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LOWE'S
ADDRESSES THREATS TO SOUTHERN FORESTS IN LANDMARK PROCUREMENT POLICY
Citizens Demand V.P. Al Gore and Southern Governors to Follow Suit
Asheville,
NC - Lowe's Companies, Inc., the world's second largest home improvement
retailer with annual sales in excess of $15 billion and 589 stores nationwide,
announced it's new wood procurement policy today citing concern for the
future of endangered Southern forests along with threatened forests worldwide.
The North Carolina based Fortune 500 company committed to overhaul the
sourcing of lumber and wood in products it sells while encouraging its
suppliers and governments to take immediate steps towards the permanent
protection of critical forest areas. Citizens throughout the South concerned
about increased clearcutting to feed chip mills and the conversion of
the region's native forests to pine plantations are encouraged by the
company's new policy.
"Lowe's
has really stepped up to bat for Southern forests" said Danna Smith,
Director of Programs for Dogwood Alliance, a coalition of 60 citizen groups
across the South. "Lowe's is the first company in the Do-It-Yourself
industry to adopt a policy that could slow the conversion of native forests
to plantations in the South and shift markets away from engineered wood
products such as chipboard that encourage clearcutting. We hope other
companies will follow Lowe's lead."
Over the
last 10 years, more than 100 chip mills (facilities that grind whole logs
into wood chips for paper and chipboard) have been constructed in the
South, causing accelerated clearcutting and the conversion of native forests
to pine plantations. Industry experts predict a doubling of pine plantations
in the region over the next two decades. In it's policy, Lowe's committed
to "work with vendors to encourage the maintenance of natural forests
and environmentally responsible forest practices".
While Lowe's
has taken critical steps at acknowledging its corporate responsibility
to protect the forests in the company's back yard, Vice President Al Gore,
a native Tennessean, and southern states have been slow to react to southerners
call for a moratorium on new chip mill permits - the number one threat
to the region's landscape.
"We've
been working for four years to get the government to adopt policies to
protect our communities from the ravages of industrial forestry in the
South," said Lynne Faltraco of the Concerned Citizens of Rutherford
County in North Carolina. "Who would have ever thought that a Fortune
500 company would implement policies to protect our communities while
our state and federal governments are twiddling their thumbs"
Landowners
and forestry professionals across the South are also encouraged by Lowe's
new policy. "It's nice to see a company the size of Loweís
adopt a policy to encourage good forestry practices," said Caroline
Edwards, a North Carolina landowner, forestry consultant and Forest Stewardís
Guild member. "It's hard for small operators who are practicing good
forestry to compete with the big timber corporations who are coming in
here and clearcutting large tracts of forests with little concern for
the environment or communities."
The decision
by Lowe's is expected to discourage local timber suppliers such as Georgia
Pacific from converting natural forests to pine plantations and clearcutting
forests to produce chipboard. In the next few months, citizens are expecting
Lowe's to commit not to buy products from National Forests, as well. Nationwide
National Forests provide less than 4% of the wood products sold in the
United States.
A copy
of the Lowe's policy is included below.
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