The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has purged membership of a number of companies and organisations that have failed to comply with reporting requirements. On Thursday, the RSPO announced that 15 members had been expelled for failing to submit mandatory annual reports for three straight years. 62 others had their memberships suspended for failing to report for two consecutive years. The reports are meant to measure progress toward certifying palm oil operations or purchasing certified sustainable palm oil, according to environmental campaigning group WWF, one of the founders of the initiative. The move could be a sign that the certification body is getting more serious about enforcing its standards. The suspended members included a broad range of entities, from the Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP), an NGO, to Seventh Generation, an American company that sells “green” products. (Eco-Business)
Gender Equality
Gender pay gap will not close for 70 years at current rate, says UN
The income of female workers across the world will lag behind men’s for another 70 years if the gender pay gap continues to reduce at the present painfully slow rate, the United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) is warning in a new report. More than half a century after the United States passed the Equal Pay Act, and 45 years after similar legislation in the UK, women across the world earn 77% of the amount paid to men, a figure that has improved by only three percentage points in the past 20 years, according to the report. Over and above the pay gap, women face a “motherhood pay gap”. Women with children can expect to earn less when they return to work than childless women, with the difference increasing for every child they have, according to an ILO analysis. (The Guardian)
Community Investment
Capital One launches $150 million initiative to help more Americans succeed in a digital economy
US-based banking company Capital One has announced it will focus $150 million in community grants and initiatives over the next five years to help empower more Americans to succeed in an ever-changing digitally-driven economy. With its new ‘Future Edge’ initiative, Capital One will collaborate with leading educational and community organisations to provide community grants. One partner is the global educational institution General Assembly, whose Opportunity Fund programme aims to facilitate a more diverse community of talent in the tech industry by providing fellowships to low-to-moderate income individuals seeking advanced digital skills. Another partner is Grovo, a leader in digital skills training, with whom Capital One will develop a digital literacy curriculum designed to help diminish the digital skills literacy gap. (Just Means)
Corporate Reputation
Indigenous Peruvians win Amazon pollution payout from US oil giant
Members of the indigenous Achuar tribe from the Peruvian Amazon have won an undisclosed sum from Occidental Petroleum in an out-of-court settlement after a long-running legal battle in the US They sued the company in 2007, alleging it knowingly caused pollution which caused premature deaths, birth defects and damaged their habitat. It is the first time a company from the United States has been sued in a US court for pollution it caused in another country, according to Marco Simons, the legal director of EarthRights International, which represented the Achuar people in the lawsuit. The case sets a “precedent” which he said will be “significant for future cases and has already been cited by other courts in the United States”. The funds will be used for health, education and nutrition projects run by a collective of five Achuar communities that filed the lawsuit. (The Guardian)
Health
McDonald’s to cut human-related antibiotics for chicken sold in US
Fast food giant McDonald’s has announced that it is committing to serving chicken raised without antibiotics used in human medicine in all of its US restaurants within two years. The company isn’t going completely antibiotic-free, but will cut the use of antibiotics that contribute to “superbugs” or drug-resistant bacteria that can also harm humans. However, McDonald’s still has work to do, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Unfortunately, the statement does not include a ban on the use of all medically-important antibiotics in routine disease prevention, a practice known to contribute to antibiotic resistance,” said Jonathan Kaplan, director of NRDC’s Food and Agriculture program. “We urge McDonald’s to close this loophole in their ‘Global Vision’ statement, and to apply their new U.S. chicken antibiotics curbs to all their restaurants globally.” (Sustainable Brands)
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