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Supply Chain
Study: Competition law hinders food supply chain sustainability
New research from the Fairtrade Foundation reveals that businesses are wary of working with rivals to strengthen supply chains as they fear falling foul of competition law. This is hindering the ability of companies to boost consumer choice through improved product quality and security of supply, according to the study. Fairtrade commissioned NEF Consulting to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of a hypothetical sustainability collaboration between retailers in the pineapple supply chain. External legal analysis suggests that such a collaboration would not infringe UK and EU competition law. However, uncertainty remains, and the Foundation has called on the UK government to issue guidance on how cross-business sustainability projects would be assessed under competition law. (Edie)
Policy
Glyphosate wins EU approval; France announces ban
The European Union has voted to extend its authorisation for the world’s best-selling herbicide, glyphosate. The EU vote cleared the use of glyphosate for the next five years after a heated debate over whether the weed-killer originally developed by Monsanto causes cancer. France led the opposition to allowing the use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup and in weed killers made by other companies. Germany, which had abstained in a previous round of voting on the issue, appeared to help sway the outcome of the vote. French President Emmanuel Macron said he would take all measures necessary to ensure that weed-killer glyphosate is banned in France as soon as an alternative is available, and at the latest within three years. Despite the 5-year extension, EU rules allow France to unilaterally ban the substance. It has already decided to do so for private individuals in 2019. (New York Times, Reuters)
Corporate Reputation
Deutsche Bank and Mars pull YouTube ads after predatory videos
Several global brands have pulled advertising from YouTube after reports ads were being shown alongside inappropriate content of children. Mars, Deutsche Bank, Adidas and others pulled their ads after The Times in the UK reported that the brands’ advertising was being shown alongside videos of scantily dressed children that carried inappropriate sexual comments from viewers. “We are shocked and appalled to see that our adverts have appeared alongside such exploitative and inappropriate content,” Mars said in a statement, adding that it wouldn’t advertise with Google “until we have confidence that appropriate safeguards are in place.” The reports show the problems YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other online platforms have policing user-generated content published to their sites. (Bloomberg)
Tax avoidance by big firms is morally wrong, say nine out of 10 in UK
Nine out of 10 people in the UK believe tax avoidance by large companies is morally wrong, even if technically legal. The poll of 2,051 adults in the UK, conducted on behalf of Christian Aid after the publication of the Paradise Papers, also found that 85% of people believe it is too easy for large companies to avoid paying tax. The results suggest any tax gains from the use of contrived offshore arrangements could be partially offset by consumer anger in the form of boycotts. One in four of the people surveyed are boycotting a company’s products or services because it does not pay its fair share of taxes, with a further 43% considering a boycott. (Guardian)
Circular Economy
Stella McCartney and Ellen MacArthur team up to tackle fashion waste
Fashion designer Stella McCartney has joined forces with circular economy campaigner Ellen MacArthur to kick-start a new push to reduce textile waste across the fashion industry, after new figures revealed the levels of waste generated by the sector. According to a new report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is wasted every second, while less than one per cent of old clothing is recycled into new garments. If left unchecked, the scale of waste means the fashion industry will consume a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. The news comes as a survey this month of more than 2,000 British shoppers from waste advisory body WRAP reveals three-quarters of shoppers want their clothing to last, but only 63 per cent say they look for durability when buying a piece of new clothing. Meanwhile, only 23 per cent actively look out for ethical production information when out clothes shopping. (Business Green)
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