 25 per cent rise over last year when 78 deaths were reported. There are many anti-poaching measures initiated by NTCA which coordinate with state forest departments, but to little avail. In fact, poaching cases increased by more than 100 per cent this year. The figures attribute nearly 30 tiger deaths to poaching this year, which is more than double of last year's figure of 14. Top forest officials that Mail Today spoke with expressed helplessness in their fight against poachers and at times cited "political pressures'' leading to more frequent man-tiger conflict.

From materiality to conflict minerals disclosure, here are the top trends in corporate reporting, plus tips on how to refine your approach.

On July 20th, James Hansen, the former NASA climatologist who brought climate change to the public's attention in the summer of 1988, issued a bombshell: He and a team of climate scientists had identified a newly important feedback mechanism off the coast of Antarctica that suggests mean sea levels could rise 10 times faster than previously predicted: 10 feet by 2065. The authors included this chilling warning: If emissions aren't cut, "We conclude that multi-meter sea-level rise would become practically unavoidable. Social disruption and economic consequences of such large sea-level rise could be devastating. It is not difficult to imagine that conflicts arising from forced migrations and economic collapse might make the planet ungovernable, threatening the fabric of civilization."

The world's largest publishing companies have adopted policies that significantly curtail use of paper sourced from rainforest destruction and social conflict, finds a new assessment published by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN).  Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0518-ran-publishing-industry.html#20O30qvTrE8O6zAr.99

The Ford Foundation, together with the Climate and Land Use Alliance, will host a meeting among major corporate, indigenous and government leaders for a conversation about what it will take to slow deforestation, reduce conflict over forests and stem global climate change.

Should we invent big new things or deploy effective ideas that already exist? The conflict was neatly summarized by clean-energy entrepreneur Jigar Shah, in a message meant to push back against the announcement from Gates and his billionaire friends.

When people picture sand spread across idyllic beaches and endless deserts, they understandably think of it as an infinite resource. But as we discuss in a just-published perspective in the journal Science, over-exploitation of global supplies of sand is damaging the environment, endangering communities, causing shortages and promoting violent conflict.

Palm Oil Free Certification programme launches in UK and Australia A new certification programme has launched to validate consumer products that make no use of palm oil, which has been blamed for fuelling deforestation in Asia. Set up by a group of women experts, the Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme (POFCAP) is now in operation in Australia and the UK following approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, IP Australia, and IPO UK. Fourteen other nations have applied to introduce the label. Australia-based eco cleaning products company Clean Conscience is the first to carry the label, and the group is working with a host of other companies on certification. Despite improvements to tackle deforestation, POFCAP said "only 17% of all palm oil used can be classed as 'non-conflict'". The scheme is based on extensive research and trusted methods to trace all potential palm oil and palm oil derivative ingredients of a product back to their source. (Business Green)

Two years after Greenpeace launched a campaign demanding Thai Union, the world's largest tuna company, take action to eliminate exploitative and unsustainable practices from its supply chains, the two organizations have finally put their long-running conflict to rest.

Rainforest Action Network continues to pressure PepsiCo about palm oil sourcing and its links to deforestation and human rights abuses. This time, the NGO culled export data to connect the company to what it calls "conflict palm oil."