Survey reveals UK businesses are facing a “sustainability crunch”
Businesses are finding it increasingly more difficult to implement and manage sustainability policies, according to research by the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM). The annual BIFM Sustainability Survey reveals a 20 percent decline in confidence among businesses in their ability to implement and manage their environmental, sustainability and CSR policies compared to 2014. This noticeable drop coincides with a reported increase in barriers to fulfilling sustainable practices. Physical constraints were highlighted by 80 percent of respondents, while financial constraints (71 percent) and a lack of organisational engagement (69 percent) were the next most commonly cited obstacles. The survey also found that over a third of respondents had no formal reporting system or data collection process when measuring effective sustainability outputs, resulting in an inability to make the business case for further investment. (Click Green)
Corporate Reputation
ActionAid: Malawi lost $43 million to Paladin due to “complex corporate structures”
A recent report by ActionAid alleges that Malawi has lost US$43 million over the last six years to Australian uranium miner Paladin Energy through “harmful tax incentives” and “tax planning”. The revenue could have been used to fund essential services and infrastructure projects, says the NGO. Instead, the company reduced its tax bill by negotiating a reduction in royalty rates and making intra-company payments via a Dutch subsidiary. Paladin has rejected the report as “fundamentally unsound”. In an email, Greg Walker, managing director of Paladin (Africa) Limited, said that Malawi’s royalty rate is a disincentive to investment. Without the negotiated reduction, Paladin’s initial $300 million investment “simply would not have proceeded,” he said. Furthermore, he noted that ActionAid has not accused the company of any illegal activity. (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre; Maravi Post)
Policy
EU-China pact set to call for ambitious Paris climate deal, say reports
China and the European Union are today expected to issue a joint call for the world to intensify efforts to tackle climate change, declaring it one of the greatest threats facing humanity. A number of news outlets reported over the weekend that the two economic superpowers are planning to sign a pact that will create closer ties in using low emission technologies and developing carbon markets. China is the world’s largest emitter and is also preparing to announce its national emissions reduction pledge, known as an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). The EU-China pact echoes a similar agreement signed last year between China and the US. It will be signed after leaked documents revealed how European Union ministers are preparing to call for the world to set an ambitious and legally binding climate change deal at a major summit in Paris at the end of this year. (Business Green; Guardian)
Responsible Investment
Sustainable stock exchange ranking reveals impacts of regulation
Helsinki Stock Exchange has topped Corporate Knights Capital’s annual ranking of stock exchanges, Measuring Sustainability Disclosure, for the second year in a row, followed by Euronext Amsterdam, Copenhagen Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which placed eighth, is the only stock exchange in the top 10 from an emerging economy. The report tracks the extent to which the world’s publicly traded companies are disclosing sustainability indicators, and how this is encouraged by stock exchanges. The study found that although the number of large companies disclosing basic sustainability indicators is increasing, there is a slowdown in the rate of uptake. All top 10 exchanges are located in countries with mandatory and prescriptive sustainability disclosure policies. The report’s recommendations centre on this point, urging regulators to work with investors and stock exchanges to encourage disclosure. (Corporate Knights)
Innovation & Technology
Unilever launches global crowdsourcing campaign for sustainable innovation
Unilever’s innovation platform, Unilever Foundry, has launched a new global crowdsourcing community to find new ways to tackle global sustainability problems. Announced at Lions Innovation in Cannes, Foundry IDEAS will enable collaboration between consumers and innovators to look for solutions to sustainability challenges. ‘Grand challenges’ will be regularly uploaded to the platform where community members can submit ideas and comment on other people’s, using collaboration and up-voting. Solutions will then be rewarded with opportunities to pilot ideas and implementations. Unilever senior vice president of sustainable business development Sue Garrard said: “We’re five years into our ten-year Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to make our operations and brands more sustainable… The next stage is to find people with new and innovative ideas so that together we can help transform the way we live our daily lives.” (Edie)
COMMENTS