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Leading miners including Fortescue Metals and BHP committing to big carbon reductions

Andy Park & Alex McDonald, ABC News, 21 April 2021

Fortescue Metals Group announced it will go carbon neutral in nine years' time. Chairman and founder of Fortescue, Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, says the decision comes as the fossil fuel industry is "perhaps our most dangerous industry in the world". BHP has also pledged to get to net zero emissions by 2050. Ian Dunlop, former chair of the...

Corporate social responsibility is not only ethical, but also a modern business tool

Laura Colombo, Forbes, 05 April 2021

The social change that has taken place across the corporate sector has brought more awareness to the need for a better world in both environmental and economic terms. It has led companies to focus on the presentation of a sustainability report, which is the real passport needed to enter today's business world. As such, the main value of CSR is...

Coles, Nestlé in plans to build first-ever soft plastics recycling plant

Dominic Powell, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 March 2021

A consortium of high-profile companies including Coles and Nestlé is planning to build a soft plastics recycling plant where wrappers and bags can be broken down and remade into new food-safe wrappings. An Australian first, this ‘circular’ soft plastics recycling plant is set to improve the technical, economic and environmental benefits of…

Santos adopts shareholder advisory vote on climate change report

Santos, 16 March 2021

Santos has announced it intends to provide shareholders with a non-binding advisory vote on the company’s Climate Change Report at the 2022 Annual General Meeting. Santos is also investing in carbon capture and storage which will safely and permanently store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and…

Corporate social responsibility is more important than ever: here’s how to ensure your company is stepping up

Stephanie Burns, Forbes, 04 March 2021

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has shifted from “efforts aimed at building a kind and empathetic corporate image” to focussing on what companies are doing to give back to their communities, how they are caring for their now-remote employees, and how they adhere to new guidelines and regulations. There has also been more emphasis placed...

How McDonald’s new Chief Global Impact Officer plans to execute the company’s ‘refreshed purpose’

Alicia Kelso, Forbes, 01 March 2021

As part of McDonald’s "refreshed purpose to feed and foster communities," the company is focusing on responsibly sourced ingredients, driving climate action, connecting with communities, and increasing focus on equity. With that, the company’s new Chief Global Impact Officer has pledged to sourcing 100 per cent of packaging from renewable,...

Banco Santander will deny loans to coal-related companies from 2030

Entrepreneur Asia, 23 February 2021

Spanish banking giant, Santander, announced that as of 2030, it will deny loans and other services to companies linked to the coal industry. In a pledge to ‘decarbonise the economy’, the bank released a statement promising to eliminate its “exposure to thermal coal mining worldwide” and “support the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate...

Rio Tinto vows to act on emissions after doling out record dividend

Nick Toscano, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 2021

Rio Tinto's new chief executive has laid out plans for a shake-up of the mining giant's climate change agenda, pledging to expand its emissions-reduction goals to tackle the company's enormous carbon footprint. However, the goals disappointed climate-focused shareholder activist Market Forces. The organisation's director, Julien Vincent, said...

BlackRock warns heavy polluters over emissions data before shareholder meetings

Simon Jessop, Reuters, 17 February 2021

Carbon-emitting companies must disclose the full scope of their greenhouse gas emissions or risk confrontation with investors at their annual shareholder meetings, BlackRock - the world's biggest asset manager - said on Wednesday. The warning is the first time BlackRock has publicly sought the release of Scope 3 emissions data, part of its plan...

Stakeholder capitalism gains traction as companies commit to new ESG metrics

Esther Whieldon, S&P Global, 27 January 2021

Dozens of the world's largest companies have committed to use a uniform set of "Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics" in their mainstream disclosures amid broader global efforts to standardise environmental, social and governance reporting. The 21 core stakeholder capitalism metrics are based on existing measuers and offer "universal, comparable...