ARIZONA, USA, – March 8, 2013 The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) is pleased to announce The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as a new Civil Society Organization (CSO) member. The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. TNC has protected nearly 120 million acres of land and thousands of miles of rivers worldwide, while operating more than 100 marine conservation projects globally.
As a CSO member, TNC will be part of the Civil Society Advisory Council which works closely with the Corporate Advisory Council and Board of Directors on strategic planning for The Consortium. TNC will also participate in the Food, Beverage, and Agriculture (FBA) and Measurement Science Working Groups. The Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Sector Working Group is TSC’s largest and oldest sector. TNC will be engaging with over 70 other participants to provide feedback on hotspots and key performance indicators. The FBA Sector Working Group completed nearly 40 percent of the 100+ knowledge products (Category Sustainability Profiles and Key Performance Indicators) finished in 2012. Some of the products include; wine, milk, packaged cereal, grains, farmed salmon, cotton, bread, beer, beef and many more.
“For decades, The Nature Conservancy has recognized that the private sector has an important role to play in advancing our conservation mission. Corporations can take a leadership role in conservation by changing the way business is done and incorporating the value of nature into their business decisions and processes,” said Glenn Prickett, the Conservancy’s Chief External Affairs Officer. “We welcome the opportunity to bring the Conservancy’s scientific expertise to TSC’s forums, and expanding the message of the business case for nature within their working groups.”
The Conservancy works with thousands of companies around the world in a variety of capacities. From improving business practices and raising awareness for conservation issues, to supporting important science and conservation and policy initiatives, each engagement has, at its core, the potential to help achieve the Conservancy’s stated goal of protecting lands and waters on which all life depends.
“The Nature Conservancy and other civil society organizations are crucial to the success of TSC’s multi-stakeholder approach. They represent a very important voice in the conversation around environmental and social hotspots. This is particularly important in the Food, Beverage, and Agriculture and Paper, Pulp, and Forestry sector working groups,” said Dr. Sarah Lewis, TSC Working Group Director.
The Nature Conservancy will join other Civil Society Organizations, members and stakeholders at The Sustainability Consortium’s Member Summit at the Georgia Tech Convention Center in Atlanta in May. At the summit, members will attend workshops around innovation projects as well as working group meetings.
About The Sustainability Consortium
TSC is an organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. TSC develops transparent methodologies, tools, and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives. The Sustainability Consortium advocates for a credible, scalable, and transparent process and system. The organization boasts over 90 members from all corners of business employing over 57 million people and whose combined revenues total over $1.5 Trillion. The Sustainability Consortium is jointly administered by Arizona State University and University of Arkansas with additional operations at Wageningen University in The Netherlands and has recently launched an office in China. Learn more at www.sustainabilityconsortium.org
About The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
Media Contact – The Sustainability Consortium
Elizabeth Kessler, Marketing Coordinator
The Sustainability Consortium
Arizona State University
[email protected] | 480.965.3810
Media Contact – The Nature Conservancy
Geraldine Henrich-Koenis,
Associate Director, Media Relations
The Nature Conservancy
[email protected] | 703.314.1137