Morning All. With Blue Monday well and truly behind us, Here are the 7 stories to make you feel a little more positive about the year ahead.
In today’s edition:
🍏 Apple’s Environmental Bonus modifier
👟 Adidas’ mushroom trainers
🐄 ‘Proof of Steak’ – Brazilian beef and blockchain
Big Business (2-minute read)
Apple will modify executive bonuses based on environmental values in 2021
Last week Apple announced it will modify cash bonuses of executives based on their progress towards the company’s environment, social and governance (ESG) goals. Executive bonuses will increase or decrease by up to 10%, when judged against six core values including product recyclability, workforce diversity, and supplier responsibility. This is a landmark move for ESG-shareholder activists (who grab stakes in companies and agitate for ethical change), as just last year Apple opposed stakeholder demands for ESG linked compensation. This approach remains the exception. Just 10% of CEO’s currently have bonuses linked to sustainability requirements.
The rise of the ESG stakeholder activist: Many investors – not just activists – now view ESG factors as vital to company’s performance, with a failure to address issues posing a significant risk to value. Winning companies will proactively engage with investors to map vulnerabilities, pre-empt requests and collaborate in fulfilling them.
PepsiCo invest in female farmer empowerment
According to the UN Food and Agriculture organisation, there are 4.5 million female agricultural producers in Latin America and the Caribbean, however they earn 24% less than male counterparts and face reduced access to land and credit. If female farmers had equal access to these resources they could increase their yields by 30%. PepsiCo is investing $6 million to overcome gender inequality in its potato supply chain. The effort is a win-win. By providing female farmers with training opportunities, technical support and access to credit, PepsiCo experience improved productivity and a more resilient, sustainable supply chain.
Uber supporting the vaccination push
Moderna is working with Uber to disseminate information about the safety of its vaccine through the ride-hailing app. Uber also hopes people will be able to book a car when scheduling a vaccination appointment. It recently made 10 million rides available free or at a discount to get people to vaccination centres, in a project targeted at minority communities.
🤖 Future of Tech (1-minute read)
‘Proof of Steak’ Using Blockchain to track Brazilian Beef
Ecotrace Solutions, a Brazilian start-up, offers blockchain-based technology across the agriculture supply chain by deploying a mix of Internet of Things, Big Data and Blockchain technologies. Ecotrace provides individual cattle carcasses with QR codes, which consumers can scan to trace the cow’s farm and when it was put into refrigeration. Blockchain allows for products to be audited and certified in line with food safety regulations (hormone free and grass-fed attributes), by providing transparency on its journey from field to fork. Ranchers will also see a return on investment, with certification allowing them to sell meat for a higher price.
Adidas launch mushroom trainers
In addition to making 60% of all its products using recycled sources in 2021, Adidas will use the humble fungus in its new line of vegan footwear. By working with biotech start-up Bolt Threads, Adidas will create it’s new trainers using mycelium – the vegetative part of a fungus. Adidas have a track-record of successfully producing plant-based footwear, with last years’ launch of vegan-leather versions of several classic trainers becoming best sellers.
The rise of Vegan footwear: it’s a fast growing industry, with the value of the artificial leather market expected to grow at around 8% a year until 2022, predominantly in footwear. Arguably more sustainable than other leather substitutes, fungi-derived leather is expected to win favour with conscious consumers – making Adidas’ move to fungus footwear all the more savvy.
📈 What’s Up, What’s Down 📉 (1-minute read)
📈 Norwegian Electric Vehicles
Electric cars sales in Norway overtook petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles last year, making up 54.3% of all new cars sold, a global record, with Volkswagen replacing Tesla as the top battery-vehicle producer. How? Norway exempts fully electric vehicles from taxes imposed on those relying on fossil fuels.
📉 Unethical Diamonds
The diamond industry remains rife with issues: from Slave labour to land degradation. Last week the first framework for assessing and certifying ‘sustainable performance’ of diamonds was released. Each stone is assessed for:
Provenance: testing of each diamond to understand its journey through the supply chain and ensuring diamonds are conflict-free;
Social Impact: Zero Tolerance for child labor, slave labor and human rights abuses, with extensive protections for commusnities
- Environmental Impact:Stringent environmental checks, climate neutrality requirements for suppliers, and net zero impact milestones.
Little Bytes
Quote: “The biggest technological challenge facing humanity is how do we use the experience of Covid-19 as a catalyst for change and accelerate the provision of healthcare to all segments of society in the future.” Dr Garry Pairaudeau, CTO, Exscientia
Stat: GE have created the world’s most powerful wind turbine, capable of powering a house for two days with one rotation
Watch: How a robot is helping ships reduce carbon emissions
🗞 In other news…
Post-Brexit UK pushes-on with plans for net-zero Energy industry
Launch of the world’s first Paris-agreement aligned exchange traded fund (ETF)
Too Good To Go, the startup that lets you buy food right before it goes to waste, raises $31million to keep fighting food waste
- Stock buyers are backing Electric Cars and CleanTech
💡 8 Sustainable Business Predictions For 2021
🌋 Drones to predict volcanoes
🍗 Singapore approve selling of lab-grown chicken
