Queensland to build one of the world’s longest electric vehicle highways
Queensland state government has announced it would build a 2,000km network of electric vehicle charging stations within six months. The network will include 18 stations, which can recharge a vehicle in 30 minutes. It will offer free power for at least a year in what the environment minister, Steven Miles, said was a bid to boost the number of electric cars on Queensland roads, currently about 700. The stations will be powered with “green energy” bought through renewable energy credits or offsets. Car executives from Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes Benz and Mitsubishi lined up to praise the move and called on other states to follow. Queensland is Australia’s biggest carbon polluter, with the transport sector making up the state’s second largest source of carbon emissions. (Guardian)
Policy & Research
Fossil fuel subsidies racking up trillions in health costs
G20 governments spent $444 billion on oil, gas and coal subsidies in 2014 alone. A new study by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) estimates that the use of those fossil fuels leads to $2.76 trillion in health costs in the G20 thanks to air pollution. The report calls on governments to stop the subsidies and provided examples of how the money could be used to benefit public health. In the UK – where health costs outweighs energy subsidies by 500% – it suggests that London could pay the salaries of 48,000 nurses and 74,000 junior doctors every year, and install 300,000 solar installations for the same money. The International Energy Agency claims that partially phasing out fossil fuels by 2020 would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 360 million tonnes, which equates to between 12 and 20% of the reduction needed to fulfil the Paris Agreement target. (edie)
Diversity
Vodafone on its journey to place diversity at the heart of the brand
Vodafone has been on an almost 10-year journey to make the company more inclusive and diverse. After having rolled out a global maternity policy, including a minimum of 16 weeks fully-paid maternity leave, the company has announced what it claims to be the world’s largest programme to recruit women who have taken a career break, with plans to hire 1,000 people worldwide over three years — half in frontline roles and the other half in managerial positions. The aim is to tap into a pool of skilled workers who are trying to return to work after up to a decade out of the workplace. It is also looking to further global inclusion agenda by supporting the LGBT+ community, working with local LGBT+ groups to adapt to local laws but also deliver relevant programmes to employees. (Marketing Week)
Supply Chain
Apple forestry protection drive delivers sustainable paper packaging for all its products
Apple has announced its global forestry protection efforts have conserved more than 320,000 acres of working forest, as it seeks to boost the sustainability of its product packaging. Through its forestry programme, the tech giant has partnered with the Conservation Fund to permanently preserve 36,000 acres of working forests in North Carolina and Maine in the US, while also partnering with WWF in a bid to improve the management of up to one million acres of forest in China by 2020. The news follows Apple’s announcement in April of its new long-term goal to use 100% recycled materials to make its iPhones, Macbooks, and other electronics products to reduce its resource use. (Business Green)
Brexit
Businesses ‘urgently need to know’ Brexit migration rules
Businesses urgently need to know what the UK’s immigration regime will look like after it leaves the European Union, UK’s premier business organisation, CBI, said. Following the announcement of a review into the effects of Brexit on the labour market, the CBI said workers from across Europe strengthened British businesses and helped the public sector run smoothly. The review will be run by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent advisory body, on behalf of the Home Office and will look at the costs and benefits of EU migration and advise on the UK’s new immigration system. The final report is expected in September 2018, six months before the UK leaves the EU. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) responded to the announcement with calls for a transitional approach to avoid small firms being “locked out of accessing the labour and skills they need”. (CIPS News)
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