Day: 3 June 2023

Greening the grey: Mayors Khan, Plante unveil C40 ‘rewilding’ guide for cities in London

Stuart Mitchell

Transformational change in urban areas is needed to reverse biodiversity loss and tackle climate change. That is the message Mayors Sadiq Khan of London and Valérie Plante of Montréal are sending to urban leaders around the world as they unveil new research on “urban rewilding” by C40 and Arup. Mayors Khan and Plante will convene a roundtable of experts in London later today to explore opportunities to bring back nature in our cities, a priority for both mayors as well as mayors across the global network of C40 cities, and…

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Pioneering energy efficiency tech wins Government grants

Stuart Mitchell

Seven new energy and resource saving technologies have secured £4.8m of funding for UK industry trials, with innovations ranging from reusing eggshells to recycling fast fashion garments.   These projects are the fourth phase of the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) programme, supported by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which helps innovators to demonstrate technology for industrial use.  Phase 4 winners also include two different pioneering metal working techniques, new ventilation systems, methods for cleaning food manufacturing equipment and concrete technology.   Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green…

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ILO welcomes G7 commitment to invest in human capital and decent work

Stuart Mitchell

The International Labour Organization has welcomed a G7 Labour and Employment Ministers’ Declaration, focusing on the need to invest in human capital and decent work. The meeting in the Japanese city of Kurashiki, which took place 22 – 23 April, concluded with a statement highlighting governments’ commitments to address key issues facing the world of work. These include the need for decent work and worker engagement; lifelong learning and investment in skills; inclusive labour markets; and gender equality, including the importance of promoting paternity leave in workplaces and in the…

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VoxComm warns of damaging consequences of extended payment terms

Stuart Mitchell

VoxComm, the global voice for communications agencies of which IPA is a founding member, is warning agencies and clients of the damaging consequences of extended payment terms. Many agencies, being people businesses, do not have the financial resources to fund months of payroll. Simultaneously, extended payment behaviour harms the agency-client relationship and negatively impacts brand reputations. Some marketers have abused their power to impose egregious extended payment terms on agencies, which agencies can fund only by increased borrowing. Borrowing is expensive and harmful to the long-term sustainability of agency businesses…

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Companies’ total UK marketing budget growth hits one-year high

Stuart Mitchell

Companies’ total UK marketing budget growth is at its strongest since Q2 2022, despite an intensely challenging economic environment both domestically and globally. This is according to the Q1 2023 IPA Bellwether Report. The data reveals the net balance of firms registering upward revisions to their marketing budgets in Q1 2023 is +8.2%, considerably higher than the +2.2% recorded in Q4 2022. While 21.1% of firms saw an expansion, 12.9% of firms registered budget cuts and around two-thirds (66.0%) recorded no change in spending. Growth by category in Q1 2023…

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