Report: Black women want top jobs, but aren’t getting them
Black women are more likely than white women to aspire to a powerful position with a prestigious title (22 percent vs 8 percent) according to a study released by the non-profit Center for Talent Innovation (CTI). Discussions about gender inequality in the workplace, inspired by books like Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In”, often assume that women aren’t sure about their ability to lead or don’t want to shoot for high-profile positions. But the CTI report suggests that such uncertainties are less common with black women than with white women — and that black women may face other barriers that keep them out of high-level jobs. The report finds that black women are nearly twice as likely as white women to perceive a powerful position as the means to achieving their professional goals, and to expect that an executive position will enable them to empower others and be empowered. Yet, despite their ambition and qualifications, 44 percent of black women, compared to 30 percent of white women, feel stalled in their careers. (Center for Talent Innovation; NY Times)
Supply Chain
Chipotle to stop serving genetically altered food
In a first for a major US restaurant chain, Chipotle Mexican Grill will from today serve only food that is free of genetically engineered ingredients. “Just because food is served fast doesn’t mean it has to be made with cheap raw ingredients,” said Steve Ells, founder and co-chief executive of Chipotle. In 2013, Chipotle was the first restaurant chain to indicate which items contained genetically modified organisms, and now a small but growing number of restaurants also label their menus. The increased demand for such products has made them more expensive and difficult to obtain in the amounts that big businesses need. Removing genetically altered components from the supply chain can be difficult as they are found in baking powder, corn-starch and a variety of ingredients used as preservatives, colouring agents and added vitamins. Chipotle’s entire menu uses 68 ingredients, compared to one of its competitors who use 81 just to make a burrito, making it easier for Chipotle to eliminate genetically engineered ingredients. (NY Times)
Corporate Reputation
Shell lobbied to undermine EU renewables targets, documents reveal
Shell successfully lobbied to undermine European renewable energy targets ahead of an agreement on emissions cuts reached in October last year, newly released documents reveal. It now appears that a key part of the agreement – which was championed by the UK government – was proposed by a Shell lobbyist as early as October 2011. Shell argued that a market-led strategy of gas expansion would save Europe €500 billion in its transition to a low carbon energy system, compared to an approach centred on renewables. At the 2014 meeting, heads of government agreed a 40 percent overall target for the bloc’s emissions cuts, but in the run up to the deal there had been disagreement between member states about how best to achieve that. The UK and others resisted binding targets for individual member states on energy efficiency and renewable energy and these did not make it into the final agreement. (The Guardian)
Circular Economy
Samsung investigating circular business models
Electronics manufacturer, Samsung, is considering the adoption of innovative business models such as ‘servitisation’ and leasing schemes in a bid to cut e-waste and create more resilient revenue streams. The head of sustainability at Samsung Europe, Bill Skeates, said the company was working with London estate agents to examine the feasibility of leasing electronic equipment in fully-furnished rental properties. In the UK, the chief executive of WRAP, an NGO supporting communities and businesses to achieve a circular economy, said that service-oriented business models and the circular economy ‘go hand-in-hand’. Somewhere between 25 and 125 million phones remain unused in UK homes. For every phone currently in use, four are left unrecycled in draws and cupboards. Samsung said it is attempting to cut down its own e-waste impact by looking at trade-in business models, in collaboration with WRAP. (Edie)
Environment
WWF: Pollution and overfishing erode $24 trillion ocean economy
The world’s oceans produce goods and services worth nearly as much as the economy of the UK, but its resources are being over-exploited, polluted and eroded, according to the latest natural capital report from WWF. The study stated the economic value of the ocean is valued at more than US $24 trillion and the range of goods and services that flow from coastal and marine environments can be valued conservatively at US $2.5 trillion a year. If the ocean were a national economy, it would be the seventh largest economy in the world, just behind the UK and ahead of Brazil in GDP rankings. The report states that ocean assets are being at best ignored and at worst destroyed by overfishing, pollution and acidification. It argues the oceans are particularly vulnerable, as more than two-thirds of its value relies on healthy conditions to maintain its annual economic output. (WWF; Green Biz)
Image Source: Golden Rice by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)/ CC BY 2.0
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