France to force big supermarkets to give away unsold food to charity
France’s parliament voted unanimously Thursday to ban food waste in big supermarkets, notably by outlawing the destruction of unsold food products. “It’s scandalous to see bleach being poured into supermarket dustbins along with edible foods,” said Socialist member of parliament Guillaume Garot who sponsored the bill. Under the new legislation, supermarkets will have to take measures to prevent food waste and will be forced to donate any unsold but still edible food goods to charity or for use as animal feed or farming compost. All large-sized supermarkets will have to sign contracts with a charity group to facilitate food donations. French people throw away between 20kg to 30kg (44 to 66 pounds) of food per person per year, costing an estimated €12bn to €20bn ($13-22bn) annually. The government is hoping to slice food waste in half by 2025. (Guardian)
US and UK rank behind Russia, Latvia and Lithuania on environmental democracy index
The US and UK have been ranked fourth and sixth respectively in a new index from the World Resources Institute (WRI), which tracks 70 countries on a measure of ‘environmental democracy.’ Lithuania, Latvia and Russia took the top three places. The index evaluates whether governments promote transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement in environmental decision making. It is assessed and scored by more than 140 international lawyers and experts. The report credits Lithuania, Latvia and the UK for having ratified the Aarhus Convention, which establishes rights of the public with regard to the environment, and praises Russia for its transparency. Avi Garbow, general counsel for the US Environmental Protection Agency explained: “Environmental democracy isn’t just about making environmental information available to the public… governments must also allow citizens to be a meaningful part of the environmental decision-making process.” (Edie)
Corporate Reputation
Protests grow against Facebook’s Internet.org
A total of 67 digital rights groups have signed a letter to Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, stating that the company’s “free mobile data” Internet.org scheme threatens freedom of expression, privacy and the principle of net neutrality. Internet.org allows subscribers to partner with mobile networks to use a limited number of online services without having to pay to make use of the data involved, including Wikipedia, Children’s Fund, BBC News and Accuweather. Network operators participate because they believe users will pay for wider internet access once they tried out the free content. The open letter from the 67 digital rights groups states that “Facebook is improperly defining net neutrality in public statements and building a walled garden in which the world’s poorest people will only be able to access a limited set of insecure websites and services”. Facebook continues to defend its offer. Earlier this month, Mr Zuckerberg sought to address concerns by inviting more organisations to apply to join Internet.org’s platform. (BBC)
Microsoft faces claims it threatened UK MPs with local job cuts
Microsoft executives telephoned UK Conservative MPs, threatening to shut down a facility in their local area because of planned IT reforms, the Prime Minister’s former strategy chief has claimed. Steve Hilton made the allegation as he argued that the dominance of corporate lobbying in the UK was leading to bad policy-making. Speaking in Westminster, he said he felt very strongly that lobbying often led to “terrible outcomes, such as a devastating impact on our health and environment” caused by the vested interests of big food companies. Another former Downing Street aide, Rohan Silva, appears to have given a similar account of lobbying by Microsoft in relation to open source software. Microsoft for years opposed the Conservatives’ position on open document standards, adopted by the government in 2014. Asked about the claims, a Microsoft spokesperson said the company had “nothing to share”. (Guardian)
Environment
California declares emergency over oil spill
A state of emergency has been declared in southern California in the US after two oil slicks, stretching nine miles, formed off the coast. The spill near Santa Barbara was caused by a ruptured onshore pipeline. Officials said the pipeline was running at full-capacity when it broke on Tuesday and about 105,000 gallons (400,000 litres) may have spilled. While it has now been switched off, it is unclear how long the clean-up will take. Earlier estimates said a single slick had formed, stretching only four miles. Emergency workers have been fanning out across Refugio State Beach to remove oil that is stuck to sand and rocks. It is estimated about 21,000 gallons of oil have reached the ocean. California Governor Jerry Brown declared the state of emergency on Wednesday to help the state “quickly mobilise all available resources”. “We will do everything necessary to protect California’s coastline,” he added. (BBC)
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