Year: 2026

Platform for Change: New RNIB report reveals barriers to accessible train travel for blind and partially sighted people

Stuart Mitchell

Accessible train travel is essential for blind and partially sighted people to live independently, get to work, visit friends and family, and access healthcare. Yet, RNIB’s new report, Platform for Change: Making rail journeys more accessible for people with sight loss, shows that too many journeys are still impacted or prevented by unnecessary barriers such as inconsistent passenger assistance, difficult ticket buying methods and the inaccessible design of trains and stations. What you told us The Platform for Change report is based on a survey of nearly 1,200 blind and…

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Waitrose is top banana – as new initiative improves the lives of growing communities

Stuart Mitchell

Waitrose is recently announced a major boost for the communities who grow the supermarket’s most popular item – the banana. For the first time Waitrose bananas, which will continue to be certified as Fairtrade, will also join the Waitrose Foundation, which exists to create better livelihoods for workers and sustainable supply chains globally. With this new partnership, over 2p of every £1 spent on bananas will go to the growing communities, which is over and above the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Fairtrade Premium. The projects which will benefit the local…

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The defining challenge of this century, says WaterAid on new UN Global Water Bankruptcy’ report

Stuart Mitchell

In a new report released recently, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) declares an era of global water bankruptcy; as deforestation, pollution, sustained overuse of water systems has pushed many sources into a “post-crisis condition” in which historical baselines are no longer attainable without transformative change.   In response, Chief Executive of WaterAid UK, Tim Wainwright said at Davos:  ” ‘Global Water Bankruptcy’ captures a hard truth: the world’s water crisis has crossed a point of no return. “Worldwide, water is being depleted faster than it can be replenished and…

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National Safety Council Honors 2026 CEOs Who ‘Get It’

Stuart Mitchell

The National Safety Council has announced the 2026 CEOs Who “Get It,” an annual recognition honoring leaders who demonstrate a personal commitment to worker safety and health. The honorees will be profiled in the February 2026 issue of Safety+Health magazine and celebrated at the NSC Leaders in Safety awards celebration on May 6 during the 2026 NSC Safety Summit. This year’s honorees have made measurable progress in reducing preventable injuries and creating safe environments for their employees. Their approaches go beyond traditional workplace safety to address mental health, substance use…

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New podcast episode explores the state of play for hydrogen

Stuart Mitchell

The latest episode of the IEA’s Everything Energy podcast examines key developments in the global hydrogen sector today, drawing on the latest data to assess how current trends measure up against government and industry ambitions. Now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, the episode features insights from Energy Technology Analyst José Bermudez, the lead author of the IEA’s annual Global Hydrogen Review. He discusses what has driven enthusiasm about hydrogen across the energy sector, the challenges that have arisen in recent years, and how production could evolve to 2030. The IEA’s Everything Energy podcast offers…

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