But the effectiveness of these agreements is often undermined by vague commitments and lax enforcement. Environmentalists should take a page from the World Trade Organization and push for international environmental commitments that are as specific and enforceable as trade accords have become, says French. New information and communications technologies can be harnessed to forge powerful cross-border political alliances a trend that is already well underway. Empowered by e-mail and the Internet, environmental activists have gradually organized themselves into a range of powerful international networks, such as the Climate Action Network, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, and the Women s Environment and Development Organization. Some forward-looking corporations are helping to chart the path to an environmentally sustainable global economy, according to the report.
Private investors are also increasingly active on environmental issues.
In 1999, concerned investors introduced 54 shareholder resolutions related to environmental issues. In one particularly successful case, Home Depot announced a commitment to purchasing certified timber just three months after 12 percent of its shareholders asked the company to stop selling wood from old-growth forests. Vanishing Borders , French finds that innovative partnerships are being forged between activist groups, businesses and international institutions, including several independent eco-labeling initiatives that aim to bring consumer pressure to bear on behalf of environmental change. As of late 1999, FSC-accredited bodies had certified some 17 million hectares of forest in 30 countries, up from only 1 million hectares in late 1995. Despite these encouraging developments, environmental destruction continues to outpace society's collective response.