COLLABORATION

World's largest miners pledge net zero carbon emissions by 2050

Members of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), including some of the world's top miners such as Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, and BHP have committed to a goal of net zero direct and indirect carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. The collective commitment represents a joint ambition from companies that make up one third of the global mining and metals industry. The Council’s 28 members will report annually on their progress to decarbonise. Direct and indirect emissions will be lowered by accelerating the use of renewable energy and reducing or eliminating the use of diesel trucks. The pledge includes targets for scope three emissions, including emissions from customers processing iron ore to steel, to be set "if not by the end of 2023, as soon as possible." (Reuters)

STRATEGY

Kering & Cartier launch environmental pact for watches & jewellery

French luxury group Kering, Richemont's Cartier, and the industry body Responsible Jewellery Council have teamed up to set environmental targets for watches and jewellery activities, challenging labels in the industry to commit to them too. Dubbed the ‘watch and jewellery initiative 2030’, the goals include targets to reduce carbon emissions, protect biodiversity and adopt practices defined by the Responsible Jewellery Council by 2030. The partners in the watch-and-jewellery initiative intend to start recruiting European labels before moving on to those from other countries. It expects that there will be a large number of key brands who fill join the initiative, followed by smaller brands, key suppliers and distributors. The initiative hopes that highly profitable labels will come under pressure to join. (Reuters)

NATURAL CAPITAL 

Business giants support UK National Parks restoration project

The UK’s National Parks are working with global impact firm Palladium to launch the Revere project, designed to enable the restoration of natural habitats at scale. Revere aims to generate revenue by using ecosystems as a service that creates new income for farmers and landowners by improving the biodiversity of the local land. Funders of the project include major businesses such as Santander UK, Gatwick Airport, Capita and Southern Co-op, with additional funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Defra. The project aims to bring the UK closer to achieving the scale and pace of nature restoration it needs to fight climate change and improve biodiversity. The UK has a total of 15 National Parks, containing almost 25% of the UK’s peatland, offering a significant opportunity for carbon storage. (Edie)

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

ASOS discloses ethnicity pay gap data in fast fashion retail first

Online fast fashion retailer ASOS has published its ethnicity pay gap data for the first time, finding that the median pay of its ethnic minority employees is 5.9% higher than what it pays white workers. This marks an improvement on last year, when its white employees were paid 15.3% more than ethnic minority workers. Despite the overall improvement, ASOS reported higher gaps between specific ethnic groups. On average, black employees are being paid 13.4% less than white colleagues, while those from mixed ethnic backgrounds are being paid 14.1% less than white workers. ASOS said its biggest driver of the gaps is an underrepresentation of ethnic minority groups at leadership levels. As it stands, ethnic minority workers make up 19% of its overall workforce, but only 7% are in leadership positions. (The Independent)*

ENERGY

Fossil fuel industry gets subsidies of $11m a minute, IMF finds

The fossil fuel industry benefits from subsidies of $11 million every minute, according to analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF found the production and burning of coal, oil and gas was subsidised by $5.9 trillion in 2020, with no country pricing all its fuels sufficiently to reflect their full supply and environmental costs. The IMF argues the fossil fuel industry is failing to make polluters pay for the deaths and poor health caused by air pollution and for heatwaves and other impacts of global heating. According to IMF analysts, setting fossil fuel prices that reflect their true cost could cut global CO2 emissions by over a third, marking  a big step towards meeting the internationally agreed 1.5^oC target. (The Guardian)

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