UK Government to publish corporate responsibility action plan
The UK Government is asking for views on how organisations can better unlock the benefits of ethical, social and environmental business practices. Responses to a consultation published yesterday will feed into a framework for action on corporate responsibility due to be published by the end of 2013, which will set out the UK's strategy for promoting corporate best practices. It covers a wide range of areas, including proposals for how government can encourage more small and medium-sized businesses to adopt international standards, such as the UN Global Compact, and manage their supply chains more responsibly. The consultation comes after the Government confirmed new rules that will force all listed companies to include information on greenhouse gas emissions and human rights in their annual reports. (Business Green)
Supply Chain
Bangladesh’s anger at US trade privilege suspension
Bangladesh has criticised Washington's decision to suspend trade privileges over concerns about dangerous working conditions and labour rights. This decision comes after a year-long review of labour practices and workplace safety in Bangladesh. The US order suspends Bangladesh's duty-free trade privileges under the terms of a trade programme called the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), designed to promote economic growth in developing countries. The foreign ministry in Dhaka described the move as harsh, saying the government had taken clear measures to improve safety at clothing factories. However the US said Bangladesh was not taking steps to afford internationally recognised rights to its workers. In April, the eight-story Rana Plaza clothing factory collapsed near Dhaka killing 1,127. (BBC)
Nike to tackle rising Asian labour costs
Nike is to tackle rising labour costs at its Asian factories by “engineering the labour out” of its shoe and clothing production as it seeks to defend its profits. Don Blair, Nike’s chief financial officer, said its objective was to reduce the number of people making its products as he highlighted the impact of a sharp increase in wages in Indonesia. Shoe and garment making remains more labour-intensive than most other manufacturing and are often made in emerging markets with relatively low wage costs. The US sports group and other multinational manufacturers are also battling a sustained rise in Chinese labour costs. In January this year activists criticised Nike’s suppliers in Indonesia for seeking exemptions to the minimum wage, which are allowed for companies that cannot afford to raise pay. (Financial Times*)
Social Investment
EU pledges €6bn to tackle youth unemployment
European leaders have pledged to launch a battery of new measures to combat the scourge of youth unemployment, following three years of austerity policies and spending cuts that have contributed to soaring jobless rates. It has agreed to devote €6bn to fighting unemployment, prioritising the resources on regions where youth unemployment is higher than 25 percent. However the fund is expected to have limited impact in countries like Spain or Greece where official figures show youth unemployment exceeding 50 percent. In addition, the European Investment Bank is to borrow on the markets to increase lending to small businesses in an attempt to bypass the credit crunch and encourage the hiring of school-leavers. (Guardian)
World Bank says food system is ‘vulnerable’
The global food system will remain “vulnerable” in the years to come as a growing population boosts demand for crops and climate change makes weather disruption more frequent, according to the World Bank. The world will need to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to feed a global population expected to grow to more than 9 billion from 7 billion now, the United Nations’ Rome-based Food & Agriculture Organization estimates. Marc Sadler, practice leader at the agriculture and environmental services unit of the World Bank said: “Although we are having some good crops, we continue to expand our consumption, so our ability to replenish stocks is challenged.” The three biggest annual gains in food prices in the past 20 years have occurred since 2007. (Bloomberg)
Energy
Green Deal scheme signs just four customers since launch
The UK Government's Green Deal initiative, designed to aggregate business and home owners to employ more green measures in their buildings, has had just four customer's sign up to the scheme since its launch five months ago, according to the latest figures. Since the launch 241 new Green Deal plans are on the verge of being signed, while 38,259 Green Deal assessments have been recorded. Software and legal issues have been reported as the reason behind the poor uptake in energy efficiency work via the scheme. Despite others having raised concerns over the scheme reaching the Government's predictions of 10,000 Green Deal plans in 2013. Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Greg Barker, said: "The Green Deal is an ambitious and uniquely long-term programme. It's only just getting started, but the early signs are encouraging.” (Edie, Guardian)
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