World Wildlife Fund Sustainability Works

Rice, one of the most abundant crops grown and consumed globally, makes up 12% of global methane emissions – and a staggering 1.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions. When rice is harvested, a ton of rice stubble and straw is left behind for every ton of harvested rice – 750 million tons globally in 2015. Currently, to clear fields for future crops, farmers either burn the rice straw, which results in significant carbon dioxide emissions as well as methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and particulate matters, or they flood the field to encourage swift decay – which also leads to extensive methane emissions.

Global leaders in Glasgow recently signed the Global Methane Pledge and recognized that addressing methane emissions is imperative if we’re going to achieve a 1.5° C future. In fact, the IPCC calculates that methane emissions will need to drop 37% below 2017 levels by 2030 and 55% below 2017 levels by 2050 to keep that goal within range. At COP 26, President Biden announced the US will join a global coalition of more than 100 countries pledging to cut global methane levels by a minimum of 30% by 2030 and rolled out an action plan for US methane emissions reductions.

In our Behind the Scenes series we speak to WWF staff to learn more about their work and what makes them tick. For today’s post, we sat down with Mary Jo Snavely, a manager with WWF's Private Sector Engagement Team.

Biodegradable and compostable plastic is becoming a more frequent option on store shelves as the demand for “green” products grows. Given the fact that a dump truck’s worth of plastic waste enters our oceans each minute, it’s not surprising that people are looking to use their purchasing power in ways that will presumably leave a smaller footprint.

The growing trend in plastic use is fueled by the assumption that if a product or its packaging is labeled as “biodegradable” or “compostable,” then it must be the more sustainable option. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the case.

As the production of biodegradable plastics jumps from 1.5M metric tons to almost 5.3M in the coming years, understanding exactly how these materials are helping—or hurting—the environment is critical.

Let’s break down some of the common questions that can help clarify what biodegradable and compostable plastic mean for the environment:

In our Behind the Scenes series we speak to WWF staff to learn more about their work and what makes them tick. For today’s post, we had the pleasure of catching up with Akiva Fishman, WWF's Manager of Private Sector Interventions to Tackle Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

For our Rising Stars series, we're featuring the next generation of leaders who are working toward a more sustainable world. We recently spoke with Mitsuko Wong, Director of Sustainability, Product and Supply Chain at Ralph Lauren to learn about her role, what she finds most challenging and rewarding, and more.

I was the first girl child to be born in my father’s family after 40+ years. In more ways than just that, I broke the mold.

I grew up in a community, in a part of the world, where spotting a single tree was a sight to behold. Growing up was an experience that was dense, crowded, loud and polluted. Wildlife sightings in the community were limited to pigeons, cows and eagles. Even as a five-year-old, I was yearning to get close to Earth. My parents made special efforts to take me to the nearest available parks, scant as they were. I so loved trees that I named my two favorite trees "Camel" and "Elephant."

Then, somehow, as a stroke of luck, I came across this wacky man by the name of Steve Irwin. To me, as a five-year-old, he fired my imagination. I was glued to his “Crikey!” catchphrase and would watch in sheer awe the wonders of wildlife. It came to such a head that I was called “Animal Planet” by all my cousins. My never-ending queries about the natural world, and really everything else, earned me the name “question bank.”

That’s when I knew I wanted to do something in the natural world. Life is not a straight line. It took a circuitous journey to truly understand how my love and passion for God’s green Earth could be expressed in the form of a career.

For our Rising Stars series, we're featuring the next generation of leaders who are working toward a more sustainable world. We recently spoke with Simone Emilie Gourguechon, Director, Global Sustainability & ESG Strategy, at McDonald’s Corporation to learn about her role, what she finds most challenging and rewarding, and more.