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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">Hi everyone,</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">We’re pleased to share this week’s announcement that the world’s largest retailer—Walmart—has publicly committed to a sweeping range of pollinator conserving actions:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Restoring Pollinator Habitats is Key to Feeding the Future</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2021/04/13/restoring-pollinator-habitats-is-key-to-feeding-the-future">https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2021/04/13/restoring-pollinator-habitats-is-key-to-feeding-the-future</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Walmart has committed to help address the pollinator crisis by asking its fresh produce suppliers around the world who supply its U.S. stores to phase out use of highly toxic and long-lived insecticides. They are also asking all fresh produce suppliers to move toward more sustainable practices. Specifically, Walmart called on all their fruit and vegetable suppliers to:</p><ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Restore 3% of their production land to pollinator habitat.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Begin phasing out nitroguanidine neonicotinoids and chlorpyrifos insecticides, two types of insecticides linked to global pollinator declines.</li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">To help accelerate these actions, by 2025, all fresh produce suppliers to Walmart must be certified in one of ten different third party-verified sustainable farming standards, a list that includes <a href="https://beebettercertified.org/">Bee Better Certified</a>, USDA Organic, Rainforest Alliance, and several others.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Walmart has also committed to: </p><ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Keep invasive plant species out of their garden department, and</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Advance labeling of nursery plants grown without systemic insecticides.</li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The company is re-imagining their forthcoming new home office as a native plant-filled campus within a pollinator-friendly green infrastructure. This is backed by ongoing commitments to restore pollinator habitat around many of their stores and distribution centers.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">These actions represent a major milestone with the potential to impact millions of acres of fruit and vegetable production worldwide. All in all, a promising announcement that we hope is wildly successful, pun intended.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">To learn more about Bee Better Certified, visit: <a href="https://beebettercertified.org">https://beebettercertified.org<br></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">----------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Matthew Shepherd</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Director of Communications & Outreach</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">he/him/his</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><img border="0" width="160" height="60" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D73115.233FD8A0" alt="Email-Outlook_Xerces-logo-CMYK"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Protecting the Life That Sustains Us</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">Connect @xercessociety on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Facebook</span></a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/xercessociety" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Twitter</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Instagram</span></a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">Visit <a href="https://xerces.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">xerces.org</span></a> to read our <a href="https://xerces.org/blog" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">blog</span></a>, sign up for our <a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001HTk7N6nZumLPinBr8VACbNdTXCe732bGu6KpqC13JAKPti_HBe5xyr7t0p4mDfKe2dOsd-TB1qvv772s6GQfVa_SbKKfwBiwl4blH4KvCjq4dpmA2M9UNZ2axlQwu_1Gvjrl2Rb53WUZwsddwCzyorgxedLAaMy3" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">e-newsletter</span></a>, and learn what you can do.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">Watch on <span style="color:#1f497d"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiPLPJuySOgn6CbjkOxqLQ"><span style="color:blue">YouTube</span></a>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">Support our work: <a href="https://xerces.org/donate/"><span style="color:blue">Donate</span></a>!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">Cell: (503) 807-1577</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">Office: (503) 232-6639 x110</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt"><a href="mailto:matthew.shepherd@xerces.org" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">matthew.shepherd@xerces.org</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>