STRATEGY

Royal Pharmaceutical Society pledges to divest from fossil fuels

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has announced it will divest from fossil fuels by the end of 2022 at the latest, in a bid to becoming more environmentally responsible. The RPS said it recognised its previous approach of 'responsible investing', whereby it aimed to use its funds to drive change at carbon intensive firms, "was not great enough to balance out the negative impacts of climate change". The body will now instruct its investment managers to cease all remaining financial investments in fossil fuels as soon as possible. The move marks another win for the global divestment campaign, which has called on pension funds, businesses, academic institutions, and professional bodies to remove fossil fuel firms from their endowments and funds. (Business Green)

CLIMATE CHANGE

Initiative launched to help businesses achieve net-zero value chains

A new initiative has been launched to help firms of all sizes and sectors measure and reduce scope 3 emissions in line with climate science. The ‘Value Change Initiative’ is a collaborative forum co-founded by certifying bodies Gold Standard and SustainCERT whereby businesses can share best-practice and receive advice from organisations with technical expertise in carbon data collection, reporting, emissions reductions and offsetting, such as the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), WWF, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and CDP. Some 60 businesses, public sector organisations and non-profits have signed up to the initiative, including Adidas, Amazon, BASF, Barry Callebaut, Bayer, C&A, Cargill, Chanel, Danone, General Mills, H&M, Kellogg’s, Kingfisher, Mars, McDonald’s, Levi Strauss, Nespresso, Nestle, Nike, Patagonia, PepsiCo, Target, VF Corp and Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s. (edie)

SUPPLY CHAIN 

Starbucks and Arla to trial sustainable dairy sourcing blueprint in UK

Starbucks has partnered with dairy company Arla UK to support dairy farmers in reducing emissions, as the coffee chain strives to halve carbon emissions across its value chain by 2030. Under the partnership’s pilot, 14 Arla dairy farms in the UK will be supported to reduce their environmental footprint and to improve animal health and welfare through a new sustainable sourcing blueprint. The blueprint will be developed using what Arla claims to be one of the biggest analyses of data on indirect scope 3 emissions in the dairy sector, combined with broader environmental research by the partnering companies. The blueprint is to be verified by a third-party assessor and The Nature Conservancy, and will be used to support all of Starbucks’ dairy suppliers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. (edie)

HEALTH & NUTRITION

Credit Suisse & JPMorgan announce Sustainable Nutrition Fund launch

Investment banking firms Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan Asset Management have announced the launch of their ‘Sustainable Nutrition Fund’, aimed at investing in companies addressing the links between nutrition, health, biodiversity and climate. The new Fund follows a partnership between the two firms to develop a sustainable nutrition-focused global investment strategy. The Fund will focus on small and mid-cap innovators across the value chain, from growing and processing to consuming food in areas such as vertical farming, plant-based proteins, and food testing. Key sub-themes of the Fund include sustainable agriculture, efficient food processes, and sustainable and  healthy diets. The Fund will target the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of  #2 Zero Hunger and #13 Climate Action, with a particular focus on companies making food systems less carbon intensive. (ESG Today)

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Apple announces self-service repair scheme in win for campaigners

Technology giant Apple has announced a self-service repair programme so customers who feel comfortable doing the repairs themselves can fix their own devices. The programme will launch in early 2022 in the US, covering replacement batteries, screens and cameras of recent iPhones. The ‘Self Service Repair’ programme will give individual customers access to spare parts, repair tools and manuals with access previously only granted to the 5,000 Apple authorised service providers and 2,800 independent repair providers. It comes after months of increasing pressure on Apple from the grassroots right-to-repair movement, which wants individuals and independent repair shops to be able to fix electronics. Apple has often been held up as one of the fiercest opponents of the right to repair, claiming safety issues. (BBC News)

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