UK to introduce new corporate money-laundering offence
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a new corporate offence for executives who fail to prevent fraud or money laundering inside their companies. The government will consult on extending a corporate failure-to-prevent clause to fraud and money laundering, meaning that should an employee be charged with money laundering, the company could be deemed liable. Cameron also revealed plans to require all foreign companies buying property in the UK to disclose their true owners in a public register. Cameron described corruption as “one of the greatest enemies of progress” and said the new measures will “send a clear message to the corrupt that there is no home for them here”. The announcement came just before today’s anti-corruption summit hosted in London, attended by world leaders. (Guardian)
Consumers
Report: Middle-aged shoppers are the most ethical
Ethical shoppers are more likely to be middle-aged, a new study has found. In a survey questioning 688 shoppers at three UK supermarkets, researchers found that young and old shoppers were less likely to purchase fair-trade and organic goods at supermarkets. According to the study, published in the Journal of Marketing Management, younger shoppers talked a lot about buying ethical goods, but failed to practice what they preached. “The findings may reflect that both younger and older consumers have less disposable income, especially as fairtrade and organic goods are often more expensive,” said Professor Morrell, co-author of the study. “Certainly, it might explain why younger shoppers recommend ethical foods, but don’t then buy them… Older shoppers might just be more engrained in their shopping habits.” (Warwick Business School)
Oil major Shell has for the first time sketched out what it thinks it would take for the world to avoid 2°C of global warming, following shareholder pressure. The new report sets out Shell’s vision for how to meet the ambition of the Paris climate deal. Having previously argued that net-zero could not be reached before 2100, Shell concedes that it might be possible under a “Goldilocks” pathway with a “combination of all the most optimistic outcomes”. Shell still contends that some sources of greenhouse gas emissions will be impossible to eliminate, requiring carbon capture and storage (CCS) and negative emissions technologies. Ultimately, it states it has “no immediate plans to move to a net-zero emissions portfolio over our investment horizon of 10–20 years”. (Carbon Brief)
Google bans ads for payday loans
Google will no longer show ads for payday loans, after deciding that it does not want to promote predatory lending practices that are harmful to consumers. “Research has shown that these loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users so we will be updating our policies globally to reflect that,” said David Graff, Google’s product policy director. Google is defining payday loans as loans due within 60 days of being issued; in the US, it is also banning ads for loans with an annual interest rate of 36 percent or higher. “We’ll continue to review the effectiveness of this policy, but our hope is that fewer people will be exposed to misleading or harmful products,” Graff writes. Facebook has already banned payday loans from being advertised, while Yahoo and Microsoft‘s Bing both still allow them. (The Verge)
Responsible Investment
Investment Leaders Group launch climate change model helping to ‘future proof’ companies
The Investment Leaders Group (ILG) has launched a report detailing the results of economic modelling on the impact of climate and energy regulation on company profitability. ILG is a network of ten pension funds, insurers and asset owners, including Allianz, Old Mutual, Standard Life and Zurich, organised by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. The report focuses on some of the most high-risk industries and areas including oil, gas and utilities in the UK, Spain, Germany, California (USA) and Alberta (Canada). Written as a response to the COP21 climate agreement, the report found that if the companies in high-risk industries do not change, they will be facing a substantial financial risk in the future. The ILG detail a unique model which can be adapted to any individual company, helping them provide a risk assessment arising from a chosen regulatory scenario before and after any corporate action. (Blue & Green Tomorrow)
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