UK businesses, Sainsbury's, John Lewis, Tesco, and Marks and Spencer will measure, report, and reduce the lifetime environmental impact of the clothes they sell under a new commitment signed by 22 organisations. The Sustainable Clothing Action Plan2020 Commitment has attracted high street retailers representing more than a third of UK clothing sales, as well as charities, government departments, and recyclers. The organisations will now be able to measure their overall carbon, water and waste footprints using a calculator developed by WRAP, the government’s waste advisers. WRAP said it expected organisations to focus on using lower-impact textile fibres, extending the active life of clothing and recovering material that is currently thrown out. (Business Green)
Tackling climate change creates economic growth
Cities protecting their existing businesses from the increasing risks associated with climate change are driving economic growth, according to a new report. Created from the responses of 110 global cities to the CDP cities programme, the Wealthier, Healthier Cities report suggests that tackling climate change is helping cities to attract and retain business investment. According to CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), research shows that positive economic outcomes often stem from investments in public transit, increasing green space, and building infrastructure for walking and cycling. The report analyses more than 800 individual actions taken by cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a city-wide level. (Edie)
Tax
Starbucks pays UK corporation tax for first time since 2009
Coffee giant Starbucks has paid £5m in UK corporation tax, its first such tax payment since 2009. A company spokeswoman said it had listened to its customers and would pay another £5m later this year. The move follows pressure from politicians and campaigners, and an agreement by world leaders last week to clamp down on corporate tax avoidance. Starbucks has only reported taxable profit once in 15 years in the UK; it reportedly paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in the UK over 14 years and nothing in the last four years, despite sales of £400m last year. A committee of MPs said last year it “found it difficult to believe” that Starbucks was “trading with apparent losses for nearly every year of its operation in the UK”. (BBC, Guardian)
Serious cases of tax evasion “have plunged in two years”
Fears over the current level of tax evasion and its effect on the economy are overblown, the UK law firm Pinsent Masons has claimed, as new analysis shows the number of serious cases being investigated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has plummeted over the last two years. Just 2,888 suspected serious cases of tax evasion were identified by HMRC in the last tax year, Pinsent Masons says – more than a third lower than 2010-11. The figures come days after G8 leaders agreed new measures to clamp down on tax evasion which, unlike tax avoidance, is illegal. The communiqué from last week's summit in Northern Ireland said authorities across the world should “automatically share information to fight the scourge of tax evasion”. (Independent)
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