Toyota, Tesla and Panasonic ranked among world’s top green companies
The first ever Carbon Clean 200 list, produced by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, has ranked Toyota and Siemens as the world’s greenest listed companies. The list ranks the largest publicly listed companies worldwide by their total clean energy revenues. The report claims that the cleanest companies are outperforming more polluting companies by as much as three to one, with those listed in the Clean 200 achieving an annualised return of nearly 22% over the past decade – largely due to the inclusion of Chinese clean energy companies, which have seen substantial growth in recent years. The list was published by non-profit group As You Sow and research firm Corporate Knights, who plan to update it quarterly to serve as a parallel listing to the ‘Carbon Underground 200’ ranking of fossil fuel companies being targeted for divestment. (Business Green)
Employees
Deliveroo offers alternative payment plan after employee protests
After protests carried out by London couriers of the delivery firm Deliveroo, the company has offered workers the chance to opt-out of the pilot scheme that would see workers paid per delivery, rather than by the hour. This means the proposed wage structure that pays workers £3.75 per delivery, rather than the current pay of £7 an hour plus £1 per delivery, will be voluntary. However, Deliveroo has guaranteed at least £7.50 an hour, with tips and petrol costs, to those who continue to participate in what the company insists is only a ninety-day trial. CEO William Shu also apologised for the dispute on the BBC’s Today programme. The concessions follow involvement by the UK government, which demanded the firm must pay its workers minimum wage unless an agreement was reached in court to treat them as self-employed. (Independent)
Nearly 200 UK employers “named and shamed” for failing to pay minimum wage
The UK Government has released the names of 198 employers who failed to pay their employees the National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour. The companies, who have all been investigated and have paid back the money owed, collectively owed more than £466,000 to their employees. Among the names, from across a wide range of sectors, are football clubs Brighton and Hove Albion and Blackpool FC. Business minister Margot James said “we’ll continue to crack down on those who ignore the law, including by naming and shaming them”. The government introduced the scheme in October 2013 to make public those companies who do not comply with minimum wage rules. (Independent)
Corporate Reputation
“Kissathon” protest at Sainsbury’s store for LGBT rights
Approximately two hundred people took part in a mass “kissathon” at an East London branch of the UK supermarket Sainsbury’s where a gay couple had been asked to leave for holding hands. The couple were reportedly ejected from the store following a customer complaint that deemed the hand-holding as “inappropriate”. In response, dozens of gay-rights activists entered the store to stage a protest. Sainsbury’s provided biscuits and water for the protests, with a spokesperson for the company saying “we do our best to make sure everyone feels welcome in our stores but occasionally we make mistakes. We are working hard to make sure lessons are learnt”. (The Guardian)
Supply Chain
Rising avocado prices fuelling illegal deforestation in Mexico
The popularity of the avocado in the US and rising prices for the “superfood” are fuelling deforestation in central Mexico. Mexican farmers can make much higher profits growing avocados than from most other crops and so are thinning out pine forests to plant young avocado trees. Such is the size of the market that it has become a lucrative business for Mexico’s drug gangs, with extortion money paid to criminal organisations in Michoacán – the state that produces most of Mexico’s avocados – estimated at 2 billion pesos ($109 million) a year. Greenpeace Mexico said environmental impacts included displacement of forests, effects on water retention and high use of agricultural chemicals, and that people were likely to suffer too. (The Guardian)
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