SUSTAINABLE FASHION 

Business giants commit to Regenerative Fashion Manifesto taskforce

A coalition of fashion giants have joined together to create a collaborative “Regenerative Fashion Manifesto” called the ‘Fashion Task Force’. Pioneered by the Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), the taskforce includes Burberry, Giorgio Armani, Stella McCartney and Zalando. The SMI Fashion Task Force has unveiled its principles for a regenerative fashion manifesto which it says is aimed at enabling businesses to shift towards regenerative fashion practices that promote closed-loop and bio-based approaches. The first project unveiled by the taskforce is the Himalayan Regenerative Fashion Living Lab – a €1 million project aimed at restoring degraded landscapes and recovering traditional textile craft skills for local farmers and producers in the region. The manifesto has been developed in partnership with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance. (edie)

CORPORATE REPUTATION

Climate and heritage experts call on British Museum to end BP deal

Climate scientists, archaeologists and museum industry stakeholders have urged the British Museum’s board of trustees to terminate its longstanding sponsorship agreement with oil company BP, arguing that it goes against the museum’s own policies and that a renewal would damage its reputation.. The campaign, organised by activist group Culture Unstained, highlights the ways in which BP’s record regarding climate crisis “clearly falls short of the scale and ambition of corporate responses that are now required”. They call on the museum’s board of trustees to “fulfil their legal duties” by ensuring a due diligence process is undertaken before a decision is made about any new deal with the company. The museum responded to defend BP as “a longstanding corporate partner, to support the museum’s mission”. (The Guardian)

SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT

Global Citizen seeks up to $1 billion for six sustainable ‘Impact’ funds

International poverty-focused NGO Global Citizen has announced plans to launch six funds of up to $1 billion each focused on generating environmental and social impact in the developing world. The Global Citizen Impact Funds aim to plug a large gap in funding for poorer countries struggling to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include providing access to clean water and fighting climate change. It is estimated that the world’s poorest countries need close to $400 billion annually in external finance to meet the SDGs, but currently receive a fraction. Global Citizen said its funds would bridge philanthropists and investors using a financing model it believes would prove scalable quickly. Through its funds, investors receive a 5-6% capital return on their investment and the NGO receives an incentivisation payment. (Reuters)

EMPLOYEES

New York employees at Apple make a bid for first union at US store

Workers at technology company Apple’s Grand Central Station in New York have announced a plan to start a union. If their bid is successful, it would be the first union among Apple’s US stores. The group of staff known as ‘Fruit Stand Workers United’ must get signatures of support from 30% of colleagues at the store to qualify for a union election. The move follows unionisation drives by staff at Starbucks and Amazon. In a statement, the Apple group states it is aiming for a $30 minimum hourly wage for all workers, additional holiday time and information on more robust safety protocols at the Grand Central location. The campaign is connected to Workers United, an affiliate of North American-based Service Employees International Union. Apple did not respond for comment. (BBC News)

STRATEGY

Mastercard links compensation for all staff to its ESG goals

Global payment technology company Mastercard will begin including achievement of the company’s ESG goals in the calculation of bonus pay for all employees, according to the company’s CEO. The new initiative marks an extension of its new compensation model for senior executives with incentive pay tied in part to progress towards the company’s ESG priority areas of carbon neutrality, financial inclusion and gender pay parity. The new model will apply to employee bonus pay beginning this year and will continue to focus on Mastercard’s key ESG priority areas. In a post, Mastercard CEO Michael Meibach stated that the compensation aims to ensure that recognition, as well as responsibility and success, “is shared” in the company. (ESG Today)

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