World Wildlife Fund Sustainability Works

With plastic pollution threatening natural environments worldwide, leading companies recognize that addressing this crisis is crucial for business continuity, resilience, and social license to operate. However, many organizations struggle to translate ambitious commitments into tangible results.

What is ReSource?

ReSource is WWF's activation hub designed specifically for companies with ambitious plastic waste commitments who want to tap into a powerful corporate community of practice and deliver measurable progress. Acting as a bridge between aspiration and impact, ReSource closes the critical "how" gap in the sustainability journey.

The initiative takes companies through their plastic waste lifecycle journey and helps them explore where in the circular materials system they can make the most meaningful impact. Under WWF's leadership, ReSource brings together industry leaders to collectively address our planet's plastic waste crisis.

The food we eat has an interconnected story to tell, more than just what our taste buds enjoy. From production to distribution to preparation and beyond, our food goes on a journey with potential environmental impacts along the way. Long before food ends up on our plates, the production of it uses 40% of all habitable land, accounts for 70% of water use and is responsible for over a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, according to WWF’s 2024 Living Planet Report.

The good news is that the transformation of our food systems is possible. Focusing production on nature-positive solutions can help provide enough food for everyone, while reducing the impacts to nature and the wildlife that depend on healthy ecosystems. From governments to corporations, and even individuals - we all have a role to play. WWF’s collaboration with Kroger is an example of how companies can contribute to the health of our planet by supporting meaningful conservation efforts that benefit both nature and business.

Recently members of the WWF Freshwater team had the opportunity to visit some of the conservation project sites that Reckitt's brand Finish Dishwashing is helping to fund in New Mexico, along the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. WWF and Finish’s partnership supports the river’s restoration and replenishment through the funding of four projects, aimed at restoring water flows to one of America’s most important and endangered rivers. Local conservation organizations including Trout Unlimited, Rio Grande Return, Defenders of Wildlife, and The Rio Grande Joint Venture are implementing the four projects with support from WWF. Through the funding of the project, Finish is contributing to conservation efforts that will have a lasting positive impact on the river and the species and people it supports.

Nothing drives deforestation in Latin America more than beef production. In Brazil, deforestation to create pasture for cattle grazing amounts to more than double the land cleared to grow soy, palm oil, and wood combined. And because leather is inextricably linked to the beef industry, the leather sector carries a shared responsibility in addressing the issue.

Now, the leather industry has a new opportunity to make a significant contribution to addressing the environmental impacts of beef and leather production. Today, WWF is launching the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund, a way for companies that use leather in their products to financially support strategic initiatives to improve the traceability, sustainability, and resilience of their leather supply chains.

Impact investing can play an important role in scaling promising solutions for conservation and food production. That’s why World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched WWF Impact, a new investing arm that makes impact-first investments into early-stage companies that align with our conservation goals of advancing more sustainable food systems.

Food production—fundamental to human survival—poses a paradoxical challenge. While agriculture produces food necessary for continued human existence, it is also a significant threat to the environment and biodiversity, fueling climate change which in turn impacts us. Nonetheless, if done properly, agriculture can also be a tool for fostering resilience in a way that restores ecosystems and nature. Today, the global food system is responsible for 27% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is a leading cause of habitat destruction, including 90% of tropical deforestation, according to WWF’s Living Planet 2024.

To both nourish a growing population while also protecting critical ecosystems and nature, new ways of producing and consuming food are needed. Historically, technology has played a fundamental role in transforming food systems. The Green Revolution is one such example, where new breakthroughs in genetic improvement and crop productivity dramatically boosted yields. Today, a new type of agriculture revolution is needed—one which better stewards and respects the planet and does so in a sustainable way. Technologies and innovative business models can be an important part of this transition, providing promising solutions for shifting society towards a more nature-positive food system and advancing WWF’s conservation mission. However, there is often a lack of funding and resources to enable the growth of these promising business models. That is where impact investing comes in—impact-first financing that deploys capital to generate both positive social and environmental outcomes for people and planet.

In the last decade, impact investing has blossomed in sectors like health, education, climate, and gender. A variety of actors are entering this space, from venture capital funds and multinational development banks to charitable organizations like WWF which use investments to advance their missions. Overall, it is estimated that the size of the impact investing field reached $1.57 trillion USD in 2024, growing with a 21% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2019. Impact investors strongly integrate impact into their operations and have an impact-driven investment thesis, in which they only make investments in companies and sectors that further their impact-strategy. The figure below shows where impact investors fall along the “impact-returns” spectrum. Impact funds make investments that prioritize an “impact return” over economic return. This is where WWF Impact operates. We use patient capital to make investments that are economically sustainable, maximize impact, and further WWF’s conservation objectives and charitable mission.

When it comes to adapting to climate change, the private sector seems to be spinning its wheels. They remain focused solely on hardening their business to climate impacts, when they should be addressing the root causes of climate vulnerability, such as social inequality and nature loss. Too many companies still operate as they did 30 years ago, with a myopic view of what risk entails and a singular focus on achieving short-term profit. If they can muster a broader, longer-term vision, companies could benefit from greater investment in a more holistic and nature-friendly approach to business.

How can wood furniture help ensure forests remain standing? Using wood from responsibly managed forests actually can help keep forests healthy for generations to come. Forests managed under rigorous environmental and social criteria can generate income while allowing forests to regenerate naturally, so they continue to provide goods and services that benefit people, wildlife, and climate. This market incentive helps keep forests from being degraded or cleared for agriculture or other uses. So, companies that offer wood products in the marketplace have a crucial role to play in addressing the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss through their responsible sourcing decisions.

For as long as I can remember, my heart has been intertwined with the natural world. Growing up, I was that kid who would rescue stranded worms after a rainstorm or spend hours marveling at the intricate patterns of leaves and flowers. This deep-seated love for nature and all its creatures has shaped my life and career in profound ways.

Deforestation is a major contributor to climate change, and 90% of ongoing deforestation is caused by clearing land to graze cattle and grow crops. But progress on deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains remains slow and commodity-driven ecosystem loss continues at high rates. Many companies are failing to meet the urgency of the moment and have failed to even set sustainability targets.

Because the agricultural commodity trade is dominated by a small number of companies globally, actions by companies that produce, trade, and source agricultural commodities are a crucial lever to help solve the problem. But defining what “good” targets and progress look like can be complicated. This complexity can make it difficult for a company’s stakeholders – including buyers, investors, and policymakers – to tell whether new corporate commitments are a step forward or a step backward.

To help identify commitments with potentially fatal flaws, we have drawn guidance from the Accountability Framework initiative, as well as WWF’s own recommendations, to codify several key elements of a DCF commitment. If any of the following elements are found in corporate DCF commitments, they render the entire commitment suspect at best and, at worst, counterproductive. Consider these elements red flags: If you see a commitment with any of these flaws, its credibility is in question.

In 2019, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and American Beverage (ABA) joined forces to tackle a growing environmental crisis: plastic waste. This partnership is driven by one shared goal: to ensure that every plastic bottle remains in the loop to become another bottle, moving the world towards less plastic use and no plastic in nature. This kind of “circular economy” ensures materials are remade, reducing the need for new plastic and minimizing environmental impact. To that end, over the past five years we’ve worked to deliver meaningful, practical, and innovative solutions — and our efforts have yielded significant results.