The management systems community
– 1st Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC) next chairman, Paul Howard, was recently interviewed by Sue Copeland for this article in Strategic Risk Magazine.
At a time when resources are even scarcer, risk managers are going to have to be much smarter in the solutions we offer and really review the cost benefit of any situation.
– 28th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
This article in Strategic Risk Magazine highlights the importance of Ethical Corporate behaviour during times of increased scrutiny and consumer distrust of organisations.
– 26th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
According to this FoodNavigator.com article, Danisco’s new sustainability chief, Jeffrey Hogue, will look to build more value from company policies and seeing results on the bottom line – as well as for the environment and local communities.
– 24th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
Follow Business Assurance at our YouTube! page, on our Twitter page , on the video sharing site, Vimeo and another video sharing site, Veoh .
– 23rd Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
This Infosysblogs post takes a closer look at where organisations are investing across their supply chain, breaking it down by location and sector.Interestingly, over 50% of organisations that took part in a recent poll inidated that forward planning was their focus, not maintenance.
– 22nd Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
Increasingly, organisations are communicating their third party certification as a competitive advantage and as proof of improved stakeholder engagement. The recent communications of two Dubai organisations is a case in point.
DP World and Dubai Customs are both promoting their recent ISO 10002 (Customer Complaints) certification. Both organisations were certified by LRQA.
– 19th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
http://www.tenby-today.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=24475&headline=Food%20safety%20warning%20for%20over%2060s
– 16th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
Here is a collection of notes and thoughts from Guardian Climate Change Summit 2009 in London yesterday, most of which were posted yesterday on our www.twitter.com/lrqa page.
First session thoughts and notes
Quote from Gavin Neath, Senior VP Unilever “Organisations need to learn humility.For the past 30 years, environmental groups were right, businesses were wrong.”
Mars looking to work with PAS 2050 the carbon Footprinting for products, according to Fiona Dawson, Managing Director, Mars, UK
– 16th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
ISO 14001, the environmental management systems standard, is increasingly being seen as a tool to help organisations engage with their stakeholders.
VWS has been working since 2006 with a project team drawn from all of the their divisions to implement ISO 14001 and achieve certification. This was awarded following a detailed audit of all five of VWS’s UK sites by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA).
– 12th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
We will be attending the Guardian Climate Change Summit in London on next Monday (June 15th) as an official media partner.
Here is a list of speakers scheduled.
The complete agenda and further information can be found on the event website.
We will be reporting on the event afterwards, including blogs and possibly some podcasts.
– 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.
– 9th Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
The 10 part “Trust and Transparency” podcast series is here! Harriet Lamb of The Fairtrade Foundation starts the series with her insight on what it takes for organisations to rebuild consumer trust. She also talks about Fairtrade and how they have done during the current economic downturn. She also shares her thoughts on the What Assures Consumers in an Economic Downturn report, the latest in a series from AccountAbility, sponsored by the Co-operative and supported by LRQA.
– 2nd Jun 2009 by Alex Briggs
The current BPA debate that is raging around the world is an example of how quickly consumer trust can be destroyed, and how difficult it can be to regain it.
Currently, both sides of the debate (the critics who believe the evidence clearly shows that BPA leads to significant health problems and the regulators around the [...]
– 27th May 2009 by Alex Briggs
The What Assures Consumers in an Economic Downturn report was commissioned by AccountAbility, sponsored by the Co-operative, supported by LRQA, with the online research being conducted by YouGov. In early June, we will be launching a 10-part audio and video podcast series from interviews and presentations from the launch event. Sign up to our subscription updates or our iTunes podcast link at the top right hand corner of www.businessassurance.com .
– 25th May 2009 by Alex Briggs
This BNET blog post talks about the issues that all organisations and their senior management are currently facing.
1) Things That Keep Me Up At Night
2) Reasons I Get Up In The Morning
In getting started with your own lists, this quote from Alan M. Webber should help you get started
– 22nd May 2009 by Alex Briggs
Our Business Assurance Thought of the Day today helps bring the US Food Safety situation into perspective. According to Ohio.com,
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US government agency solely responsible for auditing food manufacturing locations across the US did not conduct any audits at all in 2007-2008 in California, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.
