Preserve Our Forests

Costco shareholders should demand faster progress on forest protection

To reduce logging in forests like the North American boreal, Costco needs to move faster toward non-wood pulp in its paper products.

Forests

Elena Berd | Shutterstock.com
Aerial bird's eye view drone panorama of green boreal coniferous forest, fresh water lakes and rivers and unpaved road winding through the trees. Summer sunny day, blue sky. Northern Ontario, Canada.

Costco’s annual meeting will be held January 19, 2023. While there are not forest-related shareholder resolutions up for a vote this year, this is an opportunity for shareholders to ask the company’s leadership for answers on their plans to protect forests.

At the meeting in January of 2022, 69.9% of Costco shareholders voted yes on a resolution to have Costco set a carbon emissions reduction goal of net-zero by 2050, including tracking and setting goals to reduce its scope 3 emissions. Recently, Costco announced that these Scope 3 reduction goals will be set in 2023. We look forward seeing these goals set.

But Costco has more to do. The company’s sustainability goals for their tissue products emphasize procuring certified wood pulp and using recycled materials where feasible. But, Costco has no deadline for decreasing its use of virgin wood pulp in its at-home tissue products. That’s not good enough. The company needs to set specific goals and deadlines.

Sammy Herdman

Former Save The Boreal Forest Campaign, Associate, Environment America Research & Policy Center

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