The management systems community
3rd Nov 2011 by JChowdhury
The first day of Carbon Forum Asia (CFA) coincided with Certified Emission Reduction (CER) prices reaching a new low in Europe – the key driver for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in Asia and the area of most interest to participants. But whilst the short term outlook is currently challenging, conversations in the conference hall [...]
10th Oct 2011 by JChowdhury
Yoshihisa Onishi, Consultant at Japan FSMS Assessment and Registration Body (JFARB), discusses the purpose FSSC 22000 and how it can improve food safety. “In Japan, the spread of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) was promoted by establishment of the “Total Hygiene Controlled Manufacturing Process Approval System”. When ISO 22000 was issued in 2005, [...]
5th Oct 2011
The second day of the E-idea regional workshop for over 40 eco entrepreneurs winners (or E-idealists as they are being called) from the Asia-Pacific region was all about implementing their learnings from the first day and further exploring their relationships with other E-idealists.
4th Oct 2011
The workshop provides a unique opportunity for the E-idea winners (or E-idealists as they are being called) to experience the cultural diversity and share their sustainable solutions with their fellow winners….
4th Oct 2011
Interview with Simon Batters, Vice President LRQA Japan and Korea and E-idea Project Director
22nd Sep 2011 by JChowdhury
Key leaders from various industries will gather at this year’s CSR Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on 27 and 28 September, the annual flagship event of CSR Asia, to discuss CSR developments across four themes: Asian CSR strategies; environmental issues; community investment; and, sustainable supply chains and food security. View a full copy of the [...]
19th Sep 2011 by JChowdhury
Arif Nugroho, an E-idea winner from Indonesia, runs a company that converts discarded coconut husks into 100% biodegradable netting that is used to prevent erosion and as a medium for growing plants in former mining sites under reclamation. Arif’s clients include multinationals such as Chevron and Total and his project employs 100 female workers, reduces [...]
5th Sep 2011 by JChowdhury
Forty young eco-entrepreneurs triumphed over a field of 888 applicants in the E-idea competition held in seven Asia-Pacific countries to win up to £12,000 in seed funding as well as mentoring and international training opportunities for projects they have devised to address some of the biggest environmental challenges facing communities in the region. Read the [...]
5th Sep 2011 by JChowdhury
Introducing the E-Idea Competition in Vietnam
31st Aug 2011 by JChowdhury
Six winners of E-Idea Vietnam announced
Event: 2nd Nov 2011 – 3rd Nov 2011 by Madlen King
CARBON FORUM ASIA is Asia Pacific’s leading annual Trade Fair & Conference for Climate and Carbon Finance, Emissions Trading and Low Carbon Technologies. With its finger on the pulse of current regional and global market developments, it is the platform of choice for Carbon Market professionals and governments to discuss key trends and issues that [...]
1st Dec 2010
A recent article in Supply Chain Asia looks at how achieving effective global supply chain security is a task fraught with challenge.
27th Oct 2010 by Madlen King
Madlen King, LRQA’s Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, was a panelist during the “CDM – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” session on Day One of the Carbon Forum Asia in Singapore
12th Oct 2010
A recent article from The Asian Hotel & Catering Times, September 2010, looks at how green-washing builds cynicism in both staff and guests, which may damage the brand. Ruth Williams looks into how hotels can convince stakeholders they are sincere.
19th Jul 2010
A recent e-newsletter from V-Carbon News covers the recent story about policy changes which are underway that directly impact the future of Oceania’s voluntary market.
13th Apr 2010
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said the number of such breaches rose to 219 last year, an increase of 24 per cent from 2007.
9th Jan 2010
Fresh questions have been raised about China’s food safety policy after it emerged that officials waited almost a year before going public with its latest probe into alleged melamine contamination in milk.
25th Oct 2009 by Richard Gunawan
The international maritime transport community expects the annual volume of green-house gasses (GHG) emitted by commercial shipping to grow 55% to 1,345 metric tonnes (Mt) by 2020. In 2007, global shipping’s GHG emissions reached 870 Mt — or roughly equivalent to Germany’s production over the same period – but that figure is expected to quadruple [...]
3rd Oct 2009 by Richard Gunawan
With the Copenhagen round less than three months away, it’s easy to forget that Kyoto – signed by 37 industrialised countries and the European Union — is nearing its 12th birthday. Its critics argue that few signatory nations will meet their binding five-year targets to reduce by 5% their county’s green house emissions by 2012 [...]
3rd Sep 2009 by Madlen King
On the 100th day count down to the international climate change summit in Copenhagen, China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed a resolution stating that it will take steps to cut emissions and improve energy efficiency. Whilst this resolution has no binding effect on China’s Communist Party, this is a great step [...]
7th Aug 2009
South Korea and Mexico have announced that they will set carbon emission targets ahead of the global climate meeting in Copenhagen this December, Environmental Leader reports.
24th Jul 2009 by Richard Gunawan
Lack of Work-Life Balance has significant risks to the organisation; including loss of productivity, poor health, and higher absenteeism. By offering flexible work arrangements to employees can help companies navigate the troubled times. By offering periods of unpaid leave or options to work part-time, companies may be able to avoid massive retrenchment and still retain their talented employees.
