Green Bonds are misguided, counter-productive, and an investment handicap November 12, 2020 On Monday, the chancellor announced that the UK government will soon be issuing “Green Bonds”. In separate but related news, Scottish Widows will dump £400m of stocks that don’t meet Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria. ESG compliance has become the first thing discussed at investment committee meetings. Everyone wants to show how green they [...]
‘Cultural relevance’ is the key to brands connecting with Generation Z sport fans October 28, 2020 ‘Cultural relevance’ is a phrase increasingly being discussed in boardrooms of brands and advertising agencies across the world. As reaching Gen Z becomes more important every year, the need to go beyond traditional marketing and connect with the values and beliefs of this audience is now vital. At Ear to the Ground, we know that [...]
City of London Corporation vows to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 October 9, 2020 The City of London Corporation has vowed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 as a part of a new climate action plan. The powerful local authority passed the draft proposal yesterday, which will see the Corporation spend £68m on “fighting climate change” over the next six years. The plan will include changing planning [...]
Business secretary Alok Sharma hits out at Extinction Rebellion for its ‘innefective’ methods October 5, 2020 Business secretary Alok Sharma has hit out at Extinction Rebellion for its methods, saying the environmental group’s actions will not lead to any real change. Sharma said at the Conservative party conference that the way to “achieve climate action” was not by “glueing yourself to trains, by glueing yourself to buildings [or] by disprupting peoples [...]
Extinction Rebellion: Arrests made as protesters target Parliament September 1, 2020 At least five people have been arrested today after environmental campaigners from protest group Extinction Rebellion blocked streets near parliament today to campaign for new legislation on climate change. Extinction Rebellion protesters were arrested today after they sat down in roads near to Parliament Square to stop traffic. The protesters are calling on MPs to [...]
Climate protesters target Lloyd’s of London over fossil fuels insurance September 1, 2020 Returning Lloyd’s of London employees have been met with protesters who are demanding the insurer ditch its fossil fuels insurance to protect the climate. Campaign group Insure Our Future launched its campaign outside Lloyd’s of London office this morning as the insurer reopened its underwriting hall. Protesters are criticising Lloyd’s for failing to take “meaningful [...]
Extinction Rebellion to block London streets in climate change protest August 28, 2020 Climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion will block the streets in London next week as they demand that the government addresses the crisis. Protestors are planning to block roads around parliament on 1 September as they call on MPs to back a climate emergency bill. Demonstrations will also take place in Manchester and Cardiff. “The [...]
Be eco-rational: The world’s environmental problems are too serious for petty political dogma August 19, 2020 On 14 February 1990, a photograph was taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft from the fringes of the solar system. As it sped further away, engineers spun it around to capture an image of the planet Earth, suspended in space roughly four billion miles away. Taking up only 0.12 of a pixel in the image, [...]
Liberal Democrats leadership race: The long road to relevance July 30, 2020 For the second consecutive summer, Liberal Democrat members will be dragged to the polls to vote in a leadership election. While last year’s contest had a palpable feeling of optimism and excitement for many members, this year’s affair will likely represent the most abject contrast. The Liberal Democrats had surged to an unlikely lead in [...]
An open letter to the PM: Britain must build Sizewell C — nuclear sits at the heart of a green recovery July 12, 2020 An open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, business secretary Alok Sharma, and chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak We are writing as engineers, nuclear experts, scientists and concerned citizens to applaud your commitment to fighting climate change through energy policy, in particular the commitment to proceed with new nuclear construction at the same time [...]