HSBC pledges to invest $1bn in tackling climate change
Banking giant HSBC has announced plans to invest $1bn through bond markets to boost its investments in renewable energy, clean transport and other projects designed to tackle climate change. HSBC announced that it will commit to lend a total of $1bn to companies, cities and multilateral banks that are seeking to raise finance for projects that tackle climate change. The bank said it would only invest in projects issued under federal Green Bond Principles, which aim to assure investors that money raised will be put towards verified climate themed investments. The funds will also provide financing for small and medium-sized businesses in sectors such as public transport, education and healthcare. Spencer Lake, global head of HSBC capital financing, said the bank was committed to growing the green bond market, “HSBC understands that action to support the transition to a low carbon economy also brings social and economic benefits.” (Business Green)
Environment
IUCN and UNESCO welcome no-go pledge for World Heritage sites by Tullow Oil
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the official advisory body on natural World Heritage, and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre have welcomed Tullow Oil’s new commitment to stay out of World Heritage sites. Tullow had been granted permission to carry out activities in an area which included parts of Kenya’s Lake Turkana National Parks. “I commend Tullow’s commitment as a step forward in ensuring the conservation and sustainable development of all World Heritage sites,” says Mechtild Rössler, Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre. Tullow now joins leading oil-and-gas firms Shell and Total, as well as the International Council on Mining and Metals (a group of 22 of the world’s leading mining companies), which have also made commitments not to carry out extractive operations within World Heritage sites. The no-go principle has also been endorsed by a number of financial services companies, including BNP Paribas, HSBC and JP Morgan. (IUCN)
Building a blue economy in the East Asian Seas
Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia will launch two new reports this week at the East Asian Seas Congress 2015 in Vietnam to explore the potential for building a “blue economy” in the region. The reports emphasise the importance of coasts and oceans to regional businesses, and call for an increased investment in the health of these ecosystems. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, 60 percent of the world’s total gross national product comes from areas within 100 kilometres of the coastline. Coastal ecosystems face increasing threats that diminish the ecological health, environmental resilience and socio-economic potential of these areas. The United Nations Development Programme reports that impacts from overfishing, marine pollution, invasive aquatic species, coastal habitat loss and ocean acidification cost the global economy an estimated $350 to $940 billion every year. (Eco-Business)
Corporate Reputation
Shops pay charities 10p a pack for Christmas cards sold
Some retailers hand over as little as 10p per pack of Charity Christmas cards to the beneficiary charities. An investigation by consumer group Which? into 13 major retailers and supermarkets revealed a huge variation in the amount given to good causes from each pack sold. The Co-op gives 7% of a pack price to food bank charity FareShare; Lidl gives the equivalent of 8% of a pack price to children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent. On the other hand, WH Smith hands over all of the proceeds of its BBC Children in Need cards to the charity, and Aldi and John Lewis branded cards donate 25% to the charities they support. Which? editor Richard Headland said: “There are real differences between how retailers donate to good causes, so people may want to look out for this if they are planning to buy charity cards this festive season.”. (Guardian)
COMMENTS