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December 12, 2013

Responsible Investment

Comic Relief confirms it will review ethical investment strategy  

The UK charity Comic Relief has confirmed that it will review its investment policy after a report by BBC Panorama accused it of investing millions in tobacco, alcohol and arms firms. The investigation alleges that the charity, which received donations worth over £100 million in 2013, has invested £630,000 in arms manufacturer BAE Systems, despite Comic Relief’s mission statement pledging to help those “affected by conflict.” A spokesperson for the Charity Finance Group said that, “ethical investment is a tricky area for many charities as they’ll need to strike a balance between risk and return.” Comic Relief chief executive, Kevin Cahill said that no more than 5 percent of its funds were going into controversial areas. (Blue&Green Tomorrow)

 

Supply Chain

Tesco to put ‘ugly’ fruit and veg on offer to cut food waste

Supermarket chain Tesco is planning to sell misshapen or ugly fruit and vegetables at a discounted price in order to educate customers that they are still edible. According to Matt Simister, group food sourcing director at Tesco, customers generally pick items that look aesthetically faultless, leaving the comparatively ‘ugly’ pieces to go to waste. Tesco pledged to reduce food waste in May but has since revealed that 28,500 tonnes of food were wasted in the first six months of this year. The news follows a report by UK food research agency, Global Food Security, which revealed that up to 40% of edible food never even arrives in shops because of its apparent ‘ugliness’.  Food sourcing director at Tesco, Matt Simister said that, “we can put more misshapen products through our value range at better prices; we’ve been doing that for years but there are opportunities to do more.” (Blue&Green Tomorrow, Edie)

 

Policy

New regulations make China impact assessments more transparent

Efforts to inject more transparency and accountability into China’s environmentally sensitive construction projects will be strengthened in January, when environmental impact assessment reports will have to be almost entirely disclosed to the public under new regulations; previously only extracts have been disclosed. This will include pledges that construction projects will not harm the environment or people’s livelihoods and should allow environmental officials to be more open, honest and effective. Ma Jun, director of NGO, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs said that, “this is a great advance, but this is just the first step to achieve public participation, the government should take measures to ensure that all stakeholders in projects are informed when information is disclosed.” (CleanBiz.Asia)

China encourages power grid purchase of solar to boost capacity

China, the world’s biggest solar panel producer, has asked power grid companies to buy all the solar energy produced in their coverage areas or face compensation payments, in order help achieve capacity targets. According to the National Energy Administration, China is likely to miss its target to connect five gigawatts of solar capacity to the grid this year. The latest policy has been introduced to boost the nation’s total on-grid solar capacity to 12 gigawatts next year, as well as benefit solar panel makers. An energy analyst from research agency North Square Blue Oak said that, “the policy listed some detailed rules to encourage grid companies to buy more solar electricity, which will help increase next year’s new capacity.” (Bloomberg)

 

Consumers

‘Green’ credit cards come of age

The US non-profit Green America is encouraging US consumers to switch to ‘green’ credit cards. They argue that large banks offering credit cards are increasingly being questioned over high fees and interest rates, as well as huge staff salaries and questionable environmental practices. There are a growing number of ‘green’ credit cards available in the US, many of which support sustainable investment and give a proportion of profits to socially responsible local businesses, clean energy and environmental programmes. One card, the Loop Visa offers rewards to the cardholder’s favourite charity or cause, including one percent of every purchase to help fund projects in education, social services, environment, the arts or economic development. (CSR Wire)

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