Big companies’ tax affairs in Europe are to be opened up to greater public scrutiny with the EU pushing out a law compelling them to reveal corporate profits and taxes on a country-by-country basis. Amid a political furore over allegations of tax avoidance by corporate-giants such as Apple, Starbucks and Google, the EU is extending transparency reforms for banks and resources groups to all large public and private companies. The overhaul will have far-reaching implications for big multinationals in Europe, as most do not currently break down figures by country. It would also pile public pressure on groups using low-tax bases such as Ireland or Luxembourg as a revenue hub for their European operations. (Financial Times*)
Corporate Reputation
Goldman staff to be paid for best behaviour
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has joined the industry’s drive to clean up behaviour and show a more considerate, less greedy side to the sector with a new business standards report published yesterday. The report stated that staff will now be required to run products past additional layers of management before selling them to clients in a new effort to improve service and will also see their bonuses based partly on good behaviour as well as financial performance. The bank will face additional public scrutiny as more information is published about its activities. The firm’s reputation has taken a series of blows in recent years over claims of insider trading, tax avoidance and unduly paid bonuses. (City A.M.)
Environment
Levi's uses plastic bottles in designer denim drive
Levi's has unveiled its latest innovation in sustainable design with the launch of jeans made from recycled plastic bottles and food trays. Each pair of jeans under the Company’s ‘WasteLess’ collection includes a minimum of 20 percent post-consumer recycled content, utilising in total more than 3.5 million post-consumer bottles. Levi's is sourcing the PET material, which includes brown beer bottles, green soda bottles, clear water bottles and black food trays, through various US municipal recycling collection schemes. The WasteLess collection is the latest chapter in the company's commitment to doing more with less. So far this year, the WaterLess collection has saved over 360 million litres of water. (Edie)
Supply Chain
Tesco pledges action on food waste
Supermarket chain Tesco has pledged to use its scale and clout to reduce the amount of food wasted by its customers and elsewhere in its international supply chain. Tesco's CR report sets out a series of targets on food waste, creating opportunities for young people, and healthy eating. It commits the retailer to using data from its Clubcard loyalty scheme to show customers how "healthy" the contents of their shopping baskets are. The retailer also pledged to extend a pilot using surplus food at its dedicated grocery home shopping stores to help needy families through the food redistribution charity FareShare. (Business Green)
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