Energy deal means bills will rise to pay for green power
Energy firms will be allowed to triple the amount of money they add to customers' bills to pay for renewable power and other environmental measures, under UK Government plans to be announced next week. The deal, struck after weeks of negotiations between the coalition partners, will mean the total amount energy suppliers can add to domestic and business bills will rise from £2.35bn this year, to nearly £10bn at the end of this decade. This added revenue will help companies invest in green energy technologies and infrastructure. However, officials argue that by the end of the decade the benefits of energy-saving measures and less reliance on fossil fuels will mean bills are actually lower than they would be without the green policies. (Independent, Guardian)
Food & Beverage
‘The only way is ethics’, for Sainsbury’s
Shoppers may have less but they care more, the Sainsbury’s boss Justin King claimed as he revealed a rise in the sales of ethical products. The grocer said that it had sold 8.5 percent more sustainably sourced food in the past year while sales of Fair-trade goods had risen five percent to £288m. Mr King said: “The credit crunch has not led to a values crunch. The downturn has led to a strengthening of values, irrespective of people’s income. We believe this is not a passing phase but a fundamental change that is here to stay.” Sainsbury’s said that those on all levels of income were interested in buying more ethically. It said that 10 percent of its sustainably labelled products were bought by families on the lowest incomes. Sainsbury’s ethical plan reflects similar efforts by Marks & Spencer, the John Lewis Partnership, Ikea and the Co-op. (Times*)
Morrison puts foreign meat on shelves
William Morrison, the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket and hitherto a supporter of British agriculture, has begun sourcing meat from Europe in a bid to put cheaper products on its shelves. The move, which will see up to five percent of meat in the supermarket’s 480 stores sourced abroad, deals a fresh blow to a farming sector battling higher prices for inputs such as fuel and animal feed, as well as poor weather. Morrison has made a virtue of supporting UK farmers and its own vertically integrated supply chain: one in four animals killed in the country meets its end in a Morrison abattoir. Before this week the retailer sourced all its meat from British farms. The five percent may seem like a small slice; however, it could total 3.9m chicken, 50,000 pigs, 35,000 sheep and 8,750 cattle every year. The National Farmers Union (NFU) said the decision was “extremely disappointing” and called on Morrison to reverse it. Farmers are unhappy that this meat will be subject to less stringent welfare standards and hence can be produced more cheaply. (Financial Times*)
Corporate Reputation
Cadbury India accused of evading £23m in taxes
Cadbury India is being investigated over allegations of tax evasion, some of which date back to its former days under British ownership. The Dairy Milk and Bournville maker, which controls nearly 70 percent of India’s chocolate market, is facing claims that it evaded up to 2bn rupees (£23m) in taxes, according to a finance minister. In a written reply to parliamentary questions, the minister revealed that two cases of tax evasion by Cadbury India had been detected by the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence between 2009-10 and 2012-13. The allegations, which come as the Indian Government battles to increase revenues and stem a growing fiscal deficit, have emerged just weeks after the formation of Mondelez International, the new name for the snack business of the US giant Kraft Foods, which acquired Cadbury for $19bn in 2010. It is the second time in two years that Cadbury has faced tax problems with the Indian authorities; an investigation was launched last year to determine whether Kraft was obliged to pay taxes related to its takeover of Cadbury. (Times*)
Wal-mart suspends employees in India
Wal-mart has suspended several employees in India as it pursues an internal investigation into whether its local joint venture, Bharti Enterprises, violated US anti-corruption laws. The suspensions are related to the US retailer's widening probe into allegations that employees in several emerging markets bribed government officials. Wal-mart this month said its investigations had been widened to other emerging markets including India, China and Brazil. The probe into possible violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits bribery outside of the US, is another headache for Wal-mart in India. Wal-mart is simultaneously being examined by the Reserve Bank of India, which has been asked to determine whether the company covertly invested in a chain of 220 convenience stores and hypermarkets in 2010 in contravention of a ban on foreign companies owning any stake in retail businesses.(Financial Times*, CNN, BBC)
Employees
Women close pay gap but earnings lose ground to inflation
The pay gap between male and female workers has fallen below 10 percent for the first time, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The report shows that the difference between men's and women's median hourly pay, excluding overtime, fell from 10.5 percent to 9.6 percent during the year to April 2012. However, both sexes were worse off in real terms as wage packets rose by just half the rate of inflation over the last year. In April 2012 average gross weekly earnings for full-time employees were £506, up just 1.5 per cent from £498 in 2011. This took the average full-time wage to £26,500. It left workers nursing real-terms pay cuts as the official Consumer Prices Index benchmark stood at 3 per cent in April. The figures also showed a narrowing in the gap between the highest and lowest-paid employees. (Independent)
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