The value of global carbon markets fell 35 percent to €62bn ($84bn) in 2012, largely due to an oversupply of credits, according to analysis from Thomson Reuters Point Carbon. The EU’s ‘Emissions Trading Scheme’, the largest global carbon market, saw the estimated carbon price drop 49 percent to €5.82 per metric ton in 2012, down from €11.45 per metric ton in 2011. The EU ETS is now facing the prospect of carbon prices in Europe inching closer to zero unless policymakers quickly agree to take action. (Environmental Leader)
Supply Chain
Findus lasagne found to be up to 100 percent horsemeat
The meat of some beef products recalled by Findus earlier this week, as a precaution, was 100 percent horsemeat, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said. UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said the findings were "completely unacceptable", but Findus said it did not believe it was a food safety issue. The FSA said companies would now be required to test every beef product line. It is suspected that criminal activity is to blame for horsemeat being found in some meals. (BBC, Guardian, Independent)
Employees
Unilever's labour practices in Vietnam found wanting by Oxfam report
A new report that reveals evidence of poor labour practices in Unilever's operations in Vietnam between 2011 and 2012 is the latest in a series of collaborations between Oxfam and the company. Unilever is widely seen as a global leader in CSR. However, the results of an in-depth review by Oxfam of one of Unilever's Vietnam factories show a number of failings such as insufficient wages, limited freedom of association and suppliers with employees working illegal overtime hours. (Guardian, Oxfam)
Policy & Research
City of London highlights gaps in employee volunteering
City of London and its volunteering brokerage service, City Action, have carried out research with Cass Business School into the gaps in employee volunteering in inner London. The report looks at which causes were well-supported by businesses, which were not and whether this distribution actually addressed the needs of the community. The study found that most employee volunteering schemes were aimed at benefitting young people, specifically working with schools and on employability. Issues such health and disability, as well as working with the elderly, were markedly under-represented when it came to focus areas for volunteering schemes. (City Action)
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