 The Forest Industry in the 21st Century Top 5 Wood Buyers
The Home Depot USA World's #1 Wood Buyer Founded in 1978 in Atlanta, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement retailer with over 1,000 stores in the US, Canada, Chile, Puerto Rico and Argentina. It stocks around 50,000 items for the DIY and professional builders markets and the average store size is around 130,000 square feet. Home Deport expects to have over 2,300 stores in the Americas by the end of 2004. The company employs 201,000 employees and sales in 1999 reached $38.4 billion. The Home Depot prides itself on low prices and high levels of customer service. In February, 2000 Home Depot was listed in Fortune magazine's "Top Ten Most Admired Companies" issue and, for seven consecutive years, the company has been ranked by Fortune as "America's Most Admired Speciality Retailer". Six years ago, The Home Depot was the first home improvement retailer in the USA to adopt the FSC principles. The Home Depot is a member of the Certified Forest Products Council (CFPC) - a US based certification organisation that works in partnership with FSC - and a member of the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN). WWF is delighted that The Home Depot supports FSC and that the company is using its purchasing power to develop sustainable forest management around the world.
Lowe's USA World's #2 Wood Buyer Lowe's is the number two US home improvement chain, after The Home Depot. Lowe's is the 15th largest retailer in the US and the 34th largest retailer in the world. Lowe's has more than 640 stores in 40 US states and achieved sales of $15.9 billion in 2000. The company's superstores average around 150,000 square foot of retail space. The superstores cater for the DIY and commercial building market. The company sells around 40,000 product lines ranging from lumber and tools to appliances and home decor. Lowe's is a Fortune 200 company, employs more than 100,000 people and has been listed three times as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America". Following in the footsteps of The Home Depot, Lowe's adopted the FSC principles. Lowe's is a member of the Certified Forest Products Council (CFPC) - a US based certification organisation that works in partnership with FSC - and a member of the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN). WWF is delighted that Lowe's supports FSC and that the company is using its purchasing power to develop sustainable forest management around the world.
IKEA Sweden Worlds #3 Wood Buyer Founded in 1943, IKEA is a privately-owned, global furniture retailer based in Sweden. IKEA is one of the world´s largest home furnishing retailers with 159 stores in 29 countries. About 230 million people visited IKEA stores in 2000 and the company has an annual turnover of approximately $8.5 billion. IKEA uses wood mainly from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and China. The company's wood consumption is increasing rapidly, at a rate of 15 - 20 percent or so each year. During 1999, the company consumed five million cubic metres of timber. IKEA has recently tightened up the procurement procedures that it demands of subcontractors. IKEA´s long term goal is to source all of its wood from forests managed according to a standard with established performance levels, co-operatively developed by a balanced group of environmental, economic and social stakeholders and verified by an independent third party. Currently, FSC is the only certification system recognised by IKEA. IKEA already purchases FSC certified forest products from several countries and is eager to identify additional sources. WWF continues to work closely with IKEA on their sustainable forestry issues and is delighted that the company is using its purchasing power to develop sustainable forest management around the world.
Kimberly-Clark USA World's #4 Wood Buyer Kimberly-Clark is a leading global consumer products company and the world's largest tissue manufacturer. More than 50 percent of company sales relate to tissue products and the company's brand names include Kleenex and Scott. Kimberly-Clark also produces personal care items and, since 1997, the company has been expanding into the medical products industry. Other well-known Kimberly-Clark brands include Huggies, Pull-Ups and Kotex. The company employs around 55,000 staff and had a 2000 sales figures of almost $14 billion. Kimberly-Clark has manufacturing facilities in 40 countries and sales in more than 150 countries worldwide. Since 1983, the company has been listed as one of Fortune magazine's "Most Admired" corporations. Kimberly-Clark has an environmental policy and runs environmental initiatives in different countries, including recycling materials, disposing of waste or converting waste materials into energy. Although Kimberly-Clark has a policy not to use wood from tropical rain forests and has implemented forestry management programmes, they are not an FSC member and have made no positive moves toward certification. WWF is asking Kimberly-Clark to prove its environmental commitment by joining the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) and demanding FSC accreditation for the company and its suppliers.
Procter & Gamble USA Worlds #5 Wood Buyer Based in the USA and founded in 1837, Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the world´s largest, household and personal care products company. Product ranges cover laundry and cleaning, paper goods, beauty care, food and beverages, pet food and health care. Well-known brands include Pampers, Tampax, Pantene, Tide, Jif and Pringles. Company sales in 2000 reached just under $40 billion and P&G employs 110,000 people worldwide. Manufacturing facilities around the world include Germany, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand and the UK. The company releases little information about its procurement of wood fibre, its production, or its products´ market share. Indeed, Procter & Gamble lags behind its peers in this respect. The company probably consumes around seven million cubic metres of roundwood per year. WWF is asking Proctor & Gamble to demonstrate environmental commitment by joining the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) and demanding FSC accreditation for the company and its suppliers. To date they have shown no positive moves toward certification and or indications of support.
|