Financial Times journalists may strike over gender pay gap
Journalists at the Financial Times (FT) are preparing to go on strike over the newspaper’s gender pay gap. The FT’s union has called a meeting after concluding that the lack of pay parity and transparency was not taken “seriously enough”. In an email to 600 FT employees, Steve Bird, father of the FT’s National Union of Journalists chapel wrote: “The gender pay gap in FT editorial is nearly 13% – the biggest shortfall in a decade – and the company’s ‘ambition’ to reach equality by 2022 is worse than the BBC’s present target of 2020″. The issue is likely to challenge other organisations as companies with more than 250 employees must publish gender pay and bonus gaps by April 2018. A recent internal audit of the newspaper showed female staff represented the majority of those paid between £30,000 and £50,000, while men dominate the £60,000-plus pay bands and over 70 male members earning over £80,000, against just over 20 women. (Sky News)
Policy
New Jersey is cutting food waste to address climate change
New Jersey has enacted a new law which requires the state to develop a plan over the next year to reduce food waste by half by 2030. The bill echoes an Environmental Protection Agency national goal set under the Obama administration in 2015 and was passed without a single dissenting vote. Up to 40% of the food produced in the U.S. ends up in landfills and releases methane – a greenhouse gas 34 times more powerful than CO2 – when decomposing. Mark Milstein, director of the Centre for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University, said state laws mandating food waste reductions create business opportunities for recyclers, composters and others. “If you’re going to prevent the waste in the first place, rethink how people buy food, how they utilize food. Those are all potential business opportunities”, he added. (Salon)
Responsible Investment
California regulators approve $200m Volkswagen zero-emission cars investment
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced it had approved the first of four plans for Volkswagen to invest $800 million in zero-emission infrastructure, outreach and electric vehicle access for citizens who live in disadvantaged communities. CARB has chosen Sacramento to launch the first phase of the investment – approximately $200 million – which will consist in various zero-emission initiatives. Volkswagen’s subsidiary Electrify America will oversee much of the investment. It expects 35% of these programs to launch in poorer communities – a necessary focus if electric cars and infrastructure are to become “mainstream” and be accessible outside wealthier enclaves within Southern California. Volkswagen and Electrify America said they are seeking proposals nationwide for zero-emission vehicle programs and electric car charging stations. (Triple Pundit)
Technology & Innovation
Experimental protein reactors produce basic food from carbon dioxide and electricity
Scientists at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have succeeded in turning CO2 into nutrients. The process requires small amounts of water, CO2 and nutrients which are transformed into bioreactor. The final product – which looks like a dried yeast when a lot is put together – is more than half protein, 25% carbohydrates, along with fats and nucleic acids. Researchers are working to make the process more efficient as it currently takes two weeks to create a gram of protein in one small bioreactor. The product is still some way off becoming commercially available, but the researchers are optimistic about its potential application to make animal food and combat human malnutrition. (Fast Company)
Waste
UK Environment Agency calls for collaborative crackdown on waste crime
The Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Environment Agency (EA) have agreed to a new public-private collaborative approach to target illegal waste sites and improve the technical competence of the waste sector. Companies in the industry will be asked to provide technical expertise to develop effective regulation that enables the EA to focus resources on poor-performing waste sites and “waste criminals” who are violating current disposal obligations. The calls for collaboration follows revelations that England is losing out on £604 million a year due to the damage caused by illegal waste operators on the legitimate waste industry. In Scotland, the EA warned the country’s industries and farmers that their waste and inefficiency is now the biggest threat to the environment, overtaking pollution. (edie)
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