– 21st May 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s thought of the day comes from one of the world’s leading climate change influencers, Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC):
Failing to recognise the urgency of climate change and acting on it would be nothing less than criminally irresponsible.
At The Guardian Climate Change Summit on 15 June 2009, Yvo de Boer is just one of the leading thinkers from the climate change community who will be sharing insight, solutions and strategies to ensure your business can actively reduce impact on our climate. Click here for further info and a speaker programme.
– 20th May 2009 by Alex Briggs
This CalorieLab story takes a look at the most dangerous and common 9 foodborne illness. The story takes a look at each illness, where it comes from and even which groups are the most susceptible.
– 5th May 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s quote focuses on the potential of Asia. A book released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ADB Institution on Monday at the 42nd ADB annual meeting in Bali provides us with our Business Assurance Thought of the Day:
“Asia has enormous untapped economic potential,” said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda, adding “Connecting its diverse economies and peoples through seamless infrastructure will help in achieving an integrated, poverty-free, prosperous, and peaceful Asia and the world.”
– 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.
– 4th May 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.
– 29th Apr 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s link of the day is from a leading supply chain blog. This post is titled, “Seven Habits of Effective Supply Chain Managers.”
– 17th Apr 2009 by Alex Briggs
With Food Safety at the top of the agenda for governments, organisations and individuals, the risk to brands that get it wrong has never been greater. The costs of assuring the food supply chain have been seen by some as “too high” or “not necessary.” The example of the Plainview Peanut Company’s $14.6 million fine highlights once again the true costs of “getting it wrong.”
– 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.
– 31st Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
Todays thought and link of the day both refer to a new report, Keeping America’s Food Safe.
Only one percent of imported foods are currently inspected, even though approximately 60 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables and 75 percent of seafood Americans consume is imported.
– 27th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s Business Assurance link of the day is to a website that sets out to dispel the myths associated with the paper industry, “There are two sides to every paper.”
Today’s Business Assurance thought of the day is
Modern paper mills producing virgin fibre paper, whose energy source is nuclear, hydro or internally bio-fuelled, may well have a lower carbon footprint than a mill making recycled paper, powered by fossil fuels.
– 26th Mar 2009 by Raz Chaudary
“Business continuity, security and emergency management are all process-driven activities. As such, it makes sense to ensure that those processes are constantly being reviewed and improved. Six Sigma is a process that ought to be considered for these disciplines, as it deals with process improvement.”
– 25th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s thought and link are related to global supply chains and are from the same source, Bob Ferrari’s blog.
Tata didn’t set the price of the Nano by calculating the cost of production and then adding to margin. Rather it set $2500 as the price that it thought customers could pay and then worked back, with the help of partners willing to take on a challenge, to build a $2500 car that would reward all involved with a small profit.
– 20th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
Business Assurance as a concept is growing as the world recession deepens. Organisations are increasingly looking for ways to “assure” their business. In the management systems industry, it is widely recognised that certification is a “safe haven” during difficult economic times. Research undertaken during the early 1990’s recession indicated that organisations that were ISO 9001 certified outperformed organisations that were not.
– 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.
– 18th Mar 2009 by Raz Chaudary
The impact of natural disasters was estimated at US$200 billion. China and USA accounted for 90%, globally positioning them most susceptible to economic losses.
– 17th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
Each year, about 76 million people in the United States are sickened by contaminated food, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and about 5,000 die, public health experts estimate.
US President Barack Obama has named a new FDA head and deputy, as well as outlined budgetary plans that will place Food Safety at the top of the agenda.
– 12th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
Global leaders from business, labor and civil society today declared their belief that the lack of transparency in the existing system for corporate reporting has failed its stakeholders. In issuing The Amsterdam Declaration on Transparency and Reporting, Board Members of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) called on governments to introduce policies requiring companies to address publicly environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
– 6th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
If the general public wants an example that makes ISO 28000 relevant, they need look no further than NASA. In this Houston Chronicle article, the acting administrator of NASA told the US Congress yesterday that some of the cost overruns from the space agency stem from counterfeit parts inadvertently installed on space craft.
– 5th Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
The latest edition of Strategic Risk Magazine features an article by Andrew Williams on the benefits of new EU Directive proposals on Risk Management.
The article highlights the issues that organisations face in implementing EU Directives when they operate in multiple markets.
