Artificial intelligence research in the UK to be boosted by £300 million of public money
The UK government is to invest £300 million in artificial intelligence (AI) research as it seeks to fend off competition from France and Germany and secure its status as Europe’s leading centre for “deep tech”. The new AI sector deal follows the publication of a government review of the UK’s artificial intelligence industry in 2017, a review which found that only 5 percent of international venture capital funding in the sector went to British companies in the five years to 2016. The government will hope to stimulate private companies with the new investment programme, which will be directed through its publicly-funded Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The AI sector deal includes plans to establish a new £9 million centre for data ethics and innovation to examine the possible structural changes to jobs, data privacy and safety that could result from the new technology. (Financial Times*)
Corporate Reputation
Citigroup & Bank of America criticised by US senator for their firearms bans
A key Republican lawmaker has called out Citigroup and Bank of America for their decision to restrict business with the firearms industry. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, whose committee writes banking laws and oversees Wall Street’s regulators, wrote to the chief executive officers of both banks. He criticized the firms for using their size and reach to influence social policy and demanded to know how they collect information about consumers who buy guns. In March 2018, Citigroup announced restrictions on gun-selling retailers among its customers with Bank of America also saying that it would stop lending to companies that make assault-style guns used for non-military purposes. The availability of firearms has been a renewed focus of protests since the mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school left 17 dead. Republicans have called for government agencies to stop doing business with banks restricting gun sales and delay regulatory reforms that would benefit the finance industry. (Bloomberg)
Waste
UK supermarkets launch voluntary pledge to cut plastic packaging
UK supermarkets and food companies launched a new voluntary pledge to cut plastic packaging as ministers consider forcing them to pay more towards collecting and recycling the waste they produce. In a first response to a growing public backlash against the huge volumes of plastic rubbish, most of the UK’s largest supermarkets signed up to support the UK Plastics Pact – an industry-wide initiative which says it aims to transform packaging and reduce avoidable plastic waste. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose are among the 42 businesses so far supporting the new pledge, which includes an aspiration that by 2025 all plastic packaging can be reused, recycled or composted. But critics note that the new plastics pact is voluntary and that the pledge comes with no enforcement mechanism. The pledge fails to commit to removing all single-use packaging, instead promising to remove “problematic or unnecessary” single-use plastic by 2025. (Guardian)
Climate Change
Seven member states push for EU to raise climate targets
Ministers from seven EU member states have launched a bid to raise the EU’s climate ambition. The EU’s current targets are to cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 40% from 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050. By 2016, emissions had fallen 23%. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Portugal and Luxembourg are calling for a faster transition to a clean economy. While they did not determine exactly what the target should be, they agreed it should line up with the Paris Agreement. This call comes days before negotiators meet for interim UN climate talks in Bonn, to thrash out the rulebook for the Paris Agreement and take stock of collective action. Any change to the EU target depends on the cooperation of the remaining 20-member states, including coal-dependent Poland. (Climate Change News)
Governance
Telstra ordered to pay AU$10 million after misleading billing charges
Telstra, a leading Australian telecommunications and media company, has been ordered to pay a AU$10 million penalty after its billing charges potentially misled more than 100,000 Australians. Telstra previously admitted to misleading customers by charging them for content they didn’t know they had bought, such as games and ringtones, through a premium direct billing arrangement. Prior to the court action, Telstra admitted to making false or misleading representations and has already refunded AU$5 million to customers. A Telstra spokesman said the judgment was in line with a joint submission it made with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. “[Premium direct billing] services have been recognised as an issue for the broader telecommunications industry and while we took a number of steps to improve our processes we acknowledge we could have done more and done it faster,” he said. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Event
2018 edie Responsible Retail Conference
The edie Responsible Retail Conference (20th September, London) offers inspiration and practical tools for retailers and their stakeholders, helping them to realise the potential of environmentally and socially-conscious business models.
This CPD-certified conference offers you the chance to:
Establish the role of responsible retailers in achieving a sustainable future
Learn how the retail sector is taking huge leaps towards eliminating plastic waste
Reduce and mitigate risk within your supply chain
Find out how to engage employees on the SDGs and move commitments to action
Enhance your brand value by increasing consumer trust
Sustainability leaders contributing to this event include: Selfridges; Wilko; IKEA; The Body Shop; Ocado; Kingfisher; British Retail Consortium; Whitbread; #2minutesbeachclean; Surfdome; Arcadia Group; CDP; Valpak and more.
15% DISCOUNT TO ATTEND: Corporate Citizenship Briefing contacts are entitled to a 15% discount to attend this event. Register now at https://event.edie.net/retail/book/ and enter CCB15 into the promo code box.
COMMENTS