Uber denied London licence for “lack of corporate responsibility”
Transport for London (TfL) has denied Uber‘s request to renew its licence in London after determining that the car-hailing app is “not fit and proper” to hold the licence. The decision means that, as things stand, Uber will not be licensed to operate in London from September 30, when its current licence expires. TfL said that “Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications”. Uber claims it has 3.5 million users in London and 40,000 drivers and has faced huge criticism over its treatment of drivers. TfL’s criticisms included Uber’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences, as well as its use of ‘Greyball’, an alternate version of the app used to mislead regulators. (Telegraph)
Tesco agrees pioneering deal with suppliers to halve food waste
Partnership agreements with 24 suppliers, representing more than £17 billion worth of Tesco sales, will see the producers publish food waste data for their own operations with 12 months. The pledge comes after Tesco launched an innovative online food waste ‘hotline’ to work directly with suppliers to identify and prevent potential supply chain food waste. Speaking at a meeting of the Champions 12.3 group in New York, Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said that “many more companies, countries or cities” needed to commit to halving food waste by 2030. A new SDG food waste report says companies need to measure and report food loss and waste to ensure their strategies are working. The news also comes a day after 400 consumer goods firms including Tesco and Walmartcommitted to simplify food date labels globally by 2020. (edie)
Supply Chain
Uncle Ben’s orders up 100% sustainable rice
Fresh from unveiling a new $1bn sustainability strategy, food giant Mars has confirmed that all the basmati rice sold under its Uncle Ben’s and Seeds of Change brands will soon be sustainably certified. The rice will be exclusively sourced from farmers who are working towards the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standard. Mars played a pivotal role in developing the SRP standard, which was launched in 2015. The programme aims to encourage farmers to embrace agricultural and environmental best practices, with one trial in Pakistan delivering an 8% increase in yield, a 30% reduction in water use and a 32% increase in net income for participating farmers. The company said that in addition to deploying the 46 performance indicators developed by the SRP, it would also invest in programs to address human rights and women’s empowerment in its rice supply chains. (Business Green)
Singapore firms’ palm oil use: thousands of emails show people care
A WWF campaign to pressure firms into using sustainable palm oil – launched a day after WWF revealed that 70% of Singapore and Malaysian brands don’t disclose any information on their sourcing practices – has seen 13 companies, including Ayam Brand, Wildlife Reserves Singapore Group and Sheng Siong, receive more than 21,000 emails from consumers. Of the 10 Singapore companies which responded to WWF’s survey, six said they ‘did not think their customers cared’ if palm oil came from sustainable sources. Just a day before the campaign launched, four of the 17 companies which had not responded – Tung Lok, Commonwealth Capital, Super Group and Bee Cheng Hiang – pledged that they would act towards using sustainable palm oil. (Straits Times)
Sustainable Development
UN forming an accelerator to make its SDGs a reality
In a bid to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN has announced the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) initiative in order to create the needed support system for public-private partnerships. The new initiative will convene national and city leaders, businesses, financial institutions, and community development advocates to develop solutions for the SDGs that can scale and apply across countries. The governments of Chile, Denmark, Ethiopia, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, and Vietnam will helm the initiative with input from the World Resources Institute. According to a statement from WRI, P4G could lead to the creation of 380 million jobs by 2030, around 90% in developing countries. (Fast Company)
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