Day: 25 June 2024

Perenna and Octopus (l)ink arms to offer world-first ‘Zero Bills’ mortgage

Stuart Mitchell

Octopus Energy and the UK’s first covered bond bank, Perenna, recently launched the world’s first ‘Zero Bills’ home mortgage, unlocking sustainable homeownership for many more people across the country. ‘Zero Bills’ is a cutting-edge smart initiative created by Octopus that allows customers to move into homes that are kitted out with green energy technology, such as heat pumps and solar PV, and with no energy bills for at least ten years. Perenna is the first bank to factor the value of Octopus’ ‘Zero Bills’ initiative into its affordability calculations. The…

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Fareshare Launches Sobering Pre-Election Manifesto

Stuart Mitchell

Leading food charity FareShare has launched its manifesto ahead of the General Election, calling on the next Government to commit to delivering more surplus food to those in need.    The UK is grappling with more than 4 million tonnes of perfectly edible food going to waste annually – the equivalent weight of 70 aircraft carriers – significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Simultaneously, 11 million people in the country face food insecurity, and the poorest households are forced to spend half their income to afford a healthy diet, leading…

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WFA President’s Awards recognise six key industry initiatives around the world

Stuart Mitchell

WFA President and Mastercard CMO, Raja Rajamannar, has awarded five outstanding industry initiatives around the world as part of Global Marketer Week in Toronto, with an additional special award for ADVAN Nigeria’s brief writing programme and its important work in championing better marketing locally. Launched in 2010, the annual President’s Awards recognise initiatives run by national industry associations that help advance the marketer’s agenda and contribute to positive change in the marketing industry and society. Submissions were judged on their ability to compellingly demonstrate that they had made a measurable impact and could…

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More cocoa farmers benefit from Fairtrade training, according to new report

Stuart Mitchell

Fairtrade International has released the fourth edition of its West Africa Cocoa Programme (WACP) Monitoring Report that continued to show a significant growth in training in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. In 2023, a total of 48,876 participants, of which 11,812 were female, 24 percent, participated in training. This represents a 22 percent increase when compared to data gathered in 2022. The increase reflects the success of a “cascading” approach in which Fairtrade Africa trains a set of cooperative managers and farmers, who then bring the information back to…

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Survey Finds Overwhelming Support for Safe System Approach to Roadway Safety

Stuart Mitchell

New survey findings released recently by the National Safety Council show it’s not just the U.S. Department of Transportation and traffic safety advocates that support a Safe System Approach to roadway safety – the public does too.  Conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute through a Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant, the survey examined the beliefs of adults in the U.S. related to the Safe System Approach and various safety-related concepts, including roadway use behavior and perceptions of road safety and safety strategies. The survey revealed that most…

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