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Poultry company Perdue Foods became the target of animal welfare organizations after an undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals (MFA) revealed illegal animal abuse at two of the company's contract farms. Almost 182,000 people signed a petition urging Perdue to adopt better animal welfare standards. After negotiations with MFA and other groups, Perdue announced new animal welfare policies this week. And animal welfare organizations are praising the company's new policies. MFA described it as the "most comprehensive animal welfare policy ever adopted by a major chicken producer." Perdue is one of only four companies that control most of the chicken industry.

The 2016 results from the Global Canopy Programme's 'Forest 500' have been released, and they don't bring good news. The deforestation policy analysis of the world's most influential powerbrokers, including companies, financial institutions, and countries, reveals that targets for 2020 and 2030 are unlikely to be met at the current rate of progress. 57 percent of companies in the Forest 500 have either weak policies or no policies at all.

Designer Eileen Fisher, apparel companies Quiksilver, Prana, Patagonia, Lululemon Athletica and other global clothing brands with revenues totaling more than $4 billion have partnered with environmental organization Canopy to develop purchasing policies that aim to end the use of endangered forest fiber. The companies along with 14 eco-designers are working to craft forest-friendly purchasing policies that track which forests their rayon and viscose fabrics are from. The group also will work to eliminate controversial forest fiber from their supply chains.

VF Corporation adopted its first Animal Derived Materials Policy, which sets guidelines for the company to eliminate the use of fur, angora, and exotic leather in all VF brand products. The company developed the policy in partnership with The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International.

Laws, oversight and guidelines are necessary to ensure we provide solutions to pressing environmental issues. From fracking regulations to carbon-pollution rules to a toxic chemicals act, here are three business policy items the American Sustainable Business Council is working on in conjunction with many other organizations - and information on how you can join the cause.

Colgate-Palmolive issued a new Policy on No Deforestation, which commits the company to sustainably sourcing pulp, paper, palm oil, soy, and beef tallow. The company also pledged to achieve full traceability of its palm oil supply chain by 2015 under the policy.

European climate policies are creating new demand for biomass, which power plants now have an incentive to burn instead of coal. That's leading to dramatically increased logging along the eastern coast of the U.S., even as researchers question the eco-friendliness of biomass-based power generation

Food and commodities giant ADM, which has reached over US$80 billion in revenues, says it will develop a no-deforestation policy in a move to source soy and palm oil more responsibly. The change occurred after a shareholder proposal, submitted by Green Century Capital Management and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, requested that ADM set quantitative goals for a reduction in supply chain impacts from deforestation....

REI stepped up the fight to preserve public lands with an email blast to its customers, and it was very successful. In uncertain federal times, brands continue to take stands - and they are moving merchandise right along with policy.

Target announced its new forest products policy, which sets guidelines for the company's purchasing decisions to ensure wood-based products in it's owned-brand products are sourced from forests that are well-managed and credibly certified. Separately, the company also announced plans to work with its value chain to phase out polystyrene foam use in e-commerce packaging.

Walmart sent a letter to its suppliers outlining its new sustainable chemistry policy, which seeks to curtail the use of substances that are hazardous to human health and the environment. The policy was developed over several years in consultation with the Environmental Defense Fund and other stakeholders.

PepsiCo launched a new supply chain land policy characterized by zero tolerance for illegal activities and landowner displacements. The policy commits the company to negotiating land acquisitions in accordance with international standards and mapping its agricultural supply chain.

Colgate-Palmolive has issued a new Policy on No Deforestation, including a pledge to achieve full traceability of its palm oil supply back to the plantation by 2015.

Forest product company Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) hired KPMG to audit the company's performance on its Sustainable Forest Management Policy. The policy calls for APRIL to conserve over 450,000 hectares of forests and to stop producing pulp from areas where conservation assessments have not been completed.

The environmental activist group SumOfUs has stolen some of the thunder from PepsiCo's crowdsourced "Crash the Super Bowl" campaign by launching a parody Doritos ad criticizing PepsiCo's palm-oil policies. PepsiCo said the ad, which racked up almost a million views on YouTube, was "focused on fiction rather than facts."

Two studies by the Climate Policy Initiative released yesterday indicate that with the right policies in place, a low-carbon energy system could free up trillions of dollars over the next 20 years.

Stakeholders are yet again criticizing the European Commission's Circular Economy Package. The original policy, released in December of last year, was denounced as insufficiently ambitious, resulting in its dismissal and a review process over the course of 2015. The Commission adopted the revised package on December 2nd, but some claim the new policy is even weaker than the original.

The Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership wrote a letter to government officials around the world on Sunday asking for long-term policies that support low-carbon energy sources. The partnership is composed of CEOs and chairmen from 11 of the world's largest utilities, including American Electric Power and Iberdrola. The companies said they generated about one-third of the world's electricity in 2014, 60% of which came from clean energy sources such as wind and solar. 

This month BNP Paribas, the world's seventh-largest financial institution, announced a new palm oil policy that sets responsible palm oil production as a pre-condition for financing. The policy requires that companies receiving financing protect forests and indigenous people. It also requires companies to adhere to strict human rights and labor standards, end the use of hazardous pesticides, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other significant measures. The move charts a new path for responsible financing that all major financial institutions should follow - or else face the growing consumer backlash against environmentally destructive institutions.

Last year, Michelin announced it no longer would procure rubber from deforested lands. It set about working with suppliers and regional governments to encourage sustainable forestry. Michelin's zero deforestation policy led other tire makers Bridgestone, Goodyear and Continental to also begin working towards zero deforestation in rubber procurement. Now, GM is also adopting a zero deforestation stance in its tire procurement policy. The largest U.S. automaker (in market capitalization) in June declared that it would buy only tires with rubber sourced from sustainably grown forests. In addition, the company announced plans to work with other automakers and tire manufacturers to come up with an industry response