Investor groups win vote on RBS shareholders committee
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will allow a shareholder vote on whether to give retail investors more power over the British state-backed lender, ceding to a demand from shareholder groups that had fought for this since 2016. Shareholder groups ShareSoc and the UK Shareholders’ Association (UKSA) has said that the bank had agreed to let investors consider the creation of an advisory committee including shareholder representatives that would have a say on high-profile and controversial issues like executive pay. The vote will take place at the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM) in May 2018 via a special resolution, meaning it will need 75 percent of votes cast to succeed rather than the standard 50 percent. The two groups have been fighting to force a vote on the proposal since 2016, arguing the creation of a committee would improve corporate governance and avoid the mistakes that led to the bank’s £45.5 billion state bailout in 2008. (Reuters)
Corporate Reputation
Facebook caught up in Cambridge Analytica data scandal
Facebook is under increasing pressure to explain how data collected on 50 million users was exploited for political gain, following claims that data firm Cambridge Analytica used the leaked information to help Donald Trump win the US presidency. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are calling on the social network to reveal more information about how Cambridge Analytica harvested data of mostly US voters. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, needs to testify before the Senate as it was “clear these platforms can’t police themselves”. Facebook banned the data analytics company on Friday, three years after it first discovered it had broken its rules. It said it had received assurances in 2015 that the data had been deleted and that it has since improved the privacy to restrict how much data can be collected. (Financial Times*)
Rolex, Lego and Google top world’s largest corporate reputation study
The Reputation Institute has released its annual Global RepTrak® 100 ratings showing what drives trust in companies with Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, Executive Partner and Chief Research Officer for the Reputation Institute, suggesting that “The reputation bubble has burst. Companies are down by an average of 1.4 points globally, representing the first major decline since the end of the Great Recession.” Rankings dropped for 58 percent of companies in the RT100 with it suggested that garnering support from stakeholders has become increasingly difficult with companies more widely scrutinised based on their morality and ethics. Rolex earned the top spot overall as the most reputable company in the world with the LEGO Group, Google and Canon also featuring in the top 10 most reputable companies. (Reputation Institute)
BMW takes full ownership of DriveNow carsharing service
BMW has acquired the remainder of shares in the European carsharing service DriveNow, making it now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German auto giant, after securing final support from the German and Austrian authorities. Founded in 2011 as a joint venture between BMW Group and Sixt, DriveNow boasts one million registered users across various European cities. The service enables customers to rent from a fleet of 6,000 BMW or Mini models – including electric vehicles – using its phone app. BMW claims several studies have shown that one DriveNow vehicle replaces at least three private cars, therefore helping to ease traffic congestion, air pollution and emissions in urban areas. (BusinessGreen)
Water
UN Report: Water shortages could affect 5 billion people by 2050
More than 5 billion people could suffer water shortages by 2050 due to climate change, increased demand and polluted supplies, according to the UN’s World Water Development Report 2018. The comprehensive annual study warns of conflict and societal threats unless actions are taken to reduce the stress on rivers, lakes, aquifers, wetlands and reservoirs. The report says positive change is possible, particularly in the key agricultural sector, but only if there is a move towards nature-based solutions that rely more on soil and trees than steel and concrete. By 2050, the report predicts, between 4.8 billion and 5.7 billion people will live in areas that are water-scarce for at least one month each year, up from 3.6 billion today, while the number of people at risk of floods will increase to 1.6 billion, from 1.2 billion. The challenge has been most apparent this year in Cape Town, where residents face severe restrictions as the result of a once-in-384-year drought. (Guardian)
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