Archive for socially responsible investing
June 25, 2008
· Filed under Fairtrade, ethical fashion, socially responsible investing · Tagged ethical fashion, Primark, Panorama, unethical fashion, Fairtrade fashion, cheap high street fashion
This week in the UK the television show Panorama rightly expose Primark as using child labour to make their cheap clothing. Clearly this should not be a surprise considering how cheap the clothes are? Why it should have taken the UK media three years to unveil this in depth is a surprise. In 2005 Ethical Consumer magazine voted Primark the most unethical fashion store. The fact that Panorama has only just made a programme about this shows that, finally, ethical fashion is on the radar of the public.
The big question is will this actually stop people from buying clothes from Primark? At the moment money is tight due to the credit crunch so will people put their morals on hold until they can afford to shop elsewhere?
Stores such as Gap, TopShop and Marks and Spencer have all been highlighting their ethical fashion credentials recently. Could this programme shaming Primark finally signal a shift in the consciences of the public? It would be great for the planet and foreign workers if it is.
There are a wide range of ethical fashion designers popping up. We’ll be looking at ethical fashion in more detail. For now check out Quail, a UK based ethical fashion company, to prove that ethical fashion is fashionable!
The website is www.quailbymail.co.uk
October 17, 2007
· Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green, Fairtrade, socially responsible investing · Tagged climate change, CO2 emissions, ethical and green, Fairtrade, obesity, organic products, recycling, Sainsburys
As promised here is some information about another UK superstore that is doing its best to be socially responsible, ethical and green. Sainsbury’s have set up a Fair Development Fund to enable more farmers and growers in developing countries to benefit from Fairtrade.
Sainsbury’s have recently made all their bananas Fairtrade. To mark this occasion they are giving double nectar points on all Fairtrade products. This does however exclude Fairtrade clothing. What else is the company doing?
Sainsbury’s is tackling its corporate responsibility on five fronts. These are Best for Food and Health, Sourcing with Integrity, Respect for our Environment, Making a Positive Difference to our Communities and Great Place to Work. As part of this they are launching an ‘organic concept orchard.’ They explain what this is here:
‘ Sainsbury’s is launching a brand new farming initiative that will see more UK-grown organic apples on its shelves than at any other supermarket. Announced just as Organic Fortnight commences, the industry-leading scheme pioneers the way organic apples are grown, and sees Sainsbury’s make a long-term commitment to securing the future of British organic apple growing industry.’ A good place to buy your apples from then….In fact they stock a whole range of organic products.
The organic products that Sainsbury’s stock are made from compostable packaging. As the company explains ‘In 2000, we launched fully compostable packaging with breakthrough biodegradable trays on some of our organic produce. In 2002 we held the first organic conference by any supermarket, leading to the launch of our design award winning Sainsbury’s SO organic range in 2006.’ As far as we understand they are only using this for their organic range and not throughout their own brand products. We’ll do some digging and see what we can uncover for you!
It’s also worth noting that under their sourcing with integrity 100% of their primary use chicken is from the UK. All their organic range meat, milk, fish, poultry and eggs are sourced from the UK as well.
To help tackle climate change Sainsbury’s are going to be the first major UK retailer to convert a fifth of its online delivery fleet to green electric vehicles. It has also stopped giving out disposable carrier bags and this Christmas will be encouraging people to recycle their Christmas cards!
Under Sainsbury’s commitment to the community it is attempting to tackle child obesity by launching the Active Kids Campaign which has donated £52 million worth of sports equipment since 2005.
As for looking after their workforce the company has signed up to Mencap’s WorkRight scheme that works with individuals with learning difficulties. They are also working hard to make sure that all their employees are happy people by launching various initiatives such as ‘Investors in People’ and making sure people are treated fairly.
So there we have it. It’s good to see what Sainsbury’s are doing to tackle climate change and become an ethical and green company. Visit their website www.sainsburys.co.uk for more information.
October 15, 2007
· Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green, green money, socially responsible investing · Tagged climate change, CO2 emissions, local produce, recycling, renewable energy, sustainable living, Tesco, tesco home delivery
Welcome back! Today we’ll be looking at how another UK superstore giant is doing all it can to cut its CO2 emissions and become carbon neutral. Tesco are aiming to halve their energy use by 2008. They have also made a number of pledges outlined below.
- To reduce the number of bags they issue by 25% by 2008.
- To choose local produce (this helps local business and cuts down on the number of food miles travelled)
- Cutting down on waste by reducing, reusing and recycling. They also aim to reduce packaging by 25% by 2010.
