Day: 4 September 2026

Integrity Council announces CCP-Eligible program decisions for BioCarbon Standard, Cercarbono and Plan Vivo (PV Climate)

Stuart Mitchell

With the approval of BioCarbon Standard, Cercarbono and Plan Vivo (PV Climate), CCP-Eligible programs are now estimated to account for more than 95% of cumulative voluntary carbon market issuances. The approval of BioCarbon Standard and Cercarbono highlights the growing contribution of Global South-led initiatives to the evolution of high-integrity voluntary carbon markets. Annette Nazareth, Chair of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, said: “We welcome the significant work undertaken by programs and methodology developers to strengthen their standards and requirements through the assessment process. The approval of BioCarbon…

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ASA and Trading Standards join forces to shut down 14 illegal weapons websites

Stuart Mitchell

A successful partnership between the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Trading Standards has resulted in the removal of 14 websites illegally advertising prohibited offensive weapons to UK consumers. While the ASA is not a criminal enforcement body, we play an important role in identifying potentially unlawful advertising and ensuring that concerns are directed to the appropriate authorities. When advertising for prohibited weapons is brought to our attention, we can and will refer cases to enforcement partners, including local authority Trading Standards services, for further investigation and action. In this case,…

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Lidl GB And Neighbourly Accelerate Olio Partnership To Almost 200 Communities

Stuart Mitchell

Lidl GB and Neighbourly have expanded their partnership with food-sharing app, Olio, giving more shoppers the chance to collect surplus food from Lidl stores for free at the end of the day via the Olio app. The initiative is now available at around 200 Lidl stores, from Newcastle to Shepherds Bush in London, with plans to roll it out nationwide by the end of the year. When local charities can’t make late-evening collections, Olio’s volunteer ‘Food Waste Heroes’ step in to pick up surplus fresh produce, meat, and bakery items…

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Major banks providing billions in “sustainable” loans to deforestation-linked companies

Stuart Mitchell

Global Witness found companies linked to deforestation and human rights violations are still able to access “sustainability-linked” loans, raising serious questions for ESG investors and government regulators Key findings Over 100 banks arranged $31 billion in sustainability-linked loans to palm oil companies despite firms’ alleged links to deforestation Standard Chartered and HSBC amongst major banks who together provided half a billion dollars in “sustainability-linked loans” (SLLs) to major palm oil producers Wilmar and Musim Mas, as they faced allegations of corruption and deforestation  Data suggests that palm oil producer Wilmar could be linked to 4,200 hectares of deforestation – an area the size of 6000 football pitches – between 2016-2024, despite introduction of “no deforestation” policy Spanning that period (2018 –2024), Wilmar received $950 million…

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HEINEKEN UK Launches One Of The UK’s Largest Regenerative Agriculture Malting Barley Programmes

Stuart Mitchell

HEINEKEN UK has announced the launch of one of the UK’s leading regenerative malting barley programmes, in partnership with maltsters Muntons and Boortmalt, barley merchants Cefetra, and independent agronomists Soil Capital, to support UK farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture practices at scale. Farmers will be directly paid a premium on regenerative barley yields, helping to reduce the risk of changing farming practices and making the transition commercially viable. This approach, combined with the scale of the programme, sets it apart from other regenerative agriculture malting barley initiatives in the UK…

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