Rainforest Alliance Launches Sustainable Business Forum

Rainforest Alliance Launches Sustainable Business Forum

May 22, 2007

May 21, 2007 – To help companies meet long-term sustainability goals, the Rainforest Alliance has launched the Sustainable Business Forum (SBF), a corporate membership program that offers practical, actionable solutions to help business better manage ethical supply chain issues.

Goldman Sachs and Pfizer are the founding members of the SBF, which builds on the Rainforest Alliance’s 20 years of experience and extensive network of nonprofit partners. Member companies will have access to a dedicated Rainforest Alliance staffer who will work to enable them to adopt sustainable business practices, publicly promote their progress and build supply chains for sustainable products.

“We created the Sustainable Business Forum to encourage companies to operate more sustainably by helping them to make responsible choices,” says Rainforest Alliance executive director Tensie Whelan. “Every day we hear about companies announcing that sustainability is a priority. The Rainforest Alliance has the expertise to help companies turn those priorities into actions.”

As more companies view social responsibility as a business opportunity instead of a cost, interest in sustainable practices has entered the mainstream. The SBF will offer a wide spectrum of guidance to businesses that have yet to integrate sustainability into their existing operations, as well as to those companies who want to make continual improvements.

SBF members will receive easy to use guidance on policies they can adopt to make their operations more sustainable, such as sourcing responsibly produced paper for their offices. A complete list of member benefits follows:

  • On-going support and counsel from a dedicated account manager
  • Research and analysis on social and environmental issues
  • Communications tools to build awareness and support internally and externally
  • Annual seminars on attitudes, trends and behaviors
  • Access to tools and online resources
  • Best practices to foster change
  • Networking opportunities
  • For more information on the Sustainable Business Forum, please visit: www.rainforest-alliance.org/sbf