Solution to Deforestation by PB

Although you may not know it, many well-known companies, such as Cargill, Unilever, and General Mills, are buying palm oil from companies that are some of the main causes of deforestation. Deforestation causes 10% of climate change, and the trees that are being cut down are the homes of so many animals that are endangered, so with their homes gone, we are seeing a huge increase in the number of extinct species.

These are major problems that will need a lot of time and care to fix, but we can start out with a supranational organization that creates an index that rates companies from 1 to 5 based on their efforts to be sustainable. If a company receives one star, the company is not very sustainable and is contributing to the problem of deforestation. On the contrary, if a company receives five stars, they are extremely sustainable and might even be helping the environment by replanting trees.

Creating such an index may seem unlikely to work, however, there are two real-world examples to prove that this can succeed as a whole. First, there is an index called EnergyStar® which identifies products that are the most energy efficient. You may have seen this sticker on fridges, dishwashers, and microwave ovens. It was founded in 1992 and is still going strong to this day. Second and final, there is an index called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. LEED rates buildings based on sustainability and the benefit to the environment. It was founded in 1993 and, just like EnergyStar®, is still being used.

This proposed solution would also provide an incentive for companies to become more sustainable. As people start buying from more companies with higher ratings, their revenue would be steadily increasing while the complete opposite would occur with lower-rated companies. As these aforementioned companies would be losing money, they would be more empowered to become more sustainable to win back their old clients.

As you can see, we all need to take a stand towards these companies that are bringing the death of our world closer, whether it be by standing by this proposed solution or switching to more environmentally-friendly companies to make a point.