Author: Stuart Mitchell

Sodexo’s new data-driven reporting tool spotlights social value impact

Stuart Mitchell

Sodexo UK & Ireland’s Government business has recently launched a new client-focussed, data-driven reporting platform to support its public sector clients define, track, measure and evidence the social value over the lifetime of client’s contract.  Aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals and nationally recognised methodologies for calculating Social Return on Investment (SROI), Sodexo’s new Social Impact Reporting Platform has been custom-built enabling it to operationalise its commitments and demonstrate progress through a client-accessible dashboard. The new bespoke platform, which will enhance contract management, enables Sodexo to feed in all activity…

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OPEC Fund provides US$35 million loan to Asaka Bank to support food security and climate action in Uzbekistan

Stuart Mitchell

The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is extending a US$35 million loan to Uzbekistan’s State Joint-Stock Company Asaka Bank (Asaka Bank) to enhance food security and expand financing for climate action projects in the Central Asian country. The funding will help increase access to finance for agriculture and strengthen the bank’s climate finance portfolio. OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “Our partnership with Asaka Bank supports two crucial priorities for Uzbekistan – ensuring food security and addressing climate change. Agriculture remains a cornerstone of the country’s economy…

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Cheltenham Manufacture Supports Next Generation of Green Engineers

Stuart Mitchell

Cheltenham-based Puredrive Energy has donated a range of cutting-edge Duracell Energy storage and renewable technology products to the newly opened Green Skills Centre at the College of West Anglia (CWA) in King’s Lynn. The facility, which was officially opened by James Wild MP for Northwest Norfolk, is set to play a key role in training the next generation of engineers for the UK’s rapidly growing green economy. Students at the centre will gain hands-on experience with the latest renewable energy technologies, including solar power, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging—key skills that…

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Greenpeace’s successful Oceans: Life Under Water podcast meets the creatures of the deep and season 2 dives into deep sea mining

Stuart Mitchell

Greenpeace’s podcast Oceans: Life Under Water is back for a second season after an incredibly successful first season which won a Bronze Climate award at the 2024 British Podcast Awards, and was nominated in the Listener’s Choice category. It begins with three episodes on the beauty of the deep sea and the threat of deep sea mining as nations prepare to attend the all important International Seabed Authority meeting. From 17th March international delegations will have an opportunity to speak in favour of a precautionary pause on deep sea mining, and…

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Social protection has a strong impact on the reduction of inequalities – new ILO paper finds

Stuart Mitchell

The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched its working paper, Combating inequalities: what role for universal social protection?, on Thursday, during an event that featured distinguished speakers from the ILO, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).  The paper, which was published at the end of 2024, underscores that inequalities remain a global challenge, and that income inequality in particular has reached alarming levels, with households in the lower 50th percentile holding 25 per cent of total income, compared to 30 per cent of total…

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