Environment
Lloyd’s fears Arctic oil rush will ruin ecosystem
Lloyd’s of London, the world’s biggest insurance market, has become the first major business organisation to raise its voice about huge potential environmental damage from oil drilling in the Arctic. The City institution estimates that $100 billion (£63 billion) of new investment is heading for the far north over the next decade, but believes cleaning up any oil spill in the Arctic, particularly in ice-covered areas, would present “multiple obstacles, which together constitute a unique and hard-to-manage risk”.
The Guardian p10 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/12/lloyds-london-warns-risks-arctic-oil-drilling?INTCMP=SRCH
Iceland’s volcanoes may power UK
The volcanoes of Iceland could soon be pumping low-carbon electricity into the UK under government-backed plans for thousands of miles of high-voltage cables across the ocean floor. The energy minister, Charles Hendry, is to visit Iceland in May to discuss connecting the UK to its abundant geothermal energy.
The Guardian p1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/11/iceland-volcano-green-power?INTCMP=SRCH
UK clean energy investment tops $9 billion in 2011
UK clean energy investments rose by 35% during 2011 to $9.4 billion, driven by exponential growth in the solar sector as developers rushed to beat deadlines for controversial subsidy cuts. The surge in investment takes the UK up to seventh in a ranking of the G20 countries compiled by United States based The Pew Charitable Trusts, rising from 13th last year, when investment levels plummeted to $7 billion.
Business Green http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2167172/uk-clean-energy-investment-tops-usd9bn-2011
ConAgra Foods programme saves nearly 300 million gallons of water, eliminates 61,000 tonnes of waste, and reduces carbon emissions
ConAgra Foods, Inc., announced today the winners of its 2012 Sustainable Development Awards, an internal awards program intended to drive and reward innovative approaches to sustainability that produce tangible business results. The more than 100 entries collectively reduced carbon emissions by more than 43,600 metric tonnes, eliminated 61,000 tonnes of landfill waste and 4,800 tonnes of packaging material, and conserved 295 million gallons of water. ConAgra Foods started the Sustainable Development Awards in 1992 to encourage and incentivise employees to proactively look for ways to eliminate waste, reduce energy and conserve water through smart design.
Social Investment
Heineken plans to build hospitals in Haiti
Heineken, the world’s third biggest brewery, is hatching plans to build hospitals and schools in crisis-torn Haiti. The move demonstrates the growing role of the private sector, particularly the consumer goods industry, in taking on public sector roles in poorer countries. Nestlé, the world’s biggest food group by sales, is building and renovating 40 schools in the Ivory Coast together with the World Cocoa Foundation, an NGO. “Corporates have audit structures and management that can run and cost projects well. That’s what corporations could add to charities,” said John Nicolson, Heineken’s president for the Americas.
Financial Times* http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/18823596-7519-11e1-a98b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1rjN6CSVZ
Employees
Remploy staff reject claims of disabled segregation
The British government – and some disability groups – want to close Remploy’s (UK employment services for the disabled) sheltered factories but the prospect of mainstream employment, assuming they can find jobs, scares the workers. The government claims it can no longer bear the £68 million of annual losses racked up by the 54 Remploy sheltered factories. So 36 sites, including Barking – where management says losses last year were £1.6 million – will shut.
The Guardian p17 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/apr/11/remploy-staff-reject-disabled-segregation?INTCMP=SRCH
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