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Fashion industry and US college team up for sustainability

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 By Ilaria Bertini

A selection of high-profile fashion brands has teamed up with the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles to form a partnership to improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of their products. The new group, named Otis Sustainability Alliance, brings together famous brands such as Nike,...

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Somerset to get 5.4MW solar development

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 By Emma Websdale

TGC Renewables has applied for planning permission for a 5.4 megawatt (MW) solar project in Somerset, after recently getting the go-ahead for a 4.8MW development neighbouring Devon. Some 22,600 solar panels will be installed on 13 hectares of land near the village of Queen Camel, Yeovilton. They will provide...

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Australian bank cuts interest rate to boost mining sector

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 By Ilaria Bertini

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut its key interest rate to 2.75% from 3%, in a bid to combat sluggish growth in the extraction industry. Governor Glenn Stevens said, “Growth in Australia was close to trend in 2012 overall, but was a bit below trend in the...

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Tourism in Nepal threatened by flooding

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 By Emma Websdale

Experts have warned that further natural disasters are likely to threaten tourism in Nepal, which last year saw 60 people killed by flooding of the Seti river. According to geographers and hydrologists, changes in the course and flow pattern of the river, which led to flooding, were caused by...

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New scheme rolled out to assist UK credit union growth

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 By Alex Blackburne

The credit union industry’s trade body has rolled out an ambitious new plan in an effort to grow UK membership by a million over the next five years. The Credit Union Expansion Project, which 31 organisations have already backed, has been unveiled by the Association of British Credit Unions...

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Government could start RBS privatisation in mid-2014

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 By Emma Websdale

After revealing its best quarterly profits since 2011, bailed out Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has said the government could sell its stake to the private sector as soon as next year. Chairman Sir Philip Hampton announced in a video statement on the banks’ website last week that he...

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Arctic Ocean experiencing rapid acidification

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 By Ilaria Bertini

Excessive levels of carbon dioxide are causing acidification in Arctic waters, affecting the ecosystem and indigenous communities, according to a new study. The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) says that carbon dioxide from human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, is to blame. Greenhouse gases are...

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US solar-powered plane completes first leg of coast-to-coast trip

Monday, May 6th, 2013 By Ilaria Bertini

Solar Impulse, an aircraft powered by solar energy, has flown from San Francisco to Phoenix – the first step in a journey that will see it cover the entire length of the US. After its first section, which lasted 18 hours, the plane will stop in several other cities,...

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Ed Davey calls for climate change to remain in national curriculum

Friday, May 3rd, 2013 By Emma Websdale

Ed Davey has urged education secretary Michael Gove to put the topic of climate change back into the geography curriculum for key stages 1-3. Davey, the energy secretary, wrote a letter to Gove, asking him to keep climate change in the revised national curriculum due to be rolled out...

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Trade body gives green groups reality check over biomass

Friday, May 3rd, 2013 By Alex Blackburne

The Renewable Energy Association, the trade body for the renewables industry, has hit out at green NGOs who it says have been spreading “misinformation” about biomass use. In a letter to Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the RSPB, chief executive Gaynor Hartnell writes how she is “deeply disappointed”...

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EU faltering on low-carbon energy investment, says House of Lords committee

Friday, May 3rd, 2013 By Emma Websdale

Lack of EU policies on delivering secure, affordable and low-carbon energy has hindered investment into renewables projects, according to a new report by a House of Lords committee. After an eight-month inquiry into the state of the EU energy policy, the agriculture, fisheries, environment and energy committee concluded that...

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Shortlist revealed for FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards

Friday, May 3rd, 2013 By Alex Blackburne

After attracting a record number of entries, the Financial Times (FT) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have unveiled the shortlist for the 2013 Sustainable Finance Awards – taking place in June at London’s InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane. The Co-operative Banking Group, Standard Chartered and Bridges Ventures were...

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FTSE launches new environmental index

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 By Ilaria Bertini

FTSE has unveiled the Environmental Technologies Index (ET 100), which will assess companies operating within environmental markets. The ET 100 is the 21st index in the FTSE Environmental Markets series and will include firms involved in environmental technologies such as renewable energy, water, energy efficiency, waste management and pollution...

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£14m Social Impact Bond fund launched

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 By Emma Websdale

Big Society Capital and Bridges Ventures have launched a £14m Social Impact Bond (SIB) fund, in an effort to help channel finance into the social economy. The first SIB was launched in September 2010 by Social Finance UK. The funds are effectively a contract with the public sector, in...

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US students call for responsible investment by universities

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 By Ilaria Bertini

A group of students from the US have urged three prestigious universities to strengthen their investment policies regarding minerals extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Students from Yale, Brown and Dartmouth launched the appeal to their institutions because of their worries about human rights abuses in mining...

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