CORPORATE REPUTATION

UK Transport Secretary calls on P&O boss to quit after sackings

The UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, has called for the chief executive of P&O Ferries to resign over the sacking of 800 workers and vowed to force the company to reverse its move and pay its crew the minimum wage. Chief Executive Peter Hebblethwaite admitted to MPs that his company broke the law by sacking the 800 workers without consultation. Shapps has promised new legislation designed to “close every possible loophole that exists and force them to U-turn”. He accused P&O of “mischievously” registering their ships under the Cyprus flag to avoid UK laws. Shapps suggested the new law, to be drawn up in consultation with the Labour party, would ban shipping companies from operating from British ports if they failed to pay the minimum wage. (The Guardian)

DIGITAL ETHICS

Europe agrees to new legislation curbing big tech dominance

European lawmakers have agreed on new rules which they hope will curb the dominance of big tech companies. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), technology giants such as Google and Apple will be forced to open their services and platforms to other businesses. Major technology firms have long faced criticism that they use their market dominance to quell competition. The EU antitrust chief said that large “gatekeeper platforms have prevented businesses and consumers from the benefit of competitive digital markets”. The announcement is the biggest regulatory move yet from the EU to act against what it defines as anti-competitive behaviour. The law will only affect companies with a value of more than €75 billion, annual sales of €7.5 billion, and at least 45 million monthly users. (BBC News)

SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT

Rhino bond sold by World Bank in first issuance of its kind

The World Bank announced it has priced the world’s first wildlife bond, raising $150 million that will be partly used for the conservation of black rhinos in South Africa. The five-year bond will pay returns determined by the rate of growth in populations of the animals in two South African reserves. In a statement, the World Bank said the “Wildlife Conservation Bond is a first-of-its-kind, outcome-based, financial instrument that channels investments to achieve conservation outcomes”. If successful, the programme could be expanded to protect black rhino populations in Kenya as well as other species. Instead of paying a coupon, the issuer will make contributions toward conserving the animals and the buyers of the bond will receive a payment from the Global Environment Facility based on pre-set targets for population growth. (Bloomberg)*

NATURAL CAPITAL

Labor promises review of Australia’s carbon credits integrity after allegations

The Australian opposition party has promised an independent review of the country’s carbon credit system if it wins government, following serious whistleblower allegations. The opposition climate change and energy spokesman said carbon credits would be “increasingly important” and Labor wanted to ensure the country’s system had integrity. Professor Andrew Macintosh, who spent years working on carbon credit integrity as the head of the government’s emissions reduction assurance committee, published academic papers calling the system a fraud that was hurting the environment and wasting more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds. Macintosh said all major methods approved by the government to create credits had “serious integrity issues” with approved credits failing to represent real or new cuts in emissions. (The Guardian)

FOOD SECURITY

US lawmakers push for global food aid funding as UN warns of famine

US Senators have said that the country must increase food aid to prevent millions of people starving as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens global grain supplies. The bipartisan hunger caucus argued that the $2.65 billion earmarked for food and other humanitarian aid does not go far enough to address food shortages globally. The caucus will seek billions in additional aid as part of any future Covid-19 or Ukraine relief bill. This momentum follows as the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it faces a $9 billion funding shortfall. Before the invasion, 44 million people in 38 countries were on the brink of famine. Now the surge of refugees from Ukraine and disruptions to the country’s spring planting season threaten to drive worldwide hunger to “catastrophic levels”. (Reuters)

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