Businesses urged to help shape future of Europe’s CSR policies
Green businesses and NGOs should not necessarily expect the new European Commission to place corporate social responsibility (CSR) high on its agenda, Labour MEP Richard Howitt has warned. Howitt is calling for organisations to respond to the Commission’s latest consultation on CSR policies in a bid to ensure incoming Commissioners are made aware of the wide-ranging business support that exists for a more ambitious CSR strategy. “The European Union has a real opportunity to provide global leadership on CSR, but there should be no complacency that the new European Commission and European Parliament will give equal priority to the issue in the future”, Howitt said. Earlier this year, the Parliament backed plans for Europe’s largest listed companies to report on their environmental and social impacts alongside financial reports. Howitt now hopes the next Commission could further strengthen the bloc’s stance on CSR issues. “This public consultation must be used as both an early opportunity to shape future priorities and to restate that CSR is integral to the future of business itself”, he said. (Business Green)
Supply Chain
Samsung to continue using ‘child labour’ supplier
Tech giant Samsung Electronics has said it will reduce dealings with parts supplier Dongguan Shinyang Electronics by 30%, but not entirely, after evidence was discovered that the firm has used child labour. The China-based supplier came under fire recently, when campaign group China Labour Watch (CLW) found at least five child workers were employed by the company. Following the revelation, Samsung suspended business with the parts supplier while it awaited results from its own investigations. Samsung officials did find evidence of child labour at the supply company, but the investigation concluded Dongguan Shinyang did not directly employ underage workers, blaming instead a subcontractor. Samsung has vowed to “take measures against Dongguan Shinyang to hold the supplier responsible for failing to monitor its subcontractors, in accordance with Samsung’s zero tolerance policy on child labour”. Chinese law forbids workers being hired under the age of 16, but this is not the first time Samsung has been mixed up in incidents involving child labour. CLW also found accounts of worker exploitation in 2012, during their three investigations of supplier HEG Electronics. (Blue and Green Tomorrow)
International Development
IBM and Dow partner to improve sanitation in Ethiopia, engage employees
Dow and IBM have committed to participate in a joint global project with International Medical Corps that will promote and support a campaign to improve sanitation and hygiene behaviour in the Wolayita community in Ethiopia. Through this effort, Dow’s team will create a social marketing program to drive behavioural changes required to create sustained resilience. IBM will assess, recommend, and design methodologies that can measure how resilient a community is, particularly in the realm of public health. Employees participating in the project have collaborated online for several months in preparation for their trip to Ethiopia. The partnership has been hailed as a great example of how companies can achieve the dual objective of helping communities in need while also engaging employees. John Kolmer, Dow Human Resources manager, Global Leadership Development, said: “This program gives people that real life experience by pushing them out of their comfort zone, and encouraging them to interact with people from different cultures and areas of expertise.” (Sustainable Brands)
Responsible Investment
Al Gore: ‘Compelling’ economic case for ditching coal assets
Former US Vice President Al Gore says coal’s position as a cheap energy source is threatened by falling renewables costs and stricter regulations. Gore threw his weight behind the fast-growing global divestment campaign in an article for the Financial Times yesterday authored with David Blood, his co-founder at investment firm Generation Investment Management. The two write that coal is facing competition from increasingly low cost renewables; stricter regulation that is forcing some coal plants to close; and “rising discontent with the negative consequences associated with carbon pollution”, evidenced by the rise of the divestment movement and local protests against coal projects. “These three disruptive forces significantly increase the probability of a major market correction that will re-price coal assets unfavourably,” they warn. Divesting from coal assets makes sense, not only from an environmental and social point of view, but also economically. Al Gore said: “Although the moral case for divesting from coal is a powerful one, the economic case for doing so is equally compelling”. (Business Green)
Technology & Innovation
AkzoNobel creates the world’s first fully compostable and recyclable paper cup
Roughly 200 billion paper cups are used around the world every year, but none of those currently in use can be recycled without incurring prohibitive costs or greatly diminishing the quality of the paper fibre. Identifying the need for a more sustainable paper cup, chemicals company AkzoNobel has developed a new coating technology made from plant-based oils and recycled PET bottles. The new cups require no special handling and are fully compostable and recyclable. “This is an industry-changing innovation which could have a significant impact in terms of providing economic and environmental benefits along the value chain”, said Conrad Keijzer, AkzoNobel’s Executive Committee member responsible for Performance Coatings. An additional advantage is that it enables paper mills to recapture 100 percent of the paper waste from the production process, resulting in significant financial savings. “The cost of paper represents the highest single cost for cup makers, so recycling the industrial scrap means that there are both cost and environmental benefits”, added Gil Sherman, Market Development Manager at AkzoNobel’s Paper Coatings business. (AkzoNobel)
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