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Primark, a discount fashion retailer that has been one of the UK’s high street success stories, recently predicted a buoyant set of results.  The company looks set to provide parent company Associated British Foods with a much needed profits injection, – like-for-like sales growth predictions at close to double digit levels, for the second half [...]

Having read in the FT that Wincanton has won a £275m contract with Marks & Spencer partly based on their ‘green outlook’, we thought it might be worth taking a closer look.
The company’s Environmental Strategy document is available here. It is clearly well thought-out, and positions Wincanton’s environmental strategy as a key part of their [...]

“Greenwash” is a term that is applied, particularly by NGOs, to describe certain public relations (PR) activities conducted by organisations they allege are “dirty” (in green or environmental terms).  A typical greenwash allegation suggests that PR actions have been undertaken to achieve improved perceptions of “green” or environmental credentials when in fact these credentials either [...]

The Norwegian government pension fund has decided to get active in respect to water management. It plans to engage with companies to improve their management of water related risk and their reporting of this aspect of their activities.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission doesn’t require companies to disclose information about this issue. However, if this [...]

Both leading UK political parties have had a considerable amount to say recently about CSR related matters. This has particularly focused on the banking sector and, occasionally, matters such as climate change.
I recall that, a few years ago, the British government allocated a CSR portfolio responsibility to Stephen Timms. He, along with his [...]

Over the last few years we’ve noticed a notable lack of understanding within the media and the NGO world about the terms responsible and “ethical” investing and the strategies that should be adopted by investment managers. We thought we’d try to move this debate along with our take on the matter.
Let’s take the UK [...]

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary is a reliable source for a good quote. The latest is his reaction to the British transport secretary’s plans to replace short-haul flights with a high-speed rail network “For reasons of carbon reduction and wider environmental benefits”.
O’Leary’s take on this was:
“It is insane.”
And…
“On [return] domestic flights from Glasgow to London passengers [...]

The Food Standards Agency report on the nutritional value of organic food versus ‘conventionally produced foodstuffs’ has produced a large amount of press coverage over the past few days. This coverage has sparked debate, letters, claims and counter-claims by experts and amateurs alike.
Time for me to weigh in.
The study looked at nutritional value, finding ‘no [...]

A recent article in the Financial Times considers the increasing importance being afforded to ‘responsible investment’, and centrally its impact on the global fund management community.  The article cites the recent actions of the ‘UN Principles for Responsible Investment’, – a body that acts to “help investors integrate consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) [...]

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk goes on sale today with a new selling point, the Fairtrade mark.  As the chocolate bar enjoys the status of being Britain’s favourite, the company does not seem too worried about winning new fans, with company president Trevor Bond stating “If some people decide to switch to Dairy Milk after we change [...]