Responsible Advertising
Drinks giants team up to head off ad regulation
Eight of Europe’s biggest alcohol firms have united to launch new rules for their own advertising in an effort to head off tighter regulation. Carlsberg, Heineken and Diageo are among the booze giants that have agreed the “Responsible Marketing Pact”, which is being launched today and will cover all European Union countries. A key measure is a commitment not to target children, particularly on social media.
The Independent p47 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/drinks-giants-team-up-to-head-off-ad-regulation-7646733.html?origin=internalSearch
Corporate Reputation
Boss of Glencore denies profiting from child labour
Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg has denied the commodities giant profits from using child labour. A BBC Panorama programme will tonight claim children as young as ten are working in the Tilwezembe concession in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Glencore owns the concession but stopped running it in 2008. The programme also accuses Glencore of polluting a river in the country with raw acid for three years. Mr Glasenberg said it “has spent vast amounts of money to get rid of this problem, to ensure clean water in two weeks’ time will be discharged into that river”.
The Independent p49 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/boss-of-glencore-denies-profiting-from-child-labour-7646738.html?origin=internalSearch
Diversity
Promises and excuses echo from a second glass ceiling
More than a hundred of Britain’s leading public companies have no women on their boards, research has revealed. The news that more than 40% of the FTSE 250 have no female boardroom representation was condemned as “shocking” by campaigners. Companies with no female representation include the construction giant Balfour Beatty, the retailer JD Sports Fashion, the internet group MoneySupermarket.com, the bingo and betting group Rank, the bus and train operator FirstGroup and the trucking group Stobart.
The Times* p31 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article3385002.ece
Employees
‘Workers bullied’ as shop hours extended for Games
More than one million shop and distribution workers face being “bullied” by big retailers that extend Sunday opening hours during the London Olympics and Paralympics, the GMB union has warned. The government has invited the GMB to talks over pay and working hours during the games today. There are claims that staff will be pressured into working longer shifts. The GMB is calling for a system that will ensure that anyone working additional hours during the Olympics will have done so on a voluntary basis.
The Independent p47 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/workers-bullied-as-shop-hours-extended-for-games-7646734.html?origin=internalSearch
Environment
Apple agrees to China pollution audit
Apple has agreed to a jointly monitored audit of pollution controls at a supplier’s factory in China, in what activists see as a breakthrough in their efforts to persuade the world’s most valuable company to address environmental concerns. Last month, Apple backed a report by the Fair Labor Association that recommended improvements in working conditions at three Foxconn factories in China where its products are made. Environmental issues now appear to be getting the same level of attention.
Financial Times* p22 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0fa8897c-86ec-11e1-ad68-00144feab49a.html#axzz1sC2fMiXw
Mexico poised to pass landmark climate change act
Mexico is set to become the second country in the world to pass a far-reaching Climate Change Act that will impose binding emission reduction targets on successive governments. The country’s House of Representatives approved the proposed law late last week, voting by 280 votes to 10 in favour of the bill with one abstention. The legislation is now expected to be approved by the country’s Senate, making Mexico the second country after the UK to pass a dedicated Climate Change Act and the first developing economy to deliver legally binding emission reduction targets.
Business Green http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2167731/mexico-poised-pass-landmark-climate-change-act
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