British bank Barclays is to start selling information about 13 million customers' spending habits to other companies, and could possibly share the data with government departments and MPs. In letters being sent to customers, it is also outlining what details about them it holds and uses which, it said, "may include images of you or recordings of your voice", as well as comments made in interactions with the bank on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The bank told customers that any data it passes on to third-party companies would be aggregated to show trends, and that individuals would not be identifiable from it. Barclays is the latest in a line of companies to come under scrutiny over the way they use customer information, after it emerged that supermarket Tesco is using data about what loyalty card holders buy in its stores to serve targeted adverts. (Guardian)
Environment
Belgium, Germany, USA and others pledge $200m climate aid
More than $1bn has been pledged by rich nations to help poorer countries tackle climate change, after five countries promised nearly $200m in fresh funding for climate adaptation programmes. Belgium, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the US have made pledges totalling $198m to the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), which was established to help developing countries invest in adaptation and technology transfer programmes. As a result of the pledges, the Council of the Least Developed Countries Fund and SCCF approved $44.83m grants for four climate adaptation projects, including efforts to tackle urban flood risks in Cameroon, enhance disaster relief and prevention capacity in Haiti, build up climate resilience in Namibia, and tackle water scarcity in the Andean region caused by the rapid retreat of glaciers. (Business Green)
Greenpeace agrees to settle lawsuit with Korean ministry
Greenpeace East Asia and Greenpeace International have agreed to drop the lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice in South Korea, in exchange for “positive measures” and government assurances it would permit Greenpeace campaigners to enter the country in the future. Six Greenpeace staff members tried to enter the country on several separate occasions from November 2011 to October 2012 but each time were barred. Greenpeace then sued the Justice Ministry last year in December in what the organisation described as a “violation of legal principles and abuse of (the Korean government’s) discretionary authority.” (The Korean Herald)
Rankings & Awards
Mars named Best Private Company by Ethical Corporation
Mars, the chocolate production company, has been named Best Private Company in Ethical Corporation’s Responsible Business Awards 2013. The awards pay tribute to companies’ commitment to responsible business practices and recognise global leaders in corporate sustainability. Mars was given special recognition both for its Sustainable in a Generation programme and its industry leading work in the field of cocoa sustainability. Barry Parkin, chief sustainability officer at Mars said: “We feel strongly that we have a responsibility to help solve challenges shared by our business and society. As a private, family-owned business, we have the freedom to make long-term choices and investments to help create lasting mutual benefits for our entire value chain.” (Just Means)
Corporate Knights, publisher of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World, has launched CR Ranker, a mobile app that lets any company assess its sustainability performance and rank itself against the world’s biggest and best performing companies. CK Ranker, now available through Apple’s App Store, walks the user through a series of steps designed to match a company’s information with 12 key performance indicators that assess resource productivity (energy, water, waste and emissions), management diversity, sustainability commitment, governance and workplace safety. Together, these indicators offer a picture of the most environmentally and socially responsible companies on the planet, Corporate Knight says. (Environmental Leader)
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