Better Production for a Living Planet

Around the world, WWF’s work to transform markets is making a difference. From the Cerrado in Brazil to the forests of Borneo, wetlands in South Africa to the Great Barrier Reef, better production methods are having a positive impact on the ground and on the water. Successful engagement with key businesses has helped to raise standards within whole industries – from promoting better management practices to building demand for certified products. And this in turn is beginning to have a wider impact, by raising awareness, influencing policy and regulations, and affecting trade flows.

With a population of roughly seven billion, we are currently using about 50 per cent more resources than the Earth generates. Estimates predict that by 2050 we will be close to 10 billion people. All will need food, clothes, shelter, water and energy. As great as the challenges are, there is enormous potential to improve commodity production and, in the course of doing so, contribute to conservation of important ecosystems and to poverty alleviation.

The challenge is to be smarter about how we produce and about what we buy and sell. There are increasing examples that show that looking beyond the short-term, financial bottom line is not only good for communities and the environment that sustains us, but for business itself. After all, innovation has always been the defining force of successful business.