– 4th Mar 2009 by Cor Groenveld
ISO 22005 is the new international standard for traceability in the food and feed supply chain. Traceability is a must throughout the whole feed and food supply chain, in particular as a part of the emergency management process when quality or food safety problems with raw materials or finished products occur. When an organisation is able to rapidly trace back ingredients or finished products, risks and costs involved with quality and food safety defects will be reduced. The standard is part of the ISO 22000 family and it provides tools to implement an effective traceability system as part of a food safety / quality management system.
– 2nd Mar 2009 by Alex Briggs
Consumer confidence in the safety of the US food supply has dropped sharply in the wake of the current salmonella outbreak, with fewer than one in five now saying that they feel the supply is safer now than a year ago.
With only 22.5 percent saying that the nation’s food supply has become safer, confidence in American food is the lowest it has been.
– 27th Feb 2009 by Raz Chaudary
A recent research report, comprising of interviews conducted by IBM, with over 1200 chief financial officers from 79 countries, concluded the following points mentioned in the article.
– 27th Jan 2009 by Raz Chaudary
In the event of a business disruption, Business Continuity Management (BCM) helps you to identify and prepare for critical business operations. This may be more important for organisations with global complex supply chains or where there is a single-point of dependency from either the supplier or customer side.
– 19th Jan 2009 by Alex Briggs
Following on from the Climate deliberations at Poznan, Keith Jones of CropLife International talks about the contribution of agriculture to climate change mitigation and need to achieve better collaboration among all food chain participants to achieve ever more sustainable productivity.
– 13th Jan 2009 by Alex Briggs
BT Germany has just become the 5th BT country to be certified against the global environmental management system standard, ISO 14001, following a four-day external audit by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA).
Jens Krause, BT Germany’s quality manager commented on the value of ISO 14001 certification, “As well as helping to retain business, we believe the improvements will save more than €900,000 each year, and cut our carbon footprint by 12 tonnes.”
– 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.
– 9th Jan 2009 by Kevin Roberts
An article which explains the term Supply Chain, and what it means to businesses all over the world.
Event: 5th Jan 2009 – by Simon Emeny
A product which currently complies with MD 98/32/EC may overnight become non-compliant. Unless you are proactive in ensuring compliance, the new MD could have a significant impact upon your business.
– 29th Dec 2008 by Alex Briggs
The Disaster Resource Guide’s 2nd Annual Business Continuity Survey takes a look at the way businesses approached their Business Continuity plans in 2008 compared to 2007. Also included in the survey is an insightful look at trends into 2009.
– 18th Dec 2008 by Alex Briggs
i2 Technologies has published their economic downturn supply chain predictions:
1. SaaS and other engagement models will dominate in 2009
Software as a service (SaaS) and other engagement models will dominate the market in 2009 as companies seek to focus technology budgets on gaining a competitive advantage quickly without additional infrastructure. Outcome-based service engagements will be encoded into contracts in 2009 utilizing a managed business process services approach.
2. Risk becomes real and so does risk management
– 17th Dec 2008
Bob Ferrraris Blog about Supply Chains, this post talks about Supply Chain risks today.
– 17th Dec 2008 by Alex Briggs
Genetically modified? Organic? Country of Origin?
Those are some of the questions that US regulators and food producers are sorting through in their push to increase transparency in food product labelling.
This article highlights some of those issues, with an in-depth look at the organic debate, genetically modified products and the labelling of country of origin of food products.
– 16th Dec 2008 by Alex Briggs
The new ISO 9001:2008 update is slowly making its way into accepted business language. This recent blog post highlights some of the changes. For a more thorough update on what’s new in ISO 9001:2008 and what it means for you and your organisation, read this article.
– 9th Dec 2008 by Alex Briggs
The future of any of the big three U.S. automakers lies both in world-class, competitive products, but also in a vibrant supplier network that can drive higher levels of innovation and time-to-market.
– 8th Dec 2008 by Raz Chaudary
An unimaginable event occurred at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in downtown Mumbai in India on the evening of November 26, 2008.
Terrorists forced their way into the rear entrance of the 105-year-old historic building built by the great grandfather of the CEO of Tata Motors. The magnificent hotel symbolises the success and pride of one of India’s largest private businesses. The capability of the hotel to protect its customers and its reputaion was challenged.
