Day: 14 January 2022

Maria Black becomes first luxury jewellery brand to join new Fairtrade gold sourcing programme

Stuart Mitchell

Maria Black becomes the first luxury jewellery brand to join the new Fairtrade Gold Sourcing Programme (GSP) on 3 December 2021. In 2021, which marks 10 years of Fairtrade Gold, the programme was launched to enable more jewellery brands and businesses to source from an ethical supply chain.  Maria Black’s IMPACT gold alloy, which is available in some UK stores comprises 30% Fairtrade Gold and 70% recycled gold. Maria Black’s support for Fairtrade Gold means miners will benefit from the Fairtrade Standards, including fair prices and investment through the Premium,…

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ACLU Launches Seven-Figure Ad Buy on Family Separation and Abortion Urging Biden to Take Action

Stuart Mitchell

The American Civil Liberties Union announced a million-dollar advertising campaign to push the Biden administration to reunite children and parents, repair the harms of the family separation crisis, and protect abortion. The buy in Washington, D.C. area cable television, as well as social and digital platforms including Connected TV and newsletters, will begin tomorrow, Dec. 16, and run through early next year.  After the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” family separation policy was implemented, the ACLU successfully sued to block family separation and immediately reunite families. Thousands of children were torn…

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Merck Issues $1 Billion Inaugural Sustainability Bond

Stuart Mitchell

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced its inaugural issuance of a $1 billion sustainability bond, which was part of an $8 billion underwritten public offering of notes that closed on Dec. 10, 2021. Merck’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts are grounded in the core values that have always guided the company’s mission to invent for life, with a responsibility to patients and animals in need of medicines and vaccines, and with respect, inclusion and accountability to its employees. The company’s 130-year legacy has…

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Amnesty Media Awards 2022: Krishnan Guru-Murthy announced as host

Stuart Mitchell

Closing date for entries is 20 January 2022:  https://amnesty-media-awards.org.uk/ Amnesty International UK is pleased to announce Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy as the host for its 30th annual Media Awards, a prestigious set of awards recognising the vital role journalists play and the serious risks they face in highlighting human rights abuses around the world. Entries close in less than two weeks on Thursday 20 January 2022. The award ceremony will take place at Amnesty UK’s Human Rights Action Centre in London on Wednesday 4 May 2022. Entries must be from…

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TD Bank Group Engages Diversity Firms to Actively Lead a US$500 Million Green Bond Offering – a First Among Canadian Issuers

Stuart Mitchell

The Toronto-Dominion Bank has closed a three-year US$500 million green bond offering through a syndicate of underwriters that includes minority-, women- and veteran-owned business enterprises (MWVBEs). This is the first time that a Canadian bank bond offering has been led by a syndicate group that included MWVBEs as Active Joint Bookrunners, reflecting TD’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. The transaction marks TD’s first green bond issuance under its Sustainable Bonds Framework (the “Framework”) (published in August 2020) and fourth environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-themed corporate bond issuance overall –…

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