- By 2010 their stores will use 50% less energy than they did in 2000. They’re also spending £100 million to help switch to renewable energy.
- They are also investing £25 million to help find ways for everyone to live a more sustainable life.
In February 2007 Tesco was the first UK retailer to sign up to the UK Government Voluntary Code on carrier bags. Their bags are fully degradable and you can earn green clubcard points if you return your carrier bags. These points can then earn you money off your grocery bills. Everyone wins!!
By 2008 Tesco aim to recycle 80% of waste from their stores. Every store has bins for recycling a variety of products and to make it easier they have a machine that automatically sorts the waste so you don’t have to! So, when you next do your weekly shop you can do your recycling as well. It’s not only the usual plastics and glass you can recycle but ink cartridges and mobile phones as well. For every mobile phone you recycle you get 300 green club card points for each one that works and 50 points for one that doesn’t. Ink cartridges will earn you 100 clubcard points.
So how are Tesco reducing their CO2 emissions? Well they are fighting the battle on a number of fronts. As they explain ‘In 2006 we cut our C02 emissions by 10% on each case of goods delivered to our stores. We want to cut this by 50% over the next five years. How? Well our lorries and vans hardly ever travel empty, and we’re using more and more double decker trailers which carry more products per journey. We’re also taking more lorries off the road and delivering by rail. We’
ve also recently started to use canals to deliver goods.’ As well as this they are using battery powered vans for their home delivery. Tesco calculates that this will save them 21 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Interestingly Tesco is also involved in developing the green technologies of the future.
‘We’ve set up a £100 million Sustainable Technology Fund to find more practical ways to use renewable energy like solar and wind power, and to help develop the green technologies of the future. For example we’
re investing in a technology that could turn food waste into power.
We’
re working with the Carbon Trust and Brunel University to develop trigeneration combined heat and power technology (which captures and reuses heat) for our stores and distribution centres that could save over 10,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.’
The more you read about Tesco the more you get the feeling that they are 100% dedicated to helping the environment. They have teamed up with several UK universities to fund research into how we can all cut down our CO2 emissions and become carbon neutral. Next time you are shopping in Tesco take a moment to contemplate what is going on behind the scenes to help save the planet. They are taking big steps, like funding research and small steps such as reducing the number of labels they put on clothes to name just one. It’s good to see yet another massive company taking climate change seriously.
Just in case you think this might be a plug for Tesco I’ll also be looking at other UK supermarkets and investigating what they are doing to save the planet. If you do want to find out more about Tesco check out their website here
and look for Greener Living.
Remember also thatTesco.com - groceries from your local store delivered to your door therefore cutting down on your carbon footprint!
October 14, 2007
· Filed under CO2 emissions, Carbon Dioxide emissions, Companies going green, Fairtrade, ethical fashion, green money, socially responsible investing · Tagged carbon neutral, CO2 emissions, eco-stores, ethical and green products, ethical products, Fairtrade, green products, greener living, M&S, Marks and Spencer, renewable energy
A while ago I reported how Vodafone had put in place an ethical policy and now it’s time to take a look at Marks and Spencer. The company has both a green policy for its money products, such as insurance and also its clothing range. Alongside this the company is committed to becoming greener and more carbon neutral.
Firstly lets take a look at Marks and Spencer’s clothing range. As we reported in the Fairtrade section cotton was next on the list to add to Fairtrade products. M&S are now stocking Fairtrade cotton products such as T-shirts and shirts. They are also stocking recycled and organic clothing. Hats off to them for having such a range of environmentally friendly and ethical products!
Aside from the clothing range they are also stocking a range of home products to make recycling easier for us. Products include such items as split compartment bins to make recycling easier and compost bins. They are also using recycled materials for some of their products such as a bin made out of recycled newspapers! What’s more the products are affordable so people won’t be put off by the price tag which can happen with ethical and green products.
Next to the companies green policy. At M&S they are calling it ‘Plan A.‘ To quote from their website it is aimed at ‘working with customers and suppliers to make our UK and Republic of Ireland operations carbon neutral, send no waste to landfill, extend our sustainable sourcing and help people to lead healthier lifestyles –
without passing on the extra cost to customers.’ Excellent news! A leading UK high street store with a clear ethical and environmental policy!!
