Starbucks asks US customers to have their caffeine fix without firearms
The global coffee chain Starbucks has asked its US customers to leave their firearms at home and not to bring them into its coffee shops. Starbucks said that the policy change is “a respectful request that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas” at the company’s 7,000 US outlets. Until now, Starbucks has deferred to local laws, allowing guns in stores in states where residents are permitted to openly display their firearms. However the Chief Executive of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, said that the policy had become necessary as the US debate on gun rights had become “increasingly uncivil and, in some cases, even threatening.” Mr Schultz said that the new policy was “a request and not an outright ban” because he did not want to ask employees to confront armed customers. (Financial Times*; The Independent)
Supply Chain
APRIL accused of “greenwashing” with Riau Conservation Project
The Indonesian environmental group, Forest Rescue Network Riau (Jikalahari), has accused the pulp and paper company Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (ARPIL) of using a $17 million peatland restoration project to “greenwash” continuing deforestation. The pulp company, a subsidiary of the Singapore-listed agribusiness RGE, launched the project in partnership with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) to restore more than 20,000 hectares of damaged peatland. Jikalahari’s coordinator, Muslim Rasyid, said that “this is no more than greenwashing as they are still cutting trees elsewhere.” These accusations follow APRIL’s withdrawal from the Forest Stewardship Council in June 2013. While APRIL said that it ended the relationship over concerns with the council’s certification programme, environmental groups, including Greenpeace, attributed the withdrawal to a complaint to the FSC about APRIL’s deforestation practices. (Eco Business)
Closing the loop on paint production
The Dutch global paints, coatings and chemicals manufacturer AkzoNobel has teamed up with UK product design consultancy Seymourpowell to improve the process of recycling used paint. It is estimated that the average UK household has 17 half empty or unused tins of paint in storage, rendering it challenging for manufacturers to collect used paint. Seymourpowell said that it has developed a way of speeding up the recycling process to make recycled paint more commercially viable. Chris Sherwin, Head of Sustainability at Seymourpowell, said that the development could make the recycling process more viable for businesses facing the rising costs of raw materials. (Edie)
Environment
Corporates demand EU 2030 green energy target
More than 60 European companies and trade bodies have called on the European Union (EU) to set a legally binding renewable energy target for 2030. The Danish company DONG Energy, 3M, Vestas Wind Systems, and the Scottish electricity utility company SSE are among the signatories of a letter sent to the European Parliament demanding that a goal be set as part of a “strong and ambitious regulatory framework for the years to come.” The signatories are concerned that the current momentum in renewable energy investment will be lost without a longer term target in line with the long investment cycles in the energy sector. Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the UK Renewable Energy Association said that the setting of a 2030 target would “enable governments to reassure investors, scale up the industry, boost energy security, and reduce emissions.” (Business Green)
UK wind power jobs increase 70% in three years
According to a report jointly commissioned by the RenewableUK trade group and the UK industry body Energy & Utility Skills, 34,300 people are employed full-time either directly or indirectly in the UK wind industry. The study, Working for a Green Britain and Northern Ireland, which was compiled by the economic analyst company Cambridge Econometrics, IFF Research and the Warwick Institute for Employment Research, states that employment could increase to 70,000 over the next decade. Maria McCaffery, the Chief Executive of RenewableUK, said that the increase in jobs will strengthen the business case for UK Government support of the wind industry. (Financial Times*)
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