20th Jul 2009 by Richard Gunawan
Companies that fail to disclose their ESG performance will find it more difficult to obtain funds from institutional investors. Several pension funds, for example, consider climate change a key criterion and will exclude companies that cannot substantiate their environmental commitments.
The absence of a proper management system, policy and review will deter fund managers. Investors are more savvy in their selection of companies that prove a genuine commitment to sustainability issues.
16th Jul 2009 by Richard Gunawan
There is a gradual move to make CSR as a core business strategy in Hong Kong. Stakeholders and the market are becoming more sophisticated and companies have to be more proactive in managing their CSR activities. Organisations understand that without proper planning, monitoring and review, CSR activities will never be done correctly.
6th Jul 2009 by Richard Gunawan
After years of debate, the plastic bag levy finally will be introduced to Hong Kong on July 7th, 2009. Consumers will have to fork out HK$0.50 (or US$0.07) per plastic bag. Some consumers and retailers are concerned with the levy, as they will have to pay more.
3rd Jul 2009 by Richard Gunawan
Most companies seem to focus on the measurable aspects of an occupational health and safety system (OHS). This means they rely on LTIs, incident reports, accident reports or other such tangible measures.
Companies may overlook the health of their employees and its impact on the organisation in this process. While the consequence of an injury is high – directors and management may be prosecuted for neglience in some countries like Australia and Singapore, health and wellbeing is equally important to the success of the organisation.
11th Jun 2009 by Richard Gunawan
Siingapore Zoo (part of WRS) is an example of a not-for-profit organisation in Asia that successfully deployed ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 to achieve its objectives.
12th May 2009
Many Chinese food companies lag behind foreign firms in ensuring food safety, partly because consumers do not trust safety certification, said experts yesterday.
5th May 2009 by Alex Briggs
We now have 9 sections in total, with the Asia specific section joining Climate Change, Food, Supply Chain, CSR, Product Conformity, Risk, Management Systems and Business Continuity.
15th Apr 2009 by Alex Briggs
Supply chain managers in North America, Europe and Asia by a wide margin worry that increasing trade protectionism could push the global recession into a global depression, according to a survey released today.
18th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
In this BBC online article, China’s top climate change negotiator, Li Gao, said his country should not pay for cutting emissions caused by the high demands of other countries.
11th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
This Cargo News Asia article states that The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) has raised the alarm bells on theft across global supply chains. Linking the rise in crimes to the current economic climate, the TAPA report highlights the need for increased transparency across global supply chains, as well as the need for a robust supply chain security management system.
10th Feb 2009
Outside the financial sector, supply chain risk management has become one of the biggest areas of concern in the downturn…
9th Feb 2009
One of the main conclusions from the report suggests that the disaster impact could have been reduced through resilient building design and the deployment of an early warning system complemented with good community preparedness.
11th Jan 2009 by Alex Briggs
For 2009, Bill Marler, food safety advocate and managing partner of law firm Marler Clark, asked the food safety community to weigh in on the most pressing food safety challenges.
Top of the list was globalization, including the possibility of “economic or chemical terrorism”, which may not directly intend to scare people but is the intentional adulteration of the food supply motivated by profit, as in the case of the recent melamine scare in China.
11th Nov 2008 by Alex Briggs
Frances Way, Supply Chain Project Director for the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), talked to us about the CDP’s Supply Chain Project. This is the second episode in a four part series. The interviews for this video podcast series were conducted at the Ethical Supply Chain Summit in Berlin.
Frances shared some of the key supplier insights that the CDP have gathered in their work with the world’s leading global brands, as well as the role that verification plays in the data that the CDP collect on global supply chains.
The video can also be found here .
3rd Oct 2008
As the contamination of Chinese milk sends ripples through the global food industry, Eversheds lawyers Richard Matthews and Elizabeth Hyde lay out the due diligence procedures that food companies must go through when sourcing from outside the EU
26th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
This video interview with Alan Knight offers insight into the new AA1000AS standard. The standard will be launched in London on the 24th of October.
31st Aug 2008 by Alex Briggs
Japan is the latest country to commit to carbon labelling retail products. According to this Guardian article, about 30 companies will display their labeled items at an eco-products fair in Tokyo in December, and the first batches are expected to appear in shops at the beginning of April 2009.
4th Aug 2008 by Alex Briggs
LG Electronics has recognised their supply chain as both one of their biggest risks as well as one of their biggest opportunities. In this Korea Times article, Didier Chenneveau Chief supply chain officer,LG Electronics, talks about their global supply chain strategy.
2nd Jul 2008
Carbon Trust to open office in Beijing as UK government steps up plans to address supply chain emissions.
30th Jun 2008
WWF and a small number of factory owners in Hong Kong and southern China are developing a carbon labeling system
9th May 2008
Unilever has pledged to use only palm oil certified as sustainable by 2015, while also supporting calls for a moratorium on further deforestation for palm oil in Indonesia.
