Day: 3 December 2024

National Wealth Fund, Barclays UK Corporate Bank and Lloyds Banking Group join forces to unleash £1 billion to retrofit social housing

Stuart Mitchell

The NWF has announced financial guarantees that will see Barclays UK Corporate Bank and Lloyds Banking Group deliver £1 billion of funding to accelerate the retrofit of social housing in the UK. Barclays UK Corporate Bank and Lloyds Banking Group will each deliver £500 million of lending to the market that has been enabled by financial guarantees of up to £750m provided by the NWF. The guarantees will support both shorter duration loans to be provided by Lloyds Banking Group and mid-to-long duration loans to be provided by Barclays UK…

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UK banks poured over £1 billion into ‘forest-risk’ companies since 2022 – defying country’s landmark anti-deforestation pledge

Stuart Mitchell

The UK banking sector has poured over £1 billion ($1.4bn) into “forest-risk” companies globally since COP26, undermining the country’s commitments made at the 2021 Glasgow climate conference – according to new analysis by Global Witness in collaboration with the Forests & Finance coalition. This Global Witness analysis, published recently, is based on new Forest & Finance coalition data prepared by independent research organisation Profundo. The study found that in 2024, UK financiers ranked as the third-largest investors in shares and bonds issued by “forest-risk” companies, behind only the US and…

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Actress Ashley Jensen hosts exclusive premiere for schoolchildren to launch new Shaun the Sheep animation for Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day

Stuart Mitchell

Actress Ashley Jensen has joined a group of lucky schoolchildren on a knitted red carpet in the East Midlands whilst hosting an exclusive premiere to launch a brand-new Shaun the Sheep animation for Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day. Academy Award®-winning studio Aardman has colla-baa-rated with the international children’s charity on a ewe-nique Shaun the Sheep animation, The Knit Before Christmas, to celebrate the charity’s fundraising campaign and encourage everyone to sign up, take part and donate. Save the Children Ambassador Ashley Jensen hosted the film’s premiere at Launde Primary…

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PRCA supports launch of awards recognising top independent PR practitioners

Stuart Mitchell

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is proud to support the launch of The Independent Impact 50, a new awards programme celebrating the achievements of the PR industry’s most influential and impactful independent practitioners. Founded by leading independent practitioners and PRCA members Rod Cartwright FPRCA and Nigel Sarbutts CMPRCA, these awards will evaluate PR professionals’ campaign work while showcasing independent practitioners who demonstrate exceptional client impact, industry contributions, and a steadfast commitment to raising professional standards. The inaugural Independent Impact 50 will be selected by a panel of judges,…

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Dr Shiva Shirani wins Innovandi NanoCem Prize for research using 4D nano-technology to help improve low-carbon cement

Stuart Mitchell

A post doctorate researcher from Spain, whose research could help understand how to reduce the time it takes for low carbon concrete to harden, has been honoured with an international prize. For her PhD, Dr Shiva Shirani, from the University of Malaga, focused on studying advanced X-ray images (4D nano-imaging) of cement particles. Recently, she was named as winner of the Innovandi NanoCem Prize 2024, which recognises research focused on helping the global cement and concrete industry achieve net zero. The Innovandi NanoCem Prize was established to recognise outstanding academic…

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