More found dead after factory collapse in Bangladesh
Hundreds of garment workers employed in factories that supplied high-street shops in the west, including Primark, the discount clothing store, are feared dead after an eight-storey building collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on Wednesday. Officials said the death toll had topped 160 by Thursday morning and 2,000 people had been rescued from the ruins. Among the businesses in the building were Phantom Apparels Ltd, New Wave Style Ltd, New Wave Bottoms Ltd and New Wave Brothers Ltd. At least one factory in the collapsed building had also previously supplied the UK discount store Matalan. (Guardian)
Corporate Reputation
Starbucks push to expand tax breaks
Starbucks, the coffee shop chain, has launched a US offensive to protect and expand tax breaks on foreign profits – just months after its tax structure provoked a political backlash and public relations crisis in the UK. In a letter to lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee, which is weighing a sweeping overhaul of the US tax system, Starbucks said its effective global tax rate exceeded 32 percent. Starbucks is one of a dozen large US companies to have made individual submissions to the committee, offering a rare and detailed glimpse into its priorities for tax policy. Other big companies to make submissions included United Technologies, Honeywell, Hyundai and Walt Disney. (Financial Times*)
Reporting
Thomson Reuters launches corporate responsibility indices
Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of information for businesses and professionals, has announced the launch of a new family of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) indices. The Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Indices were developed jointly with S-Network Global Indexes, a New York based specialist index design firm, as an objective and transparent, rules-based benchmarking solution for measuring ESG performance. Thomson Reuters Corporate Responsibility Indices support the company’s vision to connect and enable the global financial community. They rate companies' performance and practices in the three key pillars of CSR investing: environmental, social and corporate governance practices. (Stockhouse)
Environment
Sustainable transport ‘crucial’ in tackling climate change, says UN
The role of sustainable transport is vital in creating safe and liveable cities in Asia and fighting climate change, the UN secretary-general said this week in Bali. “On a global scale it is essential that we better design and build transport infrastructure to make it safer and more environmentally friendly, and to minimise vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters”, Ban Ki-moon said at the Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum. During the meeting, which focused on sustainable development, a variety of topics were discussed, from public bicycle schemes to pedestrian areas – all of which are important in promoting sustainable development. (Blue and Green)
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