Global coffee companies launch new calculating methodology for greenhouse gas emissions
Global coffee companies Lavazza, Nestle and Illycaffè are amongst a group of organisations to launch a new methodology to calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from coffee production. The ‘Green Coffee Carbon Footprint Product Category Rule’ (CFP-PCR) has been set up to drive consistency in the calculation of GHG emissions and to limit the differences arising between individual studies and methods. The CFP-PCR aims to encourage behaviour change within the supply chain by empowering the relevant decision makers and rewarding positive practice as well as aiding with the identification and adoption of mitigation strategies. Giancomo Celi, a coffee manager at Illycaffè said that “the guidelines for measuring the GHG emissions for coffee are a great achievement for the coffee sector. These guidelines are the result of a global and transparent collaboration among numerous stakeholders of the coffee value chain.” (Edie)
Taiwanese Nike supplier reduces water use by over 98 percent
Far Eastern New Century, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer for the US global sportswear firm Nike, has installed equipment which the firm claims has reduced water use by more than 98 percent. The equipment, which was developed by the Dutch firm DyeCoo Textile Systems, uses half a litre of waste chemical per production batch, and recycles the carbon dioxide, in comparison to the conventional textile dying process, which uses 100-150 litres of water to dye one kilogramme of fabric. The announcement follows Greenpeace’s recent accusation of Nike, in which the NGO said that Nike had no credible plan to eliminate priority hazardous chemicals and of being unwilling to embed transparency across its global supply chain. (CleanBiz Asia)
Employees
UK businesses fail to deliver on promise of equality
According to a report commissioned by the UK Government, a third of UK businesses that signed up to cut gender inequality at work have done nothing to try to close the gap between men and women. The UK Government’s voluntary ‘Think, Act, Report’ scheme was introduced in September 2011 to encourage large businesses to tackle gender inequality. Less than half of the 140 companies that made the pledge in the last two years have conducted an equal pay audit, and a third have declined to publish information about inequality in their organisations. Maria Miller, the UK minister for women urged employers to follow companies that have already signed up, such as Tesco, Royal Bank of Scotland and Marks & Spencer, and said that “these businesses recognise that with women making up nearly half of the UK’s workforce the companies who nurture their skills and talents will reap the economic benefits.” (The Times*)
Bangladesh factory owners claim wage increase risking industry competitiveness
Bangladeshi garment factory owners claim that the new minimum wage increase from $40 to $67 a month for factory workers risks making Bangladesh’s garment industry less competitive. The wage increase puts Bangladesh into the same league as other low cost apparel exporters, such as India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia but for years, low wages helped Bangladesh factory owners win contracts and offset issues such as inefficient factories and poor shipping infrastructure. Rubana Huq, the managing director of Mohammadi Group, a large exporter that produces clothes for Walmart and H&M, said that the company is “looking at a 20-30 cents rise on every product. We are forced to look at cutting corners in terms of lowering our overhead.” Khurrum Siddique, the director of Simco Dresses, said that he is investing in new machinery as “increasing productivity is the only way to survive” and that he expects to make approximately 10 percent of his company’s 700 workers redundant. (Wall Street Journal)
Minimum wage being poorly policed
According to a report by the UK thinktank Centre of London and the NGO Trust for London, despite more than 300,000 people earning below the UK minimum wage, only two employers have been prosecuted for paying below the threshold in the last four years. Since 2009, over 10,000 firms have been investigated by the UK tax authority, the HMRC, which has imposed £2.1 million in fines. This has led to calls for a more aggressive approach, including allowing local authorities to take over from tax inspectors and impose their own fines. HMRC has defended the figures and said that last year actions against employers resulted in over 26,000 people working for below minimum wage getting back a share of £4 million in arrears. The UK Government said that “since October any employers who fail to pay the UK minimum wage will be publicly named and shamed under a revamped scheme to make it easier to crackdown on rogue businesses.” (The Guardian )
Consumers
Google hosts “Hangout-a-thon” to connect consumers and charities
Google has announced that it will host an online 12 hour “Hangout-a-thon” this Tuesday the 3rd of December, which aims to connect consumers with a worthy cause of their liking. The event will include Unicef, Charity Water, Save the Children and the Malala Fund, and will ask donors for funds to help to improve clean water access, provide disaster relief and eliminate bullying. Viewers will be invited to donate directly to the organisations that are doing the fundraising, or support the organisations via the “Shoppable Hangouts” app, which will allows viewers to buy “goods for good” during the event. Participating companies include Hucksley, an online US marketplace for emerging brands that gives 25 percent of profits to charity with each purchase, but which will join with Google and donate 100 percent of profits made during the event which will go toward helping to build 25 schools in Guatemala. (TechCrunch)
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