Businesses have little faith that next month's international climate talks in Rio will see much progress and expect private sector initiatives to have more of an impact, according to a new survey of chief executives. Only around half of the 141 respondents polled by PricewaterhouseCoopers expected action on issues surrounding energy, water, and sustainable development to be advanced at the meeting, which marks 20 years since the first Rio Earth Summit. 30% said international targets were not effective at all, while four out of five said private sector pledges such as emissions reductions targets; national or regional regulation; or taxation would be far more effective in driving action in the private sector.
Water tech market for food and drink to 'almost double' by 2020
The global water technology market in the food and beverage sector is set to almost double in size by 2020 as concerns over water scarcity increase, according to a report by research centre Global Water Intelligence. The report states that rising demand coupled with a fixed supply, as well as companies' increasing concern over environmental branding, will lead to further demand for water technologies to provide safe and dependable water supplies, especially in China, India and Brazil.
One in ten executive boardroom appointments go to women
Women claimed just one in ten executive boardroom appointments in the UK over the past year despite ministers' demands that the biggest companies install more women at the top table. A report by Deloitte found that companies are beginning to increase the number of women on their boards, but warned that most were being appointed to non-executive positions. In the FTSE 100, drinks giant Diageo has the biggest proportion of female directors, at 44%, while fashion house Burberry is in second place.
Equal Exchange asks fellow coffee company to leave Fair Trade USA
In a rare business-to-business plea, leading US Fair Trade brand Equal Exchange has released an open letter to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), strongly encouraging it to withdraw support from the controversial certification agency Fair Trade USA. Equal Exchange introduced Fair Trade coffee to America in the 1980s and today remains a leading brand, while GMCR recently became the world's largest purveyor of Fair Trade coffee. In the letter, Equal Exchange urges GMCR to abandon Fair Trade USA over its recent unilateral decision to allow plantations and private estates to gain Fair Trade certification, and to rejoin Fairtrade International, from which Fair Trade USA split last year. According to Equal Exchange, Fairtrade International is the "legitimate international system… in which small farmers have a true seat at the table".
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