JPMorgan and Ford bosses pull out of Saudi Arabia’s ‘Davos in the desert’
A growing number of top business leaders are pulling out of a high-profile Saudi investment conference following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi business conference, officially titled the Future Investment Initiative, is part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to modernize the country’s economy and wean it off its dependence on oil. The conference, dubbed “Davos in the desert,” has become a focal point for the outcry over the unexplained disappearance of Khashoggi, a former Saudi government adviser turned critic. International executives and media sponsors, including CNN, have withdrawn from the event as concerns have mounted about Khashoggi’s fate. Top business leaders who have pulled out of the Saudi event in the past week include JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, Viacom’s (VIAB) Bob Bakish and Arianna Huffington. (CNNBusiness)
Responsible Investment
World leaders in impact investment meet in New Delhi for $30 trillion mission
World leaders in impact investment converged on New Delhi, India, last week to determine their part in raising $2.5 trillion every year to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) hosted its 4th annual Impact Summit, bringing together more than 700 hundred ‘impact leaders’ from more than 50 countries. GSG said it aimed to help grow the impact investing market from $150 billion to $300 billion – benefitting 1 billion people – by 2020. GSG’s leaders said social and environmental impact were becoming integral parts of decision-making – a shift that was now reflected in the portfolios of leading investors, the decisions of entrepreneurs and businesses, the choices of individual consumers, and the policies of government leaders. (Pioneers Post).
Waste
Thailand to ban foreign plastic waste from 2021
Thailand plans to stop all imports of foreign plastic scrap by 2021 as it joins other south-east Asian countries looking to stem an influx of waste products that used to be recycled in China. Fleshing out details of the ban, which was initially announced in June, government officials told the Financial Times that Thailand needed two years to implement the policy as some recently granted import licenses ran until 2021. Imports of rubbish into Thailand and neighbouring countries have surged since China halted most imports of plastic rubbish and electronic scrap in January. Thailand’s growing mountain of foreign rubbish has inflamed public opinion recently after complaints from local communities about pollution from the facilities set up to process it. (Financial Times*)
Energy
EU to offer billions of funding for electric battery plants
The EU is planning to allow state aid for electric battery research and will offer billions of euros of co-funding to companies willing to build giant battery factories. Brussels is concerned that the EU auto industry, which employs 13 million people, could be left behind in the race to build mass market electric vehicles because of their reliance on batteries from Asia. Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, said at the Paris Motor Show that the industry “cannot continue to prosper” unless it builds its own capacity. “We know very clearly that the future is electric and we simply have to catch up with this (battery) technology,” said Maros Sefcovic, energy vice-president at the European Commission. (Financial Times*)
Supply Chain
UK supermarket Lidl pledges to make entire soy supply ‘sustainable’
Lidl has promised to ensure its entire soy supply comes from sustainable certified sources from this month, in what it claims is the most ambitious green sourcing policy for soy of any UK supermarket. The discount retailer announced it will ensure all its soy comes from sustainable, deforestation-free sources, describing the move as a “step change” in commitments to creating a sustainable soy industry. The new policy will take effect this month within the company’s supply chains, Lidl said, with the firm purchasing credits from the Roundtable for Responsible Soy (RTRS) to ensure soy farmers are paid extra for producing soy sustainably. Lidl also said it will work with all its UK suppliers to “achieve physically traceable, sustainable, zero-deforestation soy in the long term.” (BusinessGreen)
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