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August 23, 2018

Sustainable Investment

LGIM backs call for IOSCO to foster harmonised climate risk reporting

One of the world’s largest asset managers has backed calls for global standard setter the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to play its role in ensuring the usefulness of climate risk reporting for global investors. IOSCO was “ideally placed” to accelerate progress on climate risk reporting, according to Meryam Omi, head of sustainability and responsible investment strategy at €1.1 trillion Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). In a foreword to a report produced by activist law firm ClientEarth, think tank CarbonTracker, and conservation campaign group WWF,  Omi called for other investors to encourage IOSCO to act to harmonise climate risk reporting. “IOSCO has remained silent on this issue since the release of the [Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure] recommendations – but investors have a strong basis for demanding action either through activating national securities regulators to engage with IOSCO on their behalf, or through engaging IOSCO directly,” she said. (IPE)

Policy / Technology

Australia bans Huawei 5G rollout over security fears

Australia has banned Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE from providing 5G technology to mobile phone operators due to concerns over national security. Australia is the first country in the world to ban Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker, from providing 5G equipment to mobile phone operators, although US security agencies have advised operators not to use the company’s equipment over national security concerns. The decision leaves Ericsson, Nokia and a handful of other global suppliers in a position to win contracts worth billions of dollars in Australia, where Huawei commands about 55 percent of the market for 4G. Australian operator Vodafone Hutchison criticised the decision but said it would comply with Australian law. “This decision is a significant change which fundamentally undermines Australia’s 5G future, and we will consider what it means for our business,” it said. (Financial Times)*

Sustainable Development

Global sustainability projects receive $100,000 each to advance SDGs

A new UN-backed competition to support green growth and help advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries has selected 11 projects to each receive $100,000 in funding, the organisers of the initiative announced today. The Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030 initiative (P4G) will provide each of the successful public-private partnership applicants with support for projects which focus on five key UN SDGs covering food and agriculture, water, energy, cities and the circular economy. Launched earlier in 2018, the P4G accelerator programme is led by the governments of Chile, Denmark, Ethiopia, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, and Vietnam, as well as non-profits such as the World Resources Institute. The 11 successful projects announced include UK sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future‘s plans to work with mobile food delivery service foodpanda to reduce single-use plastic waste from the food delivery sector in Asia. (BusinessGreen)

Employees

Woolworths workers claim alleged AU$1 billion in underpayments

A Woolworths worker has applied to terminate a national agreement on wages and conditions and claim back an alleged AU$1 billion in underpayments for up to 100,000 employees. The Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) will represent Woolworths store supervisor Loukas Kakogiannis in his application to the Fair Work Commission to terminate an expired 2012 national enterprise agreement. RAFFWU alleges the vast majority of the 100,000 Woolworths workers employed under the existing agreement are earning less than they would if there was no agreement at all. Mr Kakogiannis has applied for termination of the existing 2012 enterprise agreement to be backdated to November 2012, when it came into operation. RAFFWU secretary Josh Cullinan claims that backdating the termination could entitle workers to the difference between the wages they would have been paid under the award, and the wages they were paid. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Waste

Report: Global food waste set to rise a third by 2030 without ‘aggressive’ action

The amount of food wasted each year worldwide is set to rise by a third by 2030 without “urgent and aggressive” action from nations and corporates. That is the key conclusion of a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which warns that the current approach to the food waste issue is too weak and fragmented to deliver on the United Nation’s aim of halving food waste by 2030. Currently, around 1.6 billion tonnes of food worth approximately $1.2 trillion goes to waste each year, representing about one-third of the food produced globally by weight, according to BCG. The consultancy predicts that by 2030, 66 tonnes of food will be wasted each second, with 2.1 billion tonnes, worth $1.5 trillion, sent to landfill annually. The report calls on global corporates and governments to collaborate with consumers, NGOs and farmers to tackle the key drivers of the food waste problem. (Edie)

 

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Image source: Huawei Mate 9 by Andri Koolme on FlickrCC BY 2.0.

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