Funds raised from S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.‘s rainforest conservation matching challenge will kick off what the company says is the world’s largest tropical reforestation project in the Brazilian Amazon.
The Racine-based manufacturer of household products including Pledge, Glade, OFF! and Ziploc announced a partnership with Conservation International earlier this year to provide conservation match funding and promote awareness by sponsoring the distribution of a virtual reality film about the Amazon, “Under the Canopy.”
The company, which has a manufacturing plant in Manaus, Brazil, pledged to provide a match acre for every acre of rainforest protected by consumers through a $25 Conservation International donation, up to 5,000 acres. The company announced in June it had met its campaign goal.
The multi-million dollar, six-year project will restore 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazonia region by 2023 and help Brazil move toward its Paris Agreement target of reforesting 12 million hectares of land by 2030, S.C. Jonson said. The project is a partnership of Conservation International, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment, the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank and Rock in Rio.
“With a manufacturing plant in Manaus at the heart of the Amazon rainforest, the issue of deforestation is personal to us, and we’re committed to helping protect this critical resource for future generations,” said Kelly Semrau, senior vice president of global corporate affairs, communication and sustainability at SC Johnson. “We are proud that the funds from our match campaign will help Conservation International and its partners commence this impressive reforestation effort.”
S.C. Johnson is a member of the Consumer Goods Forum, and has committed to net zero deforestation by 2020 through sustainable sourcing of pulp, paper, packaging and palm oil.
The company said its Manaus plant has “achieved zero landfill status,” a protocol estimated to keep about 91 tons of refuse out of Brazilian landfills each year.
