Month: May 2024

World Bank Group Aims to Expand Health Services to 1.5 Billion People

Stuart Mitchell

The World Bank Group has announced an ambitious plan to support countries in delivering quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030. This is part of a larger global effort to provide a basic standard of care through every stage of a person’s life—infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. For decades, the World Bank Group has helped provide health services for women and children in more than 100 countries. A focused effort to become faster, work better with partners, and bring in the private sector has enabled the 80-year-old…

Read More

IFC and Amundi Raised $436 million to Support Green, Resilient, Inclusive Recovery in Emerging Markets

Stuart Mitchell

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Amundi, the leading European asset manager, announced the final closing of the SEED, which stands for – Sustainable Emerging Economy Development Debt (the “Fund“), a sub-fund of Amundi Planet II, SA SICAV-RAIF. Launched in 2021 on the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow, the fund has raised $436 million from institutional investors, including IFC, Alecta, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (“CDP“), and APK-Pensionskasse, thereby mobilizing private investment in emerging market sustainable bonds, with the objective of promoting a green, resilient, and inclusive economic…

Read More

UK marketing budget growth cools in Q1, but 2024/25 outlook remains positive

Stuart Mitchell

UK companies revised their marketing spend up once again in Q1 2024, stretching a run of growth that dates back to the second quarter of 2021, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report published on 18 April 2024. A sustained upturn in marketing spend comes amid an improving economic backdrop for the UK economy, with an impending emergence from recession and falling inflationary pressures. Just shy of one-quarter (24.4%) of panellists recorded an upward revision to their overall marketing budgets in Q1, compared to 15% that saw a contraction. Although…

Read More

Unilever in the UK publishes 2023 Gender Pay Report

Stuart Mitchell

Unilever have published their gender pay results for the seventh year, in line with the government’s Gender Pay regulations introduced in April 2017. As required by government regulation for gender pay reporting, more detailed figures from our two main employing entities in the UK have been published. These are Unilever UK Limited, representing our UK specific operations, including factories, and Unilever UK Central Resources Limited, representing our global functions based in the UK and primarily reflecting our central office and research labs. We’ve also chosen to share overall ‘Unilever in…

Read More

Centre for Thriving Places announces ‘Wellbeing Economy in Action’ project

Stuart Mitchell

Centre for Thriving Places has announced a new project with support from Triodos Bank UK and Carnegie UK to amplify and celebrate the progress being made to embed wellbeing economics. Across the UK, local government, business and community groups are fuelling a revolution and reclaiming their local economies. When aligned with the values and aspirations of the community, these systems can reshape places to drive positive and sustained social and environmental action. The ‘Wellbeing Economy in Action’ project will bring these stories to life, creating a compendium of first-person narratives…

Read More