The corporate backlash is growing against Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, with Mars launching a $1bn sustainability plan and an M&M’s campaign centred on renewable energy. It is the latest climate move by the family owned firm, which emerged as a vocal critic of the US president’s decision to pull out of the 2015 climate pact, saying it was “disappointed” with the withdrawal and stressing that corporations could not go it alone when it came to tackling climate change. Mars is now rolling out a $1bn (£771m) investment to help cut greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 67% by 2050, run a poverty reduction and sustainability programme for farmers and suppliers, and ramp up food safety and security efforts. Chief executive Grant F Reid said: “This plan is about not just doing better, but doing what’s necessary. We’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do but also because it’s good business. “We expect to have a competitive advantage from a more resource-efficient supply chain, and from ensuring that everyone in our supply chain is doing well.” The Snickers, Twix, Milky Way and Skittles maker has also revealed plans to champion renewable energy through its M&M’s brand, featuring images of things such as wind turbines alongside its red and yellow candy characters.
Guardian 6th Sept 2017 read more »
Edie 6th Sept 2017 read more »
The European Parliament’s energy committee confirmed that MEPs want renewable energy targets to be more ambitious than the proposal put forward by the Commission. Monday’s meeting of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) saw MEPs debate 1,300 amendments to the European Commission’s initial proposal for a new directive on promoting renewable energy sources. ITRE is the lead Parliament committee on the draft directive, which is a key piece of the EU’s “energy union” package of legislation presented in November 2016. Despite the huge amount of changes suggested by European lawmakers from across the political spectrum, a clear consensus emerged in favour of increasing the ambition of the Commission’s proposed renewable energy targets. Rapporteur José Blanco López (Socialists and Democrats) insisted that “we need an agreement that goes further than 27%” target for 2030, arguing “This is a social issue.” Europe needs a new directive that “won’t be immediately obsolete,” explained the politician from the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party. For 2020, individual EU member states were handed legally binding targets at national level in order to meet the EU-wide threshold of 20% renewables. But this is no longer the case with the 27% for 2030, which is EU-wide and hasn’t been broken down into national objectives. Acknowledging the difference in available resources from country to country, EU governments have been free to set their own goal at national level, provided the overall 27% renewable target is met for the 28-member bloc as a whole.
Edie 6th Sept 2017 read more »
