Circular economy products would add £1.4bn to UK economy
Ensuring products can be easily reused, dismantled, and recycled could deliver a £1.4bn boost to the UK economy, according to a major new industry report published today. Designing all products with end-of-life recovery of materials and components in mind would also result in an extra 140m tonnes of waste being recycled, according to new projections from the Environmental Services Association. The report advocates phasing out the current linear system of extraction-usage-disposal that dominates product design, in favour of a so-called circular economy, whereby materials are reclaimed and reused or recycled as secondary raw materials, or converted into soil nutrients as compost and fertiliser, while any residual waste is used to produce energy. (Business Green)
International Development
Six African countries to benefit from $23m agriculture fund
Six African countries including Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana, are set to benefit from a $23m Agriculture Fast Track Fund. The fund is a joint initiative of the US Agency for International Development which will contribute $15m, and the Swedish Government, which has pledged approximately $10m. The fund will finance development of ideas that will enable farmers to earn more from their farm produce, access the market easily, connect to buyers faster and add value to their produce. The new fund will be managed by the African Development Bank. The aim is that the fund will help increase funding for the agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa at a time when many governments are working to commercialise small-scale farming. (The East African)
Supply Chain
Unilever invests millions in Myanmar
Unilever, the consumer goods giant, has started to manufacture food seasoning in Myanmar as it prepares to spend €500m in the country over the next decade. Unilever will start making food seasonings under its Knorr brand at a plant in Yangon in a few weeks. Unilever joins Coca-Cola Co. and Ford Motor Co. in starting operations in the Southeast Asian nation, which reopened its borders last year to foreign investment. Companies are looking to tap the potential of rising consumer spending in a country where the economy is estimated by the International Monetary Fund to expand at a faster pace this fiscal year from the previous 12 months. (Bloomberg)
Corporate Reputation
Thames Water pays no corporation tax on £1.8bn turnover
The UK's largest water company, Thames Water, has been accused of "ripping off the taxpayer" after revealing it paid no corporation tax and received a £5m credit from the UK Treasury in a year when it made £550m in profits. The Company, which serves more than a quarter of the population, said in its annual financial statement on Monday that it had not paid any corporation tax in the year to the end of March 2013. During this period, turnover rose 6 percent to £1.8bn and bills went up 6.7 percent. (Guardian, Independent)
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