One of Australia’s largest beer brands, 4 Pines Beer —owned by AB InBev—has made an unsolicited submission to the NSW Forestry Industry Action Panel, calling for an end to native forestry.
“On behalf of our team at 4 Pines Beer, a proud B Corp Certified business, 1% for the Planet member, and partner of Landcare Australia, I am writing to support the end of native forest logging in NSW,” according to the submission. “The FCNSW’s native hardwood division is not commercially viable. Even with the subsidies, the state-based forestry corporations are losing millions each year.”
“We urge the government to commit to ending native forest logging and focus on sustainable alternatives that protect our planet and people.”
Sarah Turner, Environmental & Social Impact Advisor, 4 Pines Beer who made the submission on behalf of the Beer Company.
James Joose, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association’s NSW division, has slammed 4 Pines Beer’s “blatant hypocrisy” and “virtual signalling,” saying beer companies used to make big ads, not boardroom slogans.
“These beer companies are happy to pander to activist rhetoric, yet their kegs, slabs, bottles and cans are transported on sustainably sourced hardwood timber pallets from state forests,” Mr Jooste said. “Without Australia’s native hardwood industry, their beer wouldn’t even make it to the pub.”
“This isn’t just about beer; it’s about a corporate elite that thinks it can dictate policy while disregarding the economic reality for hardworking Australians. People have had enough of companies hijacking environmental causes for PR stunts that actively harm real communities.”
According to Mr Jooste, now is the time for all politicians—of all political persuasions—to condemn this ideological insanity: “Native forestry is one of the most sustainable industries we have, and we will not stand by while corporate PR campaigns and political opportunists attempt to destroy it.”
As a result, “we are calling on all of Australia to show support for our native forestry industry, which gives us iconic and critical materials like flooring, decking, panelling, cladding, power poles and pallets.”
- To learn more about the NSW Forestry Industry Action Panel, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
