Facebook has bowed to anti-gun violence campaigners by introducing new rules to regulate the sales of firearms and other restricted goods on the social network. The social network, and its photo-sharing subsidiary Instagram, will now ensure that only adults can see posts about guns. They will also send messages to users attempting to buy guns, reminding them to comply with relevant laws or have their posts removed. Facebook had been accused of facilitating an unregulated online marketplace as users posted guns for sale on their pages and profiles, even though sales cannot be completed on Facebook and marketers are banned from advertising weapons. Several US campaign groups pointed the finger at the site, claiming teenagers were buying handguns from people they meet on Facebook fan pages. Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of global policy management, said that, “we work hard to find a balance between enabling people to express themselves about topics that are important to them, and creating an environment that is safe and respectful.” (FT*)
Rolls-Royce sets up whistleblower hotline for staff with bribery concerns
Rolls-Royce has launched a 24-hour “ethics line” for employees to report concerns about bribery, and promised to strip bonuses from bosses sacked for any involvement in corruption. The dedicated whistleblower phone line, operating in 48 countries, comes in response to a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into allegations that the UK firm paid multimillion bribes in Indonesia and China. Rolls’ chief executive, John Rishton, said the “confidential reporting line” was designed to “make sure that we can hear about and address any matters of concern.” Rolls, which was this week hit by an investigation into claims of £48 million in kickbacks paid to a middleman in India, said it had cut back dramatically on its use of intermediaries. Rishton said he has made it “explicit that we will not tolerate improper conduct of any sort.” (Guardian)
Responsible Investment
£100 billion red alert over UK green energy gap
The political will to tackle climate change is so low that investors are happy to plough huge amounts of money into fossil fuel projects but fearful to back green energy initiatives. That is the conclusion of a new UK parliamentary report, which finds that a £100 billion hole has opened up in Britain’s green energy finances, with investment in renewable power generation, such as wind turbines and solar panels, running at less than half the level required. The Environmental Audit Committee report blames the Government’s inconsistent approach to supporting green energy for the lack of financial backing. It warns that investment in low-carbon energy generation is running at “less than half” of the £200 billion needed between 2010 and 2020 if Britain is to reduce its carbon emissions sufficiently and meet legally binding environmental targets. Robert Gross, director of the Centre for Energy and Technology at Imperial College London, said that, “the financial community overvalues oil and gas companies and is yet to get serious enough about low carbon power.” (Independent)
Strategy
eBay aiming to become sustainability ‘facilitator’ for brands
Internet giant eBay is hoping to use its global status to help brands progress their involvement in the circular economy. The company’s increasing global reach has meant that many brands are now trading on the site and using its platform to leverage their market scale. This has led to eBay acting as a ‘facilitator’ helping to ensure that sustainability and resource efficiency objectives are met. Head of social innovation, Lorin May says that eBay’s role in these partnerships is to support the brands, mainly in the “downstream impacts of products”. She adds that eBay’s mass consumer-to-consumer and pre-owned goods trading market is the company’s “obvious sustainability story” but because the company has grown and become more diverse it is now partnering with retailers, merchants and big brands to help them with sustainability challenges. “Through this work we are trying to figure out where we can have a positive influence and positive impact on our partners.” (Edie)
Awareness growing around environmental benefits of cross-sector collaboration
There is a growing awareness of how cross-sector partnerships are providing environmental benefits to business, particularly in the automotive industry, says Toyota’s manager of environmental affairs and corporate citizenship, Steve Hope. Hope believes that industries are starting to break away from a linear way of thinking and companies leading in sustainability are looking wider than their “own doorstep”. He added that wider industry collaboration is beginning to progress areas of resource efficiency, particularly water and energy, saying that, “we’re learning from these big companies and they’re learning from us as well. This means we can start sharing information around these issues and look at how we can deal with them. For example, Unilever doesn’t have a lot to do with manufacturing and making cars but both industries use water in their processes so water footprints and water management can be a good area that we can collaborate on.” (Edie)
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