Business focus on water management reaching ‘record levels’, says CDP
The number of big businesses investing in water security has reached “record levels”, according to CDP’s 2017 Global Water Report, with a 40% increase in the number of disclosures compared to 2016. In addition, 70% of companies were found to report on water targets to the board. The report is based on the water data of the 742 largest firms among the 2,000 companies that responded to CDP’s 2017 call to report on water management. According to the findings, companies invested more than $23 billion in roughly 1,000 water security projects. Fifty-three companies including Colgate Palmolive, Diageo and Rutgers University Business School also created internal value costs associated to water that are otherwise absent from pricing and decision making. CDP’s ‘Water A list’ now consists of 73 companies – the top performers include Burberry, Kellogg’s and Woolworths – up from 25 in 2016. The US had the highest number of firms on the A list, with 13, followed by 12 Japanese companies and 9 from the UK. (edie)
Paradise Papers
Apple says no operations were moved from Ireland
Apple has denied that some of its operations were moved from Ireland, following criticism after information from the leaked “Paradise Papers” revealed how the firm shifted key parts of its business to Jersey as an offshore tax haven. The changes made did not reduce its tax payments in any country, according to the company, which declared to pay billions of dollars in taxes to the US at the statutory 35% on investment income from its overseas cash. Apple is the largest taxpayer in the world, paying over $35 billion in corporate income taxes in the last three years. Last month, the tech giant responded to questions from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists revealing that when Ireland changed its tax laws in 2015, the company complied by changing the residency of its Irish subsidiaries. (Reuters)
Climate Change
HSBC promises $100bn to fight climate change
HSBC has promised $100 billion of finance for projects that contributed to reducing carbon emissions or meeting the Sustainable Development Goals by 2025, as part of a new package of measures. The move follows a similar commitment from JPMorgan Chase in July to facilitate $200 billion of finance for clean energy projects by 2025. HSBC also announced it will source all its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 – up from 24% today – and stop financing new coal mines or new customers dependent on coal mining. HSBC’s strength in Asia puts it on the frontline of the battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from big polluters such as China, India and Indonesia. It also pledged to become more transparent about risks to its business — and to those of its clients — from climate change by adopting the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures recommendations. (Financial Times)*
Fund companies lift the lid on workforce ethnic diversity
Several of the world’s largest asset managers have publicly shared data on the ethnic diversity of their workforces as pressure mounts on the industry to tackle its “pale, male and stale” image. The move was prompted by the Financial Times (FT), which contacted 35 asset managers, investment consultants and the UK trade body to collect information about their workforces. Legal & General Investment Management, Janus Henderson, Schroders, US-based T Rowe Price and Standard Life are among those that responded with details, while BlackRock, Capital Group, Legg Mason, Aberdeen and M&G Investments had previously shared their data. The results show a mixed picture, with Capital Group and M&G revealing a higher proportion of workers from ethnically diverse backgrounds in investment jobs – 22% and 12% respectively. State Street and Fidelity International have committed to collecting more statistics next year. (Financial Times)*
Corporate Reputation
Papa John’s asks white nationalists not to buy their pizza amid neo-Nazi endorsement
US pizza-maker Papa John’s has distanced themselves from white nationalists after the neo-Nazi website “the Daily Stormer” declared the company as the official go-to-pizza of the alt-right. Papa John’s – the official pizza of the National Football League (NFL) – got the attention of the far-right after CEO John Schnatter said that protesting NFL athletes led to a $70 million loss in value, forcing Schnatter to pull his ads associated with the league. NFL athletes have been showing their resistance to President Trump’s remarks on police brutality by kneeling or standing with arms locked during the national anthem before a game. Papa John’s Senior Director of Public Relations, Peter Collins, said they “[condemned] racism in all forms and all hate groups that support it”. A year ago, New Balancewas prompted to state its zero tolerance to bigotry and hate after the Neo-nazi website declared the brand’s footwear the “Official Shoes of White People”. (Fox News)
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