Coke, Walmart and others kick off $100 million recycling fund with three new projects
A consortium of 10 of the US’s largest corporations – including Walmart, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson – has announced three new projects designed to boost dismal recycling rates in the US. Just 34 percent of waste in the US is recycled, placing it well behind other developed countries such as Switzerland, which recycles more than 50 percent of its waste. The Closed Loop Fund (CLF), created last year by some of America’s most well-known consumer brands, is providing zero and low-interest loans to US cities and recycling companies to improve recycling infrastructure. The fund plans to put $100 million towards recycling initiatives by 2020 and this week announced the first three projects to receive funding. Two will bring single-stream recycling to cities in Ohio and Iowa, while the third will support an innovative plastics recycling facility in Baltimore. Major brands are losing out on $11.4 billion in recycling revenue each year, according to a recent study by advocacy groups the Natural Resources Defense Council and As You Sow. (Guardian)
Responsible Investment
Bank of England Governor says firms must be more open about carbon footprint
Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, said on Tuesday that companies must be more open about their “climate change footprint” to avoid abrupt changes in asset prices that could destabilise markets. The speed at which assets such as coal, oil and gas reserves are re-priced to reflect the impact of climate change is vital to reduce potentially “huge” financial risks to British insurers and other investors, he told a Lloyd’s of London insurance market event. The goal of limiting global temperature rises to two degrees above pre-industrial levels would render the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves “stranded” or unburnable without expensive carbon capture technology, he said. Carney also heads the G20’s Financial Stability Board, which last week agreed to consider recommending to G20 leaders in November that more should be done to develop consistent, comparable, reliable and clear disclosures by companies on the “carbon intensity” of their assets. (Reuters)
Employees
Survey: Reporting will help to close the gender pay gap
Almost nine in 10 UK workers think that mandatory gender pay reporting will help to close the gender pay gap, according to research by Business in the Community (BITC). The report found that 93 percent believe employers should have to publish their overall gender pay gap, and 90 percent think that the data should be broken down for each pay grade or job type. BITC has identified three key structural and organisational factors that contribute to the difference between men’s and women’s pay. The first is ‘horizontal gender segregation’ where women are more likely to be employed in sectors and occupations associated with low pay and status. The second is ‘vertical gender segregation’ where women are underrepresented in senior positions. The final factor is ‘gender discrimination’ where women are more likely to encounter discrimination in recruitment, training and promotion, as well as through pay and benefits systems. (HR Magazine)
Policy
Uber marshals customers against London taxi hire proposals
Uber has said a consultation on private hire regulation in London could spell an end to the way its taxi-hailing app operates. Transport for London (TfL) is to consult on plans to demand a new English language test, a map-reading assessment, a fixed landline and the chance to book seven days in advance. Sharing a ride with other people would be banned, as would displaying nearby drivers’ availability on apps, and a minimum 5 minute waiting time would be introduced between booking and the start of a journey. More than 80,000 people have so far signed a petition of support set up by Uber yesterday evening. Uber said: “If adopted these [rules] would mean an end to the Uber people know and love.” Black cab drivers have argued regulations need to be tightened, and recently protested outside City Hall. TfL says the consultation seeks to “raise standards across the industry” following an “exponential” growth in the private hire industry and technology. (BBC; City A.M.)
Energy
XPrize’s $20 million carbon recycling award aims to cut fossil fuel emissions
With the announcement of its new $20 million Carbon XPrize, the non-profit XPrize Foundation is launching a competition to find new uses for carbon dioxide. “How do we take that CO2 that’s coming from power plant emissions, and incentivise teams to create novel products?” said Paul Bunje, senior scientist at the XPrize Foundation. “The CO2 could be turned from a waste into a valuable product.” The award is sponsored by fossil fuel interests: NRG Energy, a coal-burning utility as well as a strong advocate for solar and wind power, and the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), a coalition of companies that extract oil from Alberta’s oil sands. Andrew Logan, director of the oil program at the Ceres environmental coalition, called the prize “a step forward”, but said, “It really is about the long term. It shouldn’t discourage action [to reduce emissions] in the here and now.” The XPrize Foundation is also developing prizes for renewable energy generation, advanced energy storage and wireless power transmission. (Guardian)
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