Indonesia defends deforestation for palm oil on economic grounds
Indonesia’s assistant deputy minister for forestry, Prabianto Mukti Wibowo, has told a land and poverty conference that clearing forests for palm oil plantations is a “technical” matter that should not get tied up with trade discussions. Growing global demand for palm oil is fuelling rapid deforestation in Indonesia, making the country a major contributor to global warming. The minister told a World Bank conference that deforestation was a “rich-country” concern: “We know that our primary customers are not concerned about deforestation”. Europe buys only 8 percent of Indonesia’s palm oil, compared to Asian nations’ 55 percent, yet Europe puts much of the pressure on Indonesia not to cut down and burn forests, he said. The “technical” issue should therefore be reserved for discussion in such forums as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil among industry, investors and civil society groups, rather than in trade negotiations, he argued. (Reuters)
Human Rights
New Freedom Seal to identify firms fighting human trafficking
Businesses can now apply for the use of a visual mark, The Freedom Seal, to denote their efforts to combat modern slavery. The seal is designed for businesses to communicate to consumers they have due diligence mechanisms in place, and are actively taking steps to prevent forced labour and human trafficking. The seal has been created by Washington-based NGO the Tronie Foundation. Companies applying for use of the seal must meet three criteria: actively raising awareness of modern-day slavery, building local capacity to support human-trafficking survivors, and establish systems to prevent slavery in their products and services. The Seal has been developed in conjunction with global supply chain experts and around 30 major companies across Europe and North America. The initiative was launched at the Sedex Global Responsible Sourcing Conference in London on Wednesday. (Supply Management)
Lobbying
Google joins Microsoft, Apple, others in surveillance reform plea
Google, an internet services company, has joined the US Reform Government Surveillance coalition, civil rights groups and trade associations to tackle the government on the issue of surveillance reform. Google joins technology giants, Microsoft and Apple, in the fight to promote transparency, accountability and the end of bulk metadata collection through US surveillance reform legislation. In a letter addressed to government figures including US President Obama, the companies say it has been nearly two years since the first news stories revealed the scope of the National Security Agency (NSA)’s spying, and “now is the time to take on meaningful legislative reforms”. The Reform Government Surveillance coalition now counts Apple, AOL, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo! and Google amongst its members. (ZDNet)
Environment
Hilton Worldwide celebrates its commitment to living sustainably with Earth Hour projects around the world
Hilton Worldwide, a leading hotel chain, and its portfolio of 12 brands will participate for the fifth consecutive year in the celebration of Earth Hour 2015 through a number of projects. Earth Hour will take place from 8:30pm to 9:30pm local time on Saturday, March 28, 2015, with hundreds of Hilton Worldwide’s 4,300+ global properties connecting with guests to demonstrate their commitment to living sustainably. Their activities for Earth Hour include switching off exterior lighting and rooftop neon signage, dimming of interior lobby lighting, hosting candlelit dinners with low carbon menus and sustainable cocktails, showcasing acoustic music sessions in the dark and organizing candle making activities. Participation in Earth Hour is part of Hilton Worldwide’s commitment to Living Sustainably, one of the four pillars of the company’s responsibility and sustainability strategy, Travel with Purpose. (CSRWire)
Energy
Japan diverts climate change funds to finance coal plants in India and Bangladesh
Japan continues to finance the building of coal-fired power plants with money earmarked for fighting climate change, according to the Associated Press. The AP reported in December that Japan had counted $1 billion in loans for coal plants in Indonesia as climate finance, angering critics who say such financing should be going to clean energy like solar and wind power. Japanese officials now say they are also counting $630 million in loans for coal plants in Kudgi, India, and Matarbari, Bangladesh, as climate finance. The Kudgi project has experienced violent clashes between police and local farmers who fear the plant will pollute the environment. Tokyo argues that the projects are climate-friendly because the plants use technology that burns coal more efficiently, reducing their carbon emissions compared to older coal plants. Japanese officials also stress that developing countries need coal power to grow their economies and expand access to electricity. (Eco-Business)
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