Plan A is a five year, 100 point plan and it hopes to involve the customer at all levels. Basically the plan looks at five areas, climate change, raw materials, healthy eating, waste and being a Fair Partner. Under climate change M&S will try to cut CO2 emissions and become carbon neutral. Raw materials looks at using materials from sustainable sources whilst healthy living is about giving people the opportunity to eat well. Under waste the company is aiming not to send waste to landfill sites and ensure that its customers do not need to throw away their products. Finally, being a Fair Partner aims at trading fairly and improving the lives of people in the local community and along the supply chain.
So how are M&S doing? Earlier this month they opened an ‘eco-store’ in Bournmouth. As they describe it :
‘The remodelled store boasts a host of eco features. It is being powered with green renewable electricity, uses energy efficient lighting and has a ‘green’ roof. As a result of these features the store now uses up to 25 per cent less energy than before the refurbishment and emits up to 95% less carbon dioxide than a similar-sized M&S store. ‘
M&S have also changed to using renewable energy in all its stores. As they report ‘
M&S has secured 100 gWh of renewable electricity from NPower. This will be used to supply all 200 of our Simply Food stores in England and Wales, head offices Waterside House and Stockley Park, as well as our Bournemouth ‘green’
store. This will reduce our carbon emissions by 24,000 tonnes a year. We have also secured 75gWh of renewable energy to power all of our Scottish stores.’
The list goes on about the steps the company are taking. If you want to learn more go to the Greener Living section of their website by visiting Marks and Spencer online. Click here.
October 14, 2007
· Filed under Companies going green, green money, socially responsible investing · Tagged climate change, ethical policies, FTSE 100, green money, social and ethical investment, socially responsible investment
Being socially responsible is now a priority for most companies. With climate change and ethical investment now in the public eye companies need to keep up or risk losing out. Lots of companies have schemes in place to help the local community by volunteer schemes or hosting charitable events. However these have been a ‘bolt on’ and not necessarily a reflection of underlying ethical motives.
Job seekers as well as investors are now demanding a certain level of social responsibility from companies. No longer can they just bolt on certain schemes as people want evidence that the company cares for people and the environment. Being socially and ethically responsible needs to be woven into the very core of business. If this is not evident talented individuals and investors will look elsewhere for these indicators. Being socially and ethically responsible shows that a company is forward thinking and willing to embrace change and respond to the desires of its employees and customers.
Business in The Community (BiTC) has shown that companies are responding and changing their ways. It has reported that more than 80% of FTSE 100 companies and 60% of FTSE 250 companies have ethical policies in place. In fact some businesses employ people to educate their staff about how to be more carbon neutral at work by, for example, switching off your computer monitor. This is a win win situation for businesses as it shows a concern for climate change and saves money on their electricity bill!!
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly important when trying to recruit staff. A recent survey reported that 96% of people would be more likely to accept a job from a CSR conscious business and 58% of people would actually leave a job that did not have a CSR policy. That’s certainly food for thought. BT have also done some surveys and found that for around 30% of 20-30 year olds, working for an ethical and socially responsible company is more important than salary. A director at Origin HR, who run the graduate programmes for several investment banks, has found that graduates will now investigate how companies rank in terms of being environmentally friendly and ethical.
So if you are looking for a new job or own a business yourself make sure there are ethical policies in place and get involved!
October 8, 2007
· Filed under Ethical Finance, green money, socially responsible investing · Tagged charity credit cards, ehtical credit cards, Ethical Finance, ethical funds, green credit cards, green funds, green money
1984 saw the arrival of the first UK Ethical Fund. An ethical fund invests in companies that give something back to the community. This can be in the form of creating a product that is of benefit to members of the community such as hearing aids for the deaf or that puts money back into the community.
Green funds on the other hand invest in products, services or processes that help the environment. Beware, a green fund may also invest in companies that are not ‘ethical.’ If you are unsure it’s best to consult a financial advisor and stipulate what exactly you are looking for.
As I’ve mentioned before, green and ethical funds are on the up. However, if you are looking to invest your money it’s good to way up the pros and cons of soley investing in one particular type of fund. The Co-operative Bank give lots of useful information so take a look at their site for more info.
Over the last few months so called ‘green’ and ‘charity’ credit cards have taken a beating from some financial advisors. Some people feel that the rates you get from a green/charitable credit card are not as good as those from ‘normal’ credit cards and that you would be better off taking a ‘normal’ deal and having a monthly direct debit to charity. What are other people’s thoughts on this? Would be good to have your opinions………..
Over the next few weeks I’ll take a look at who are offering ethical and green funds and what the benefits are. If you have any tips feel free to post a comment.
