Laura Weatherer
Senior AssociateSupply Change
Laura is an Associate with the Supply Change initiative. She was formerly an intern with World Resources Institute and has worked on a diverse range of environmental issues, including land tenure rights, climate equity, and sustainable agriculture. Laura holds a Master of Arts in International Environmental Policy from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of St Andrews.
Corporate Progress on No Deforestation and “Nature Positive” Post 2020
By Philip Rothrock, Kate Ellis, Laura Weatherer View PublicationDespite corporate efforts to increase sustainable land-use practices in recent years, the production of forest–risk commodities remains a significant driver of global deforestation and climate change. While many companies have fallen short of achieving ambitious commitments to address commodity-driven deforestation, efforts to align with ambitious 2030 global climate targets have been gaining momentum. Encouragingly, companies, […]
Trends in the Implementation of Ethical Supply Chains: A 2020 Snapshot of the Cocoa Sector
By Philip Rothrock, Laura Weatherer, Kate Ellis, Leah Samberg, Stephen Donofrio, Ciro Calderon View PublicationOver the past few decades, cocoa production has emerged as a driver of land use change, particularly in West Africa. In addition to its significant contributions to deforestation, cocoa production has also faced intense public scrutiny due to human rights violations, especially the use of child labor. In Trends in the Implementation of Ethical Supply[…]
A Green Growth Spurt
State of Forest Carbon Finance 2021
By Patrick Maguire, Stephen Donofrio, William Merry, Kim Myers, Laura Weatherer, Jordan Wildish, and Steve Zwick View PublicationIt’s been 30 years since Applied Energy Services teamed up with the World Resources Institute and the humanitarian aid organization CARE to pilot the first known use of carbon finance to slow climate change by saving forests. That project, dubbed “Mi Bosque” (“My Forest”), reversed deforestation by helping Guatemalan farmers implement agroforestry practices that increased […]
Commitments in-Country: Companies, Cattle, & Commitments that Count in Paraguay
By Philip Rothrock, Laura Weatherer View PublicationOver the past few decades, Paraguay has had one of the highest rates of forest loss in the world, largely due to rapid expansion of cattle ranching, especially in the western Chaco region. Here, cattle are raised to produce beef, leather, and dairy products; most of the leather and beef is exported internationally to satisfy […]
Commitments in-Country: Companies, Palm, & Commitments that Count in Indonesia, 2020
By Philip Rothrock and Laura Weatherer View PublicationPalm oil production is a significant driver of deforestation in Indonesia and is propelled by growing domestic and international demand for palm oil-containing consumer goods, chemicals, and biofuel. For companies that produce in or source palm oil from Indonesia, exposure to deforestation presents a serious risk to a company’s business and can have adverse impacts[…]
Commitments in Action: Corporate Tells for Financing Forest Conservation & Restoration, 2020
A COLLABORATIVE ANALYSIS BASED UPON SUPPLY CHANGE DATA
By Philip Rothrock, Laura Weatherer View PublicationThe production of commodities like palm oil, soy, and cattle drives the permanent conversion of 5 million hectares each year, which has serious global consequences for the climate, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and forest communities. Companies that produce, trade, and source these commodities are increasingly aware of the forest risk associated with these business activities, and[…]
Targeting Zero Deforestation
Company Progress on Commitments That Count, 2019
By Philip Rothrock and Laura Weatherer View PublicationA Collaborative Analysis between Forest Trends and Ceres, Based on Supply Change Data It’s been nearly a decade since the Board of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), an industry association comprised of roughly 400 companies, passed a resolution to achieve Zero Net Deforestation in the “big four” commodity supply chains responsible for the bulk of […]