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A UK economist has devised a Global Emissions Trading Scheme to cut emissions from the carbon-hungry shipping and aviation industries.

Dr Terry Barker, of the University of Cambridge and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, said the 100% auctioning scheme would aim to reduce the two sectors’ emissions to net zero by 2052.

The Global Emissions Trading Scheme (GETS) is intended to cover international flights, but national governments would be encouraged to develop their own schemes to curb emissions from internal flights.

Revenues from auctioning would be used to fund climate change mitigation policies.

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Source: Edie

Business & Society Belgium, one of CSR Europe’s 25 national partner organisations, has recently published a practical guide on CSR reporting available in French, Dutch and English.

The guide aims to set out the latest trends in non-financial reporting in response to stakeholder expectations. It provides answers to questions such as:

1. What are stakeholders’ expectations with regard to non-financial reports?
2. How can these reports be used as dynamic communication tools in coherence with sustainable development strategies?
3. Which tools are available to businesses?
4. What are the phases and success factors in producing a quality report?

The guide, developed by a working group of 15 B&SB member companies, is available at: www.businessandsociety.be/display.asp?lang=2&nav=311&art=1467&mode=showarticle

CR News Source: CSR Europe

In the West, companies are playing an active role in the development of society after picking up on the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), yet this remains a relatively ignored concept in Russia, the Moscow News reports.

“For the Russian consumer it (CSR) has not traditionally been a factor in the decision-making pro­cess”, according to Eric Schempp, the Development Director of Miramed, a US-based charity working in Russia and seeking to promote CSR. However, as Russians earn more and disposable income increases, CSR will develop due to its increasing importance for consumers, he says. Read more (The Moscow News)

CR news Source: CSR Europe

Relations between the government and the UK’s leading supermarkets are in danger of deteriorating in the wake of the government’s threat to impose a tax on plastic bags.

According to reports in The Guardian newspaper, environment secretary Hilary Benn this week met with the bosses of a number of the UK’s leading supermarkets who expressed concern that the threat of a tax on plastic bags would undermine existing voluntary agreement to cut bag use.

Marks & Spencer’s Sir Stuart Rose, Tesco’s Sir Terry Leahy, Andy Bond of Asda and Justin King of Sainsbury’s joined bosses from Morrissons, Somerfield and the Co-op for the discussion, which one source said had turned into a “very heated debate”. Read more

Source: Business Green

Fiat has become the latest firm to have its wrist slapped over a misleading green advert, after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled two adverts earlier this year gave the impression that the company’s low emission vehicles were cheaper than they are.

The press adverts for four different models of Fiat cars claimed that they would be exempt from the congestion charge from October and that they required road tax of just £35 a year.

However, the headline prices for the four models in question – Fiat Bravo, Grande Punto, 500 and Panda – were for bottom of the range models.

Consequently, the ASA ruled “that three of the four headline prices featured next to the images were for models that had higher CO2 emissions figures” than the 120g/km required to qualify for exemption from the congestion charge and the £35 road tax band. Read more

Source: Business Green

Bosses at 100 of the world’s largest companies have today issued an unequivocal call for political leaders to deliver a “rapid and fundamental” strategy designed to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by “at least” 50 per cent by 2050.

The statement was organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and was endorsed by some of the world’s most powerful businesses, representing over a tenth of global stock markets.

The signatories feature firms from every major carbon intensive industry, including energy, utilities, aviation, automotive, mining and metals, logistics, IT and financial services, and incorporate a number of emerging multinationals from developing economies as well as long-established Blue Chip firms, such as BA, Deutsche Bank, Nike, BP, Shell, E.ON, EDF, Airbus, Citigroup, PwC and Renault. Read more

Source: Business Green

The perception of electric cars as small city runabouts with dubious safety credentials is about to be challenged following the launch in the UK of an all-electric Range Rover.

The idea of providing a zero emission 4×4 is the brainchild of UK start up Liberty Electric Cars, which is investing £30m in a business model that will initially see it re-engineer Range Rovers and Minis, replacing the engine with a battery, electric motor and drivetrain.

“People are interested in electric cars, but they don’t want quadricycles, they want cars that look like cars,” said Barry Shrier, chief executive at the company and a former managing director at Deutsche Bank. “They want vehicles that look and drive like standard cars, which is why we have selected the Range Rover as our flagship vehicle.” Read more

Source: Business Green

An official government report is set to conclude that booming demand for biofuels has had a “significant” impact on global food supplies, forcing ministers into a major rethink of controversial biofuel targets.

According to reports in today’s Guardian newspaper, The Gallagher Review will warn that while some biofuels can have environmental benefits, there is need for wider research into the indirect effects of demand for energy crops on deforestation and food prices.

The Review, which was commissioned by the Department for Transport and chaired by the head of the Renewable Fuel Agency Professor Ed Gallagher, will also call for a clear distinction to be made between “first generation” biofuels derived from food crops such as corn, palm oil and soya, and “second generation” biofuels made from waste organic matter and non-food plants such as algae and jatropha which would theoretically be grown without eating into land used for food production. Read more

Source: Business Green

The Co-operative Group has seen off stiff European competition to take home one of the top accolades in this year’s European Business Awards for the Environment.

The company beat 125 national award winners from 27 EU member states to scoop the prestigious Management Award at the ceremony in Brussels during the EU’s Green Week.

It follows last year’s win at the Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Awards, which allowed the Co-operative to be entered into the European award scheme this year.

Judges praised the company for its strategic vision to reduce its environmental impact, and its commitment to sustainable development. Read more

Source: Business Green

Almost half of UK consumers are unwilling to pay the price premium associated with many green and ethical products, a situation that is likely to worsen as the credit crunch continues to affect consumer spending.

According to a major survey of 4,000 UK consumers from consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, demand for green and ethical products has grown significantly, with the proportion of shoppers buying Fairtrade products having risen from 20 per cent three years ago to 50 per cent now, and organic food purchasing having increased from 22 per cent to 43 per cent over the same period.

However, this £300bn sector still accounts for just four per cent of the UK retail market and the survey found that the high prices associated with fair-trade and organic products remained the main inhibitor to further growth. Read more

Source: Business Green