Supermarket giant Tesco says this year’s horsemeat scandal is partly responsible for a decline in its UK sales. The news is a blow for its £1bn plan to revitalise its stuttering domestic operation. Tesco admitted it was hit by becoming embroiled in the horsemeat scandal, although it said that only four products out of 1,850 contained traces of equine DNA. Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke said the contamination had a "small but discernible impact" on its sales of frozen beef and chilled ready-meals but said these categories had now almost recovered to previous levels. The grocery giant also suffered falling sales in many of the 12 countries in which it operates overseas. (Independent, Financial Times*)
Energy
Goldman Sachs lifts investment in Indian renewable energy
Goldman Sach’s private equity arm will add to its investment an Indian wind farm company, putting another $135m into ReNew Wind Power, in a sign of the increasing interest in Asian renewables. Industry consultants say private equity venture capital interest in renewable energy is picking up this year, particularly in India and Japan. The planned investment follows last month’s pledge from Goldmans to invest up to $487m in JRE, a solar power generation company in Japan, where guaranteed electricity prices for 20 years is making investment highly attractive. (Financial Times*)
India's biggest coal company turns to renewables
Coal India, the world's largest coal mining company, says it will install solar across its operations to save on energy bills. The government-owned company, which supplies over 80 percent of India's coal production, plans to provide two megawatts (MW) of solar power to its coal plant, and increase the use at all other locations, including its mining research arm, the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute. "India has an abundance of sunshine and the trend of depletion of fossil fuels is compelling energy planners to examine the feasibility of using renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, and so on," Coal India's bid document says. (Sustainable Brands)
Social Investment
Wrigley's foundation invests in education project in India
Chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley’s company foundation has announced the launch of a three-year, $1m (USD) educational partnership with Pratham, the largest non-governmental education organisation in India, working to provide quality education to the underprivileged children in India. The initiative, targeted at addressing learning gaps and providing support to help close these gaps in the top mint farming districts, is aimed at reaching 40,000 children in 1,000 villages. Martin Radvan, President of the Foundation and of Wrigley said: "We are pleased to be able to give back to these communities that play an important agricultural role for so many products we enjoy every day.” (Just Means)
Water
Food and drink manufacturers must embrace responsible water use
A video which highlights the importance of water stress to food and drink manufacturers has been released to mark the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s World Environment Day. The video aims to raise awareness amongst boardroom and senior management executives in food and drink companies of the issue and highlight the business risks posed by a failure to embrace responsible water use. The video is the latest instalment in a series of videos developed under the Food and Drink Federation's (FDF) on-going 'Every Last Drop' campaign, which aims to build awareness and include some simple guidance as to what needs to be done to save water. (Edie)
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