Corporate giants urge EU to back 35% renewables target
A coalition comprising some of the world’s biggest companies has urged EU energy ministers to back a 35% target for renewable energy, as “a strong investment signal… for industries with large investment potential”, when they meet in Brussels today. The appeal was launched by corporate groups including the ‘RE100’ coalition and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. In a joint declaration, the signatories, including Amazon, Microsoft, Ikea, Unilever, Dupont and Philips, called on to ministers to lift regulatory barriers to the development of corporate renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) and to implement an effective Guarantee of Origin (GO) system. (Euractiv)
Supply Chain
Corporates set to miss zero-deforestation targets for 2020
No sector is on track to achieve a deforestation-free supply chain by 2020, according to the new Forest 500 report by global non-profit Global Canopy, with most companies adopting a “piecemeal approach”. The report ranks 250 companies and 150 financial institutions sourcing from or investing in paper, palm oil, timber, soy and cattle suppliers. Corporate giants such as Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Kellogg, L’Oréal, Marks & Spencer, Mars, Nestlé, P&G and Unilever all received full marks for not only having zero-deforestation policies in place, but also commodity specific policies. However, some of the worst-performing companies ranked by the report, including Sketchers and Gap, were said to have ignored supply chain impacts altogether. Among banks, just 20% have palm oil or timber specific lending or investment policies, while only 9% have cattle policies and 11% have soy commitments. (edie)
Human Rights
UK government failing in its bid to tackle modern slavery, audit report finds
The UK government is failing in its bid to tackle modern slavery, according to a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO), which accuses the government’s modern slavery strategy to be both “unclear” and “inadequate”. Campaigners said the “confusion and lack of consistency” in the UK’s response to slavery meant many victims were too afraid to approach the authorities for help. Commenting on the requirement in the Modern Slavery Act for businesses to publish an annual statement on modern slavery in supply chains, the report notes that the government “relies on NGOs and investors to encourage businesses to comply”. The government “does not produce a list of businesses that are expected to comply with the legislation and cannot say how many companies that should have produced a statement have done so,” the report adds. (Independent)
Corporate Reputation
Lafarge ex-CEO denies knowing of Syria payments
Former CEO of French-Swiss cement maker LafargeHolcim, Bruno Lafont, has said he was made aware of payments to the Islamic State (IS) group in August 2014, contradicting an account by another top executive, a source close to the case has said. Lafarge is accused of paying the terrorist group and other militants $12.9 million between 2011 and 2015 so that the company’s subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria could continue to operate despite the war. Lafont denied having wanted to stay in Syria at all costs, and told judges he realised in July 2013 that the company needed an exit strategy as the situation in Syria had worsened. However, the company continued operating for another 14 months, after most French companies had left as IS made major territorial gains. (The Local)
Facebook admits it poses mental health risk – but says using site more can help
Facebook has acknowledged that social media use can be bad for users’ mental health, amid a growing chorus of critics raising alarms about the platform’s effect on society. Facebook’s director of research, David Ginsberg, and the research scientist Moira Burke said studies have found that spending time on Facebook “passively consuming information” can leave people “feeling worse”, but also argued that part of the solution is to engage and interact more with people on the platform. Their blogpost, which also announced new tools meant to mitigate some of the negative experiences on Facebook, came at the end of a year of intense scrutiny and bad press for the company, including accusations of spreading Russian propaganda, providing a platform for white supremacists, enabling hate speech and offensive ads, and exploiting Facebook users’ emotional states. (Guardian)
COMMENTS