Mars commits to fully sustainable palm oil by year-end
American confectioners Mars has announced its commitment to transition to 100 percent certified sustainable palm oil in its products by the end of 2014. At present, Mars adheres to the guidelines of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which allows it to purchase sustainable palm oil through its “mass balance programme”. In a statement Mars said that, “We will continue to source 100 percent RSPO mass balance-certified palm oil, but we are now strengthening our commitment to ensure this palm oil is genuinely sustainable.” To do this, it plans to “go beyond the RSPO criteria” by introducing a new sourcing charter and setting its own benchmarks for suppliers which will require them to have fully sustainable and traceable palm oil supply across their operations by the end of 2015. Chief sustainability officer, Barry Parkin, said that, “we have recognized that even though we have already implemented a 100% certified supply of palm oil this is not enough.” (Ethical Performance, Triple Pundit)
Environment
Panasonic offers China workers pollution compensation
Japanese electronics company Panasonic has become the first international company to pay employees that it sends to China a premium to compensate them for the dangerous levels of pollution in the country. Employees sent to China by Panasonic typically receive a more generous remuneration package because it is classed as a “hardship posting”, but until now no explicit mention has been made of growing concerns over the air quality in the country. Smog has become a focus for public discontent, particularly in prosperous urban areas such as Beijing, which in February experienced a week-long stretch of “hazardous” air, the worst level on China’s air quality index. It has also been cited by expatriates as one of the main reasons for leaving the country. Panasonic is the first company to publicly acknowledge and act on the problem: “That’s the first time I’ve heard any company be quite so brazen about it,” said Robert Parkinson, head of Beijing-based recruiter RMG Selection. “The normal style would be to dress it up as a ‘developing country allowance’. (FT*)
Green cars to rival London’s Boris bikes
From next year, Londoners will be able to hire electric cars for short journeys in an extension to the ‘Boris bike’ cycle-hire scheme. French billionaire Vincent Bolloré has announced plans to take over the existing Source London network of 1,500 electric charging points from Transport for London (TfL) and Siemens, and launch up to 3,000 compact electric vehicles. Drivers will pay a monthly subscription fee of £5 plus £10 for each hour of motoring, which, Mr Bolloré says, is far cheaper than owning, insuring, maintaining and running a private car. Drivers will be able to reserve a car at a specific location using a mobile phone app or a call centre. Paris, where a similar system has been in place since 2011, has 45,000 active users, who between them take up to 13,000 journeys a day. Leon Daniels, head of surface transport for TfL, said that, “we think electric vehicles are very much the answer for London.” (Times*, City AM)
Consumers
Beauty bloggers call for an end to cosmetic animal testing
Leading beauty bloggers have come together to create a video aimed at raising awareness among consumers about animal testing for cosmetic products. The campaign, Be Cruelty-Free, which calls for people to choose ‘cruelty-free’ brands, is led by Humane Society International (HSI). It claims that even though cosmetic animal testing is often thought to be no longer practiced, in fact, many companies still do it. Animal testing on cosmetics was banned in Europe last year, but EU-based companies can still sell products outside of Europe with tested ingredients if the experiments were conducted elsewhere. Claire Mansfield, HSI’s Be Cruelty-Free campaigns director, said that, “social media plays a huge role in communicating ideas around the world, and in the blogosphere our video stars are some of the most influential voices on the subject of beauty without cruelty. We are thrilled to launch our new video and harness the power of the blog to help us end the suffering of animals in the global cosmetics industry.” (Blue and Green Tomorrow)
Organic food and drink sales reverse UK decline
The organic market in the UK was worth £1.8 billion last year, with the amount spent by British shoppers on organic produce, including food, drink, textiles and health and beauty products, rising by 2.8 percent. According to the Soil Association’s annual market report the growth is ahead of the overall grocery sales for 2013, which slowed to just 2.1 percent. Independent retailers have led the way in organic sales, reporting growth of seven percent to almost £10 million per week. Of the supermarkets, Sainsbury’s – the UK’s biggest organic retailer with 29 percent market share – enjoyed a seven percent increase in sales of its own-label organic products. The Soil Association, which is the main certification body for the organic industry, said that four out of five households now buy organic produce, with younger shoppers under 34 willing to spend the most on organic products. However, a rise in demand for organic food has been accompanied by a decline in the amount of land in organic production, leading to a possible increased reliance on imports. (Green Wise, Times*)
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