Dawn raids cast doubt on ‘sustainable’ Brazilian wood
More than 30 officials, local businessmen and sawmill owners were arrested in Pará state in the north of Brazil on Monday, as prosecutors targeted what they say is a criminal organisation that whitewashes environmental crimes and reveals the flimsiness of Brazil’s logging controls. Most of Brazil’s timber exports are certified as sustainably logged, but according to police and prosecutors in Pará state, at least 80% is illegally felled. Prosecutors say that the investigation began by accident after prosecutors and police started tapping the phone of an alleged drug smuggler. After two months, they claim they realised he had switched his focus from narcotics to timber laundering. The scope of the investigation widened rapidly as prosecutors uncovered a chain of financing, land acquisition and official corruption, allegedly stretching embarrassingly deep into the government’s deforestation control system. (The Guardian)
The vast majority of carbon credits generated by Russia and Ukraine have not represented cuts in emissions, according to a new study by the Stockholm Environment Institute. The authors say that offsets created under a UN scheme “significantly undermined” efforts to tackle climate change, and may have increased emissions by 600 million tonnes. Both countries were allowed to create and sell carbon credits from activities like curbing coal waste fires, or restricting gas emissions from petroleum production. In some projects, chemicals known to warm the climate were created and then destroyed to claim cash. Companies then bought the offsets rather than making their own more expensive, emissions cuts. The authors estimate these may have undermined EU emissions reduction targets by 400 million tonnes of CO2, worth over $2 billion at current market prices. (BBC)
Corporate Reputation
Denver pauses Chick-fil-A bid due to anti-gay stance
The Denver City Council is taking its time deciding whether restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, whose CEO is opposed to gay marriage, should be allowed to open a restaurant in the Denver airport. The City Council has voted to take two weeks “to look at the policies involved” before voting on the issue. The City Council, which made its ruling last week, said that Denver “has been at the forefront of honoring gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees and their families with non-discrimination clauses and partner benefits.” A spokeswoman for Chick-fil-A described the chain and its franchisees as “equal opportunity employers”. But the company faced protests in 2013, after its president and CEO Dan Cathy responded to a Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits, tweeting: “Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies,” (CNN)
Spotify’s chief executive apologises after user backlash over new privacy policy
The chief executive of music service Spotify, Daniel Elk, has apologised to users after anger over sweeping changes to its privacy policy that give the company much greater access to personal data on users’ phones. As well as collecting personal information, such as email addresses and birthdays, the policy entitles Spotify to sift through users’ contacts, collect their photos and in some cases, even check their location and determine how quickly they are moving. In an attempt to stem the rising anger, after account cancelations were tweeted, Daniel Ek apologised to users over “confusion” caused by the changes in a blogpost on the company’s website. Louise Bennett, chair of security at the Chartered Institute for IT, predicts growing consumer demand for transparent companies with an “ethical” policy on data. She called on companies to make terms and conditions much simpler, occupying a phone screen, rather than 45 pages of dense text. (The Guardian)
Responsible Investment
Investment consultants and pension funds accused of holding back green investment
Growth in green investment is being held back by the fixation on short-termism found in the typical relationship between pension funds and investment consultants, according to new research from published today by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. It concludes that investment consultants are not pushing their clients to consider climate change risks in their investment strategies. Ben Caldecott, director of the Stranded Assets Programme at the school, said many consultants do not even realise that fiduciary duty allows pension funds to act on climate change or sustainability issues, and that investment consultants evaluate them in the short-run. “Even when longer-term perspectives are clearly superior, they may be compelled to press for alternatives that perform ‘better’ in the short term. Pension funds should alter mandates to avoid this,” he said. (Business Green)
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