8th May 2008
This Supply Chain podcast is episode one of a three part series. The series is made up of interviews with Professor Richard Wilding from Cranfield University, one of Europe’s top supply chain management experts.
1st Apr 2008
A recent Quality Digest article looks at the recent quality problems in China and how the U.S. media have become quick to blame the Chinese as “cost-cutting, get-rich-quick cheaters. Two parties make up a transaction, and we forget the responsibilities of the purchasers, the U.S. companies.
17th Mar 2008
A website looks at the issues of Corporate Social Responsibility and how they are being delivered in China.
17th Mar 2008
How do Taiwanese companies support their CSR decision making?
5th Mar 2008
After a year of food scares, China tries to assure the world that food for Olympians will be safe. John Vause reports. See the video on CNN.
27th Feb 2008
Japan and Russia have agreed to start talks on fighting global warming, including possible greenhouse gas emissions trading that would help Tokyo to meet its goals under the Kyoto Protocol, media said on Sunday.
22nd Feb 2008
Tens of billions of won of Samsung’s alleged slush fund are suspected of having been transferred into accounts of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee
Event: 25th Mar 2008
This one day Seminar aims at creating awareness and gives organizations the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintain and improving a management system for the security of the supply chain.
7th Feb 2008 by Alex Briggs
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) will be sending out their questionnaires to over 3,000 companies globally. Their seventh report will see them extending their work into China, Korea and the Netherlands, among others.
16th Jan 2008
In Hong Kong, U-Freight () has achieved TAPA security accreditation for its recently opened full-service logistics hub at Yuen Long, which is situated close to the 4th border crossing between the Special Administrative Region and the People’s Republic of China.
14th Jan 2008
Product recalls in the UK hit a new high as problems with goods from China increased, new research says.
21st Dec 2007
Taiwan’s draft bill of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, which was approved by the Executive Yuan in September 2006, has yet to pass the Legislative Yuan, and the country, like the developed economies of the West and Japan is still producing more than its fair share of carbon dioxide.
20th Dec 2007
In a long-awaited proposal, presented today, for curbing global warming pollution from new cars, the European Commission has relegated climate change to the back seat and granted major concessions to the car industry, said Greenpeace.
15th Dec 2007 by Sarah Whitworth
Delegates at the UN summit in Bali have agreed a deal on curbing climate change after days of bitter wrangling, the BBC reports.
12th Dec 2007
Could the U.S. significantly reduce carbon emissions by training public transit and truck drivers to “Ecodrive?” If a program in smog-filled Jakarta is any indication, educating commercial drivers about efficient driving habits and proper vehicle maintenance can measurably reduce carbon emissions.
10th Dec 2007 by Sarah Whitworth
The report – ‘Too Good To Be True? The UK’s Climate Change Record’ – says the implications are stark. Britain has not yet – as ministers claim – broken the link between economic growth and emissions, a Telegraph article reports.
6th Dec 2007
The Independant reports from the UN Conference in Bali today about the delegations from some 190 countries began talks on the Indonesian island of Bali yesterday, aimed at agreeing a “road map” for a successor to the Kyoto protocol.
5th Dec 2007
A recent Gaurdian article reports on the current United Nations Climate Change event being held in Bali this week.
3rd Dec 2007
BBC News reports, ‘Global businesses have called for a legally binding and comprehensive international deal on climate change. A binding agreement on emissions reductions would encourage business to invest in low-carbon technologies, a statement from 150 businesses said.’
28th Nov 2007 by Sarah Whitworth
Mainstream corporations are really Going Green. And if you need more proof, it has just been announced that Kodak Eastman has won the highly coveted Green Supply Chains award 2007.
12th Nov 2007
A recent article reports that China has agreed to phase out incandescent bulbs in favor energy-efficient ones.
18th Oct 2007 by Alex Briggs
China has agreed to phase out incandescent lightbulbs, according to this article. The switch could mitigate 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, equal to about half the climate-warming emissions of Germany. The European Union is scheduled to “choice edit” out inefficient lightbulbs within a decade. China currently produce 70% of the world’s lightbulbs.
2nd Oct 2007 by Cor Groenveld
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald addresses the food safety concerns in China. The Chinese Government revoked the production licenses of hundreds of companies. It is known that food safety is very high on the agenda of China’s government. Reasons for that are the coming Olympics and the negative publicity from several food scandals. [...]
2nd Oct 2007
A CNN article has taken a holistic look at the causes and effects of global food waste: According to the UN Food Programme, US food waste could: satisfy “every empty stomach” in Africa Some other key facts from the article: The US and Japan waste up to 50% of all their food the entire food [...]
25th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
When big brands started to manufacture their products in “cheap labour” markets, it was believed that the brands had all the power, with governments doing everything they could to create favourable economic incentives to those brands.
The latest in the Mattel “lead paint” story seems to have indicated that the situation has drastically changed.
18th Sep 2007
The food safety dispute between the US and China has now taken on a further political dimension, with Chinese authorities inspecting all incoming food from the US.
4th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
China’s environmental watchdog claims to have shut down 400 factories in the past two months. The factories have been shut down as China addresses the pollution of it’s waterways. Read more in this article from CNN.
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