Day: 16 January 2026

New report identifies opportunities to unlock c.£37bn in private investment for Scotland’s home efficiency market

Stuart Mitchell

A new report, commissioned by the Green Finance Institute (GFI) and funded by the Scottish Government, titled ‘Scottish consumer attitudes towards green home finance products’, shows that boosting consumer awareness of available finance solutions could unlock up to c.£17bn in private investment when paired with supportive policy. According to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), decarbonising Scotland’s buildings will require an additional £30bn of investment, exceeding what the Scottish Government alone can fund[1]. With buildings accounting for 13% of Scotland’s total carbon emissions and 30% of total energy consumption[2], mobilising private…

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Octopus EV to absorb new EV road tax for existing lease customers

Stuart Mitchell

Octopus Electric Vehicles (‘Octopus EV’) has announced it will cover the new pay-per-mile tax for all existing customers – meaning no extra charges for drivers who have already made the switch to electric. The tax, which was announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, will introduce a 3p per-mile charge for electric vehicles. It is supposed to come into effect in April 2028 and is designed to replace fuel-duty revenue as more drivers move away from petrol and diesel. Customers currently on an Octopus EV lease, who completed an order by…

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Password manager provider fined £1.2m by ICO for data breach affecting up to 1.6 million people in the UK

Stuart Mitchell

ICO have fined password manager provider LastPass UK Ltd £1.2 million following a 2022 data breach that compromised the personal information of up to 1.6 million of its UK users.  They found that LastPass failed to implement sufficiently robust technical and security measures, which ultimately enabled a hacker to gain unauthorised access to its backup database. There is no evidence that hackers were able to unencrypt customer passwords as these are stored locally on customer devices and not by LastPass.  The incidents occurred in August 2022 when a hacker gained…

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Heart of Cochamó in Chilean Patagonia to be protected after historic purchase

Stuart Mitchell

The largest land holding in Cochamó is no longer for sale. Conserva Puchegüín, a locally driven conservation initiative comprised of multiple organizations, raised more than $78 million to purchase and support the long-term protection and effective management of Fundo Puchegüín, a 328,351-acre property of undeveloped nature in the heart of the Cochamó district in Chile’s northern Patagonia.   The purchase ends years of uncertainty over the future of Fundo Puchegüín after the previous owner put the property up for sale in 2022. Now begins a new phase of enduring protection and…

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PRSSA to Launch New Chapters at Bethel University and Coastal Carolina University

Stuart Mitchell

PRSSA announced today the establishment of two new collegiate Chapters at Bethel University and Coastal Carolina University (CCU). These new Chapters expand PRSSA’s national footprint and reinforce the organization’s global commitment to preparing the next generation of strategic communicators. “With communications evolving faster than ever, students need real-world tools, professional networks, and a clear understanding of how our industry drives business and measurable impact,” said Ray Day, APR, 2025 PRSA Chair, Stagwell vice chair and Allison Worldwide executive chair. “By launching Chapters at Bethel University and Coastal Carolina University, PRSSA…

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