– 20th Nov 2008 by Alex Briggs
PAS 2050 - the new carbon footprinting methodology for products (goods and/or services) sponsored by DEFRA and the Carbon Trust has now been published by BSI. The document is now available for implementation by organisations looking to determine and verify the carbon footprint of specific products.
In this video interview, Paul Smith, Project Leader for Carbon Labelling and Footprinting at Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), talks about how PAS 2050, the new Carbon Footprinting methodology for products can benefit organisations.
– 17th Nov 2008 by Raz Chaudary
The current economic climate and business environment makes business continuity a critical issue. Ensuring the preparedness of an organisation can strengthen its long-term viability, reputation, and financial success.
Some key facts:
85% of US businessses are within the private sector and include transportation, banking, and utilities.
Businesses vulnerable to natural disasters, computer viruses/cyber attacks, terrorist attacks, and viral pandemics.
For example, if the Internet stopped, U.S. retailers could lose $450 million a day in e-commerce.1 If an influenza outbreak occurred, New York state’s losses alone are estimated to be $49 billion.
(source: “Dealing With Disasters At Home and Far Away” by Zosia Bielski, National Post, June 21, 2008).
Certification journey - five easy steps
Step 1:
Certification starts with an assessment of the company’s existing crisis management, business continuity, disaster recovery, and emergency response plans.
Step 2:
A gap analysis is performed against a chosen standard, and will assess the organisional responses to overcome a range of disaster scenarios.
Step 3:
Identify key actions, assign responsibilities, and establish timings to address the identified gaps.
Step 4:
The organisation is now ready for formal certification once the process has been established.
Step 5:
The organisation can select the appropriate level of certification appropriate to its needs.
Three levels of certification levels
First-party certification: an internal self assessment and self declaration of certification.
Second-party certification:r eview by one with whom there is an arm’s length relationship, such as a customer, supplier, or parent organization.
Third-party certification: review by an • accredited third-party certifier. This is the most independent and objective form of certification.
Benefits of certification
Potential benefits of becoming “certification ready” include:
improve operational efficiency,
reduce liabilities,
boost stakeholder confidence.
– 12th Nov 2008 by Alex Briggs
TNT UK/Ireland and their use of ISO 14001 as the key to their overall environmental strategy was the focus of a Sustainable Business Magazine article in the October edition.
TNT uses management systems to underpin their business, currently holding four certifications in the UK/Ireland: ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) and Investors in People. TNT has reported significant competitive advantage from the achievement of verifiable environmental performance.
Neil Griffiths, director of health, safety and environment at TNT Express Services says: “In terms of business assurance, this is not just a tick in the box.”
– 5th Nov 2008
In a blog by Volkan Sevindik, it looks at the supply chain and how security breaches can damage brands, break down partnerships and, ultimately, hurt the bottom line.
– 29th Oct 2008 by Alex Briggs
This Salter-Baxter report on the world’s leading CSR reporting companies has led to increasing debate. With companies such as British-American Tobacco, Nestle and Shell at the top of the rankings, controversy is the order of the day.
Sir Jonathon Porritt, the chairman of the government’s Sustainable Development Commission, and founder of Forum for the Future, led the attack on the report,
When any company is systematically mispricing risks and systematically misallocating capital it makes no sense to talk about corporate responsibility. We’re going to have to face the fact some of the measures used to judge relative CSR performance are useless. They don’t help shareholders. They don’t help citizens. They don’t help the companies themselves.
– 27th Oct 2008 by Alex Briggs
Chris Harrop, Group Marketing Director for Marshalls in the UK is on the cutting edge of CSR, ethical supply chain initiatives, carbon labelling, workers rights and stakeholder engagement. In the first episode of our Ethical Supply Chain Video Podcast series. Chris talked to us during the recent Ethical Supply Chain Summit in Berlin.
Chris shares his thoughts on some of the key topics that are facing global brands today, with the conversation ranging from competitive advantage for businesses embedding CSR as part of their business practice to Marshalls work with the Carbon Trust in becoming the first brand to carbon label their entire product range.
Chris shares his thoughts on some of the key topics that are facing global brands today, with the conversation ranging from competitive advantage for businesses embedding CSR as part of their business practice to Marshalls work with the Carbon Trust in becoming the first brand to carbon label their entire product range.
