Corporate Reputation
Wal-Mart shares fall after Mexico ‘cover-up’ report
Shares in Wal-Mart have fallen 5% following weekend reports of a cover-up at its Mexican subsidiaries. The New York Times said its executives had failed to root out alleged bribery by company officials in Mexico. Wal-Mart said the alleged activities were more than six years old but it was “deeply concerned” by them and “working aggressively” to find out the truth. However, the article alleged that company officials had been informed in 2005 that bribes had been paid to obtain construction permits in Mexico.
BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17820858
International Development
UK pledges to double water and sanitation aid efforts by 2015
The UK Government has pledged to double the number of people it intends to reach worldwide with safe water, sanitation and hygiene education by 2015. Announcing the ambition at last week’s Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership meeting in Washington DC, UK secretary of state for international development Andrew Mitchell said that Britain will now aim to provide support for 60 million people globally. The meeting organised by UNICEF and the World Bank, saw ministerial delegations from almost 40 developed countries gather, alongside major donors, to make commitments to take immediate steps to speed up global access to water and sanitation.
Edie http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=22307&title=UK+pledges+to+double+water+and+sanitation+aid+efforts+by+2015+
Environment
Gas and offshore wind big winners as Germany plans €60 billion energy revamp
A raft of new offshore wind farms and hydroelectric power plants are in the offing, after German energy companies and investors yesterday confirmed they are preparing to plough up to €60 billion into overhauling the country’s power infrastructure, following the government’s pledge to phase out nuclear reactors. The report also provides one of the most detailed insights to date on how the German energy sector plans to cope with the government’s controversial commitment to phase out nuclear capacity in the country in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
Business Green http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2169691/gas-offshore-wind-winners-germany-plans-eur60bn-energy-revamp
Wells Fargo to invest $30 billion in environmental financing
Wells Fargo, the American financial services company, is upping the ante for environmental investment. On Monday, the bank announced it will put down $30 billion in loans and investments aimed at building a greener economy. The goal, which it hopes to achieve by 2020, represents a significant jump from its former target of $1 billion by 2010.
Business Green http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2169779/fargo-invest-usd30bn-environmental-financing
Nine out of 10 people want more renewable energy
Almost nine in 10 people want to see the government ramp up the UK’s use of clean domestic energy and reduce the country’s reliance on imported gas, a new YouGov poll reveals. Just under two-thirds of the 2,884 people questioned on behalf of campaign group Friends of the Earth listed wind, wave, solar or tidal as power sources they wanted to see playing a greater role in the UK’s electricity mix over the next decade, while just 2% backed an increase in gas capacity.
The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/23/people-want-more-renewable-energy?newsfeed=true
Research
Companies try to reduce humanity’s footprint
The Worldwatch Institute, an environmental group, argues in a recent report that, with the rate at which natural resources are consumed more than doubling in the past 50 years and up to 2 billion more aspiring consumers, humanity is “outstripping its resource base at an unprecedented global scale”. It is a message many companies are taking seriously. The question is whether their environmental strategies are sufficiently ambitious. Some companies are putting hard numbers on their environmental footprint. Last year, Puma, the sportswear business owned by French luxury group PPR, became one of the first multinationals to publish estimates of the real cost of its carbon dioxide emissions.
Financial Times* http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/99a6b83c-87ce-11e1-ade2-00144feab49a.html#axzz1sr1eeQS4
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