Top Stories

January 08, 2015

Supply Chain

Electronics industry will conduct shadow audits to root out forced labour in Malaysia

The Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), a non-profit coalition of electronics companies dedicated to supply chain responsibility, has announced that it will conduct shadow audits and increase its industry and government engagement in Malaysia to combat forced labour. Although the EICC Code of Conduct bans trafficked and forced labour, completely eradicating it in the global electronics industry supply chain remains a challenge for all companies, including EICC members. Some of the ongoing challenges faced by government and industry in trying to protect workers were highlighted recently in a report by international non-profit Verité. The EICC is proactively working to address the issues highlighted in the report by shadowing audit firms operating in Malaysia to confirm that EICC audit protocols are being strictly followed, and by establishing a traffic and bonded taskforce to continue to draw attention to this important challenge. (Just Means; Sustainable Brands)

 

Report: forest certification program misleads consumers

On Wednesday, forest conservation NGO ForestEthics released Peeling Back the Eco-Labels, a report comparing the rigour of forest audits conducted in Canada by the two leading forest certification systems: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). According to the report, the SFI certification program has serious flaws in comparison to FSC. Analysing publicly-available reports from the last ten years, ForestEthics found that more than half of SFI reports were missing pertinent data and that SFI rarely required logging companies to take any additional action to improve operations. “Corporate customers and the public rely on forest certifications to know that the paper, fibre, and lumber they buy is responsible… In the case of SFI, the label is misleading” said Todd Paglia, ForestEthics’ executive director, adding that SFI’s links to the logging industry affected its credibility. (Sustainable Brands)

Circular Economy

Canadian city moves toward first closed-loop system for organic waste

The Canadian city of Surrey has chosen Iris Solutions to build its first closed-loop, fully-integrated organics waste management system in North America. The Surrey Biofuels Processing Facility will process 115,000 tons of residual kitchen and garden waste from Surrey each year, creating a renewable natural gas which can be used to power the city’s waste collection trucks. The facility will also produce a compost product that will be suitable for landscaping and agricultural applications. When completed, the facility will be the largest of its kind in Canada. Late last year, the Closed Loop Fund, supported by companies including Coca-Cola, Keurig Green Mountain and Unilever, announced plans to invest $100 million over the next five years to support the development of recycling infrastructure and services in cities across the US. (Sustainable Brands)

Climate Change

Australia accelerates coal production despite study finding it should remain buried

Australia is pressing ahead with new coal mining projects, just as a new study has calculated that more than 80% of the world’s current coal reserves must remain in the ground to avoid dangerous climate change. The research, by the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, found that globally a third of all oil reserves, half of all known gas deposits and 82% of coal capacity would have to remain unused by 2050 if the world was to remain within an internationally agreed limit of 2°C warming compared with pre-industrial times. Despite its commitment to the 2°C warming limit, Australia is pushing ahead with nine new coal projects in the Galilee Basin region of central Queensland, producing a combined 330 million tonnes a year at capacity. The prime minister, Tony Abbott, declared in October that coal is “good for humanity” while warning against any “demonisation” of the fossil fuel. (The Guardian; Business Green)

Responsible Investment

Report: MSCI releases “2015 ESG Trends to Watch”

US investment tool provider MSCI, which publishes a range of environmental, social and governance (ESG)-based investment indices, has published a new report analysing the “top five ESG trends institutional investors should keep an eye on in the coming year”. The report identifies the following top trends for 2015: investor readiness for the transition to renewable energy; increasing scrutiny of directors; the search for large-scale social impact investments; the automation revolution; and the increasing urgency for funding of the global ‘infrastructure gap’. The report suggests that “there is a shortening lag between when ESG issues emerge and when markets and regulators react”, noting that investors, companies, policymakers and NGOs are anticipating this year’s global climate talks in Paris with “an equal measure of hope and fear”. (MSCI)

 

Image source: Food Scraps and Yard Debris Collection in Portland 2010 By Tim Jewett / CC BY-SA 2.5

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