– 27th Oct 2008 by Raz Chaudary
According to Forbes Calamity Prevention “the business impact of planning to mitigate, respond to and recover from earthquakes will be significant all over Asia, even if no more earthquakes occur for many years.”
Recent earthquakes around the Pacific Rim in the last four months have registered 6.0 or higher on the Richter scale, the magnitude at which earthquakes are generally considered destructive.
– 22nd Oct 2008 by Alex Briggs
Louise Nicholls, the Ethical Trading Director for Marks & Spencer and Ariane Thomas, the Supply Chain Purchasing Director for L’Oreal were two of the stars of the Ethical Supply Chain Summit in Berlin last week.
Nicholls inspired the audience with “real stories” from M & S factories around the world. She talked about working with suppliers in Morocco and Kenya and the unique ethical dilemnas faced when working with local suppliers in those markets.
Thomas’ presentation was insightful in contrasting L’Oreal’s policy of working with suppliers to improve their performance rather than firing them if they fail to be 100% ethically correct.
– 14th Oct 2008 by Alex Briggs
This New York Times Media Group article raises the question “Is there more tainted food out there?”
The melamine scandal has heightened fears that the food business is racing ahead of the ability of governments to detect health-threatening contamination, whether accidental or deliberate.
– 14th Oct 2008 by Alex Briggs
Cheryl Vallender at www.disaster-resource.com has gotten a group of the world’s leading Business Continuity experts together to answer the question:
Where does Business Continuity Planning Belong in an Organization?
Cheryl’s article takes us right back to the beginning of Business Continuity through to taking a look at the current trends in global organisations.
– 13th Oct 2008 by Alex Briggs
Our editor will be on hand at this week’s gathering of some of the world’s leading supply chain experts and directors .
We will be blogging from the event, as well as providing our audience with some insight from some of the key topics discussed at the event.
We will be interviewing some of the supply chain world’s most influential thought leaders.
Starting with Monday, October 20th, we will be posting each day next week with either a blog post or an interview.
– 29th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
Food manufacturers have begun a massive repackaging effort to address the environmental concerns of consumers. This article takes a look at the way that some global brands are addressing the issue, as well as how they are attempting to balance environmental concerns with consumer health concerns.
“Good for you” will increasingly be faced off with “good for the environment,” and food companies will find themselves redefining how their food products will retain appeal, according to Mintel International in Chicago.
– 28th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released its Social Responsibility Standard to the committee stage, moving it one step closer to being an official ISO standard.
Nearly 400 experts and observers from around the world met at the ISO Social Responsibility Working Group, held September 1-5 in Santiago, Chile. There they agreed that sufficient progress had been made in developing the draft international standard on social responsibility for the “working draft” to be taken to “committee draft” level.
– 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.
– 25th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
ISO 9001:2008 is set to be published in the next few months. From the date of publish, current 9001:2000 certificate holders have 24 months to convert to the newer version. Companies whose three-year certificate cycle expires once 9001:2008 is published will only have the option of getting certified against the new version.
Steve Williams, Technical Manager, Certification at Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) stated, “ISO and the IAF have agreed an implementation plan to ensure a smooth migration of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008. They have stated that ISO 9001:2008 does not contain any new requirements. ISO 9001:2008 only introduces clarifications to the existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000 based on eight years of experience of implementing the standard. It also introduces changes intended to improve consistency with ISO14001:2004.”
– 22nd Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
This Supply Chain Market article takes an in-depth look at supply chain performance, asking some of the tough questions. Supply Chain Assurance is all about ensuring that your supply chain is functioning at maximum capacity and efficiency. The role of management efficiency is highlighted here.
– 19th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
The tightening of visa restrictions around the recent Olympic Games in Beijing has had unintended consequences on the Quality Assurance industry, according to this Ethical Corp article.
Global brands producing in China have been unable to secure the auditors needed at Chinese factories to ensure that the quality of their products is right. A major fall out will be that people who have talked about moving production to other countries for some time are now actually having to do it to meet deadlines.
Even if (and there are no guarantees) things return to normal in September, it will be too late for these firms who need to get gear on boats in October for the holidays.
Now many are scrambling to find capacity in Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc., while any number of Chinese garment manufacturers (two thirds of whom operate on margins of less than 1.5% already) will go under.
A