Year: 2020

Trusted News Initiative (TNI) to combat spread of harmful vaccine disinformation and announces major research project

Stuart Mitchell

With the introduction of several possible new Covid-19 vaccines, there has been a rise of ‘anti-vaccine’ disinformation spreading online to millions of people. Examples include widely shared memes which link falsehoods about vaccines to freedom and individual liberties. Other posts seek to downplay the risks of coronavirus and suggest there is an ulterior motive behind the development of a vaccine. Whilst it is important to scrutinise the science behind new Covid-19 vaccines and give voice to legitimate concerns from people wondering what a coronavirus vaccine means for them, questions about…

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BRC highlights UK retail industry ambition to reach Net Zero by 2040

Stuart Mitchell

The climate crisis remains one of the greatest threats to our planet and we all have a part in tackling it. The UK has an opportunity to rebuild a fairer, more sustainable economy, in a post-pandemic era, which starts by cutting carbon emissions. Today, 63 leading retailers have come together to support the BRC Climate Action Roadmap which aims to bring the retail industry and its supply chains to Net Zero by 2040. This follows an announcement made earlier in the year where twenty major retailers signed a declaration to…

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KPMG announces it will be net-zero carbon by 2030

Stuart Mitchell

KPMG has announced its intention to become a net-zero carbon organization by 2030, as part of its continued focus on delivering growth in a sustainable way and providing climate solutions for member firms, clients and society.  To underpin this goal, the global organization has signed up to a series of new climate actions, including a 1.5°C science-based target which will focus on achieving a 50 percent reduction of KPMG’s direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Additionally, KPMG firms have collectively committed to:  100 percent Renewable Electricity (RE)…

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Scottish Widows to divest £440m from companies that pose significant ESG risk

Stuart Mitchell

Scottish Widows is to divest at least £440million from companies that have failed to meet its environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards,and warned this figure could grow much further if companies do not take action to improve the sustainability of their business practices. The insurer is working with its fund manager partners to begin divesting from firms that pose the most severe investment risk due to the nature of their businesses. Scottish Widows’ new exclusions policy targets companies which derive more than 10% of their revenue from thermal coal and…

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Tesco shoppers thanked for donating more than a million meals to help others

Stuart Mitchell

Holding the Tesco Food Collections, which ran for three days in large stores, is just one of a number of ways in which Tesco supports the two food charities. The supermarket has provided more than £60m in support to help the charities feed communities during the pandemic. During the initial lockdown Tesco donated £15m of food, split between the two charities. The supermarket has announced a further £4m of food for FareShare in recent months and donates two million meals a month of surplus food via the charity. This year’s…

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