Latest News

Romania becomes first country to introduce junk-food tax

A new tax on junk food products will be introduced as of March 2010 in Romania, the proceeds of which will go on health programmes, EurActiv Romania reports. The move appears to set a worldwide precedent. The new tax is due by the juridical persons who produce, import or process unhealthy foodstuffs, with a high content of salt, fats, sugar and additives. Health Minister Attila Czeke has said that he will introduce the fast-food tax in order to contribute to the country's health programmes. Read more (EurActiv)
08 January 2010

Top British firms drag their feet to reduce carbon footprints

Greenhouse gas targets set by many of Britain's largest companies are too weak to meet UK commitments on climate change, a new analysis shows. A report from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) says a lack of ambition from companies in the energy, materials and utilities sector threatens government plans to cut emissions by 2020. The CDP report found that 77% of FTSE 100 companies said they have a target to reduce emissions, with an average annual reduction rate of 2.5%. However, the average annual emissions reductions planned by the firms in the energy, utilities and materials sectors total 1… Read more
07 January 2010

Global postal industry sets 20% carbon reduction target by 2020

The postal industry has became the first services sector to set a global emissions target for its industry when the International Post Corporation (IPC), which represents the world's leading post operators, announced that 20 member postal operators will work together to collectively reduce their carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, based on 2008 levels. The commitment to an industry-wide carbon reduction target was announced at a panel discussion on the postal industry and climate change, moderated by Nadine Dereza. Read more (Sustainable Life Media)
07 January 2010

Toyota to sell plug-in Prius by 2011

ToyotaToyota has announced that it will begin selling a plug-in version of its super-popular Prius hybrid to the public starting in 2011, and has promised an affordable price tag coupled with fuel efficiency that tops 100 mpg. The plug-in Prius will hit consumers as a 2012 model, schedule for release in late 2011. It will be the first Toyota vehicle to use lithium-ion batteries and has the capability to travel close to 15 miles powered exclusively with those batteries. Once Toyota throws in the rest of their ultra-efficient drive-train, the new model is expected to get over 130 miles per gallon… Read more
07 January 2010

CSR reporting by S&P 100 companies shows improvement in 2009, but disclosure by companies in emerging markets needs to improve

Two reports from the Social Investment Forum (SIF) provide important updates on the status of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. S&P 100 Sustainability Reporting Comparison, was commissioned by the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), a network of investment research analysts and a SIF working group. The SIRAN report, the fifth in an annual series of reports dating back to 2005, analyzed corporate sustainability reporting of S&P 100 companies according to the standard of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting framework… Read more
06 January 2010

Carbon Disclosure Project publishes 2010 Information Request for companies

Since 2003, when the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) issued its first annual request for corporate climate change information, the number of disclosing companies has grown to more than 2,500. The CDP recently released its 2010 Information Request, which will be sent in February to the Chairs, or equivalent, of some 4,500 companies. The questionnaire requests corporate information pertaining to corporate governance, identification of risks and opportunities, business strategy such as emissions reduction targets, and emissions accounting, energy fuel use, and carbon trading… Read more
06 January 2010

Britain must grow more sustainable food, says Benn

Britain must grow more food, while using less water and reducing emission of greenhouse gases, to respond to the challenge of climate change and growing world populations, the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, said yesterday. "Food security is as important to this country's future wellbeing, and the world's, as energy security. We need to produce more food. We need to do it sustainably. And we need to make sure what we eat safeguards our health," he said. Launching the government's food strategy for the next 20 years with a speech to the Oxford Farming Conference, he proposed a consumer-led, technological revolution to transform UK farming… Read more
06 January 2010

Chinese CSR reports called into question

State-owned enterprises perform better than private and multinational companies in corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to a report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), but analysts registered doubts as to the report's methodology and results, Global Times reports. The report is based on information included in the CSR reports and annual reports of 100 top State-owned companies, 100 top private companies and 100 top multinational companies. The report noted that the level of CSR implementation is still low in most companies… Read more
23 December 2009

UN agrees to reform climate process

The United Nations bowed to intensifying pressure on 21 December to start sweeping reforms of its processes for reaching agreement on climate change, the Financial Times reports.Developed and developing countries have condemned the bureaucratic and unwieldy process of reaching unanimous agreement from 192 countries, which many blamed for the chaotic end of the Copenhagen climate change conference at the weekend.Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, acknowledged the problems and promised that the UN will consider how to streamline the negotiations process and look at how to encompass the full context of climate change and development in the negotiations, both substantively and institutionally… Read more
22 December 2009

Business chiefs hit at climate agreement

Global energy businesses are disappointed and confused by the climate deal agreed in Copenhagen, saying it does not provide enough certainty to justify the huge investments needed to cut carbon emissions, the Financial Times reports. The deal – agreed by major economies including the US and China on 18 December but not formally adopted by the United Nations – makes a commitment to limit the rise in global temperatures but does not specify caps on emissions to achieve that objective.The role of business will be crucial in fighting the threat of global warming, with the private sector expected to provide about 90 per cent of the $500bn a year investment needed… Read more
22 December 2009

« previous   1   10   20   30   40   50   60   70   80   90   100   110   120   130   140   150   160   170   180   190   200   210   220   230   240   250   251   252   253   254   255   256   257   258   259   260   270   280   290   300   310   320   330   340   350   360   370   380   390   400   410   420   430   440   450   460   470   480   490   500   510   next »