J Sainsbury has announced it will source all of its own-brand tissue, kitchen towel and toilet roll from sustainable sources, as well as launching compostable garden sacks and greener washing detergent to help consumers live a greener lifestyle.
From May 2007, own-brand tissue products will be made either from recycled paper or from material that has been approved by the Forestry Stewardship Commission. Environmentally friendly garden refuse sacks and caddy bin liners will also be available to buy in stores from April.
Sainsbury’s reformulated washing detergent, which now washes clothes just as effectively, but at 30 degrees a wash, rather than the standard 40 degrees, was made available in February.
Globalisation could be shifting the world closer to environmental disaster according to the United Nations Environmental Program.
UNEP has released its Global Environmental Outlook Year Book 2007, which examines the link between responsible economics and the environment.
The organisation admits that globalisation is vital for modern development but calls for a “more intelligent, socially acceptable and environmentally sensitive form of globalisation”, which involves the expansion of certified forests as well as marine protected areas.
Twelve companies, including media company Viacom, were deleted from the FTSE4Good Semi-Annual Index because they failed to meet the environmental criteria of the index.
Further, Tate & Lyle and LVMH were removed due to supply chain labour standards, Sumitomo Metal Industries and AEA Technology for failing to meet the countering bribery criteria, and Alcatel-Lucent due to ownership of a company that develops weapons systems and strategic parts for nuclear weapons. On a positive note, 25 companies were permitted as new entrants – this includes Halfords and Standard Life. The deletions and additions were made as of March 16.
Economic development must not be compromised in the fight against global warming, according to Rex Tillerson, chief executive of oil company ExxonMobil.
Tillerson, speaking at a conference in Houston, Texas, admitted that addressing climate change risks is vital, but stressed that progressing on economic development, poverty eradication and public health must not be sidelined in the process. He stated that the energy sector plays a crucial role in advancing development and that it is important not to neglect the energy sector in the race to find solutions to
global warming.
He called for “informed debate” and policy making and that maximising “the use of markets” will be an effective approach – thereby combating the climate phenomenon but also supporting the global economy.
Corporate watchers hoping that the passing of the batten in Texas from Lee Raymond to Rex Tillerson would mark a fundamental change in approach are in for a disappointment. In this speech, and in one at Davos in January, Tillerson does acknowledge it is prudent for society to act on climate change, despite risks and uncertainties. Previously, the line was that costs outweighed the benefits.
What he has not done is accept the logic of a science and risk-based approach and tell us what Exxon and the rest of us should do about it. Anyone hoping for a Wal-Mart moment from Exxon will have to wait for a while longer.
Fossil fuel tax
A tax on fossil fuels will encourage the development of alternative energies, according to a group of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal. The online survey of 47 economists found that 40 of them believe that a tax on fossil fuels by the US government would raise the price and make alternatives more competitive in the consumer market. However, the economists, surveyed in February, pointed out that in President Bush’s recent push on energy initiatives, he stayed away from proposals that would raise taxes. Instead, in the State of the Union address on January 23, he proposed regulations to force fuel suppliers to use alternative fuels and he also set targets for a 20% reduction in gasoline by 2017. Only two of the economists surveyed agreed that recommended regulations such as those set out by President Bush.
Greener travel is on the agenda with the launch of a new marketing challenge by the Low Vehicle Carbon Partnership.
The partnership is challenging students, marketers and automotive industry stakeholders to think of environmentally friendly travel alternatives.
The Cars NOT Carbon competition invites marketing communication agencies nationwide and students on relevant courses to submit applications across a range of marketing disciplines and media channels. The campaigns will be judged on the effectiveness of their message, as well as their originality and creative content, by a panel of judges including the director of Business in the Community, Sue Atkins, and marketing director at Toyota, Mark Hall.
The winner will be viewed by senior industry executives from the motor, fuels and related industries and will be showcased at the partnership’s annual conference, to be held on June 28.
Centrica’s British Gas has launched the UK’s largest social tariff on the energy market to help reduce the energy bills of its most vulnerable customers. To qualify customers must be on benefit schemes such as pension credit, disability living allowance or Child Tax Credit.
If 400,000 customers are to get up to £90 in rebates from British Gas, that’s £36m potentially on offer. Quite a chunk of change off anyone’s bottom line. Environmentalists might argue that would be better invested in loft lagging or fuel efficient boilers to cut bills year on year, but British Gas already has other schemes doing that too. Will the idea catch on with other companies – 20% off your weekly basket of groceries at Tesco, upon presentation of your UB40? Somehow, we think not.
– HP’s redesigned print cartridge packaging for North America will reduce greenhouse gases by roughly 37m pounds in 2007, according to the company. It added that this is the equivalent of taking 3,600 cars off the road for 1 year. www.hp.com/go/environment
– BP has selected the University of California, and its partners Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to join a $500m research programme to explore the way that bioscience can increase energy production and reduce the negative impact of energy consumption on the environment. www.bp.com
– The Ceres board of directors announced on February 5 that it has approved Sun Microsystems as a Ceres company. The company is among more than 70 companies in the Ceres network, including 20 Fortune 500 companies. www.ceres.org; www.sun.com
– HSBC has partnered with the International Tree Foundation (ITF) to form the Tree to e campaign. Through the campaign, the bank will plant one tree for every ten customers that opt to view their statements on-line only and it hopes to plant 1,000 trees before March 16. www.internationaltreefoundation.org/files/HSBC
– Financial firm, JPMorgan, has collaborated with Innovest, the environmental financial analysts, to develop the JPMorgan Environmental Index – Carbon Beta (JENI). JENI is the first corporate bond index designed to help investors make decisions that take the risks and opportunities created by climate change into account. www.jpmorgan.com/jeni
– Green Mobile is the first environmental mobile phone package in the world and will allow users to make a £25 donation to the Woodland Trust or Friends of the Earth when they sign up. 6% of their monthly bills will also be donated and all users are expected to use their current handset for another year after signing up. Landlines can also be transferred to the tariff. www.greenmobile.co.uk
– 35% of the UK’s leading publishing houses have signed up to the Publishers’ Database for Responsible Environmental Paper Sourcing (PREPS). Each type paper is rated according the Egmont Grading System, which assesses whether paper is from an acceptable source, and the results are collected on a password-protected website database. PREPS hopes the system will provide information that will allow members to manage their supply chains more effectively.
COMMENTS