Author: Stuart Mitchell

UK advertising leaders set up funding taskforce

Stuart Mitchell

The Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Asbof) has announced a new taskforce to secure sustainable long-term funding for the ASA System. Details of the taskforce are set out in this press release from Asbof. UK advertising is vibrant and booming: doubling in size since 2019 and public trust in it has reached a five-year high. This success is underpinned by the credibility of the ASA system’s self- and co-regulatory system. The ASA has invested in AI and machine learning to keep up with the scale of advertising growth. In 2025 the…

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Triodos Bank supports Scottish family-run site in nature recovery growth plans with £3.3m loan

Stuart Mitchell

Headquartered in Fife, Akre was established by the Drysdale family in 2020 and has since constructed a state-of-the-art nursery – Akre Trees. The site, which has been farmed by the family for five generations, enables Akre to address both climate change and biodiversity loss through delivering scalable, high-integrity woodland creation projects. The £3.3m lending package will refinance an existing debt and support ongoing working capital requirements, as well as short-term business expansion plans. Akre is currently investing in improved irrigation systems and environmental control across its nursery operations in Fife,…

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The 4th NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator Opens Its Doors to Young Innovators

Stuart Mitchell

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) launched the fourth edition of the IRENA NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator (NewGen), aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs and innovators in driving the renewable energy transition. NewGen provides capacity building, mentorship, and tailored support to youth-led start-ups and growth businesses that develop innovative solutions to advance renewables deployment. The initiative is delivered with the support of the Government of the United Arab Emirates, in partnership with Social Alpha (a non-profit organisation based in India that supports social start-ups) and Enel Foundation (a global non-profit think-tank…

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CAP – Mind the (price) gap: train ticket price claims that stay on track

Stuart Mitchell

The ASA/CAP have released a post called: Tread carefully:- Mind the (price) gap: train ticket price claims that stay on track, but please have a look at the ASA/CAP site as there are lots of things of interest to anyone with an interest in Ethical Marketing. Train ticket pricing can be a maze. When ads promise “cheapest”, “lowest” or “best price”, consumers may hear: “don’t bother checking anywhere else.” The ASA has upheld complaints about that kind of messaging for ScotRail, Greater Anglia and MyTrainTicket. Cheapest tickets? Claims and headlines…

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Practical toolkit to drive coordinated climate action launched for Textile Industry

Stuart Mitchell

An open-access workshop toolkit enables brands, suppliers, policymakers and investors across the textile industry to apply the System Map in their own work, identifying leverage points to halve emissions and enable a just transition. The textile industry must halve its greenhouse gas emissions every decade until 2050. The challenge is not lack of ambitions; it’s lack of alignment. In 2024, H&M Foundation introduced the System Map, a visual framework that reimagines the textile industry as an interconnected ecosystem shaped by flows of capital, incentives, innovation, regulation and demand. Now, H&M…

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