The Pentagon has released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to US national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages. It also predicted rising demand for military disaster responses as extreme weather creates more global humanitarian crises. Chuck Hagel, the US Defense Secretary highlighted the report’s findings and the global security threats of climate change. “Destruction and devastation from hurricanes can sow the seeds for instability. Droughts and crop failures can leave millions of people without any lifeline, and trigger waves of mass migration”, he said. The report lays out a road map to show how the military will adapt to rising sea levels, more violent storms and widespread droughts. The study is the latest in a series to highlight the national security risks of climate change. However, the Pentagon’s characterisation of it as a present-day threat demanding immediate action represents a significant shift for the military, which has in the past focused on climate change as a future risk. (New York Times)
Supply Chain
Big business to be held to account to keep supply chains slavery free
Big businesses will have to publicly state each year what action they have taken to ensure their supply chains are slavery free, Home Office Minister Karen Bradley announced yesterday. The measure is to be included in the Modern Slavery Bill, currently going through Parliament, and goes further than any similar legislation in the world by applying to a business regardless of its nature or what it supplies. The need for action is underlined in a new report, published by The Salvation Army, which shows the number of victims referred to them for support has risen by 62 percent. Meanwhile, cases of labour exploitation have overtaken sexual exploitation demonstrating the clear need for this pioneering legislation. Bradley, Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime, said: “The fact that there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in human history is shameful. We all have a responsibility to stamp out this evil trade and this world leading measure calls on business to play their part”. (gov.uk)
Corporate Reputation
Ebay, Kindle and Skype among the ‘greenest’ apps going
Ebay has been named the best app for encouraging sustainable behaviour with Kindle, Skype, and Google Maps also making it into the top ten. The study, carried out by consultancy firm WSP, considered number of downloads, stickability (whether an app is used often or deleted) and positive environmental impact. Ebay scored highly in all three categories due to its popularity and promotion of circular thinking through re-using items and reducing waste. Andy Porter, head of digital at WSP, said: “What we learnt from this study is that the most sustainable apps are not necessarily the greenest ones, but rather, the most popular programmes are part of our day to day living and enhance citizen’s lifestyle choices”. Airbnb was the highest ranked sharing economy app at number eight, just days after new Energy Minister Matthew Hancock pledged to make Britain the global centre of the sharing economy. “Three in four people in the UK use smartphones, so there’s huge potential for the technology to be a catalyst for action and promote the circular sharing economy”, added Porter. (Edie)
Cocoa’s boom-bust price cycles could hit African farmers hard, but industry is responding
Analysis by PwC and natural resource tracking company GeoTraceability indicates that ‘boom-bust’ cycles of cocoa prices remain a major threat to small farmers in West Africa. With the price of cocoa in September up by around 30 percent, the analysis warns that uncertainty around the bean crop could make the market more prone to instability. John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, warns that boom-bust cycles – resulting from increased demand and prices – “can do great damage to the small farmers that account for around 90 percent of global cocoa bean production”. However, the confectionery industry is responding with new investment to make cocoa production more efficient and sustainable in the long run. Mapping and data collection from these farms is helping them to improve yields, by understanding what can be done to improve their outputs. Matthieu Guemas of GeoTraceability, which provides technology to map and trace natural resources, said: “Thanks to colossal investments in sustainability and support programmes aiming to boost production, the cocoa industry is increasing its efforts to avoid a future shortage of beans”. (PwC)
Strategy
REA and STA to go separate ways
Two of the UK’s most powerful ‘green’ trade associations, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) and the Solar Trade Association (STA), will end their formal affiliation in 2015, in order to “focus on their core strengths”. The two bodies first forged a partnership in 2011 when the STA merged with the REA’s Solar Power Group and re-launched with representation of both the solar heating and solar power industries. A statement from STA chairman, Jan Sisson, praised the rise in solar power – which provides nearly 10 percent of all renewable power in the UK – but added: “As this market has expanded, so too must the STA to meet the new challenges ahead”. The REA said solar will remain an important part of its remit, with chairman Martin Wright adding: “Our members want us to strengthen our offer for these important technologies”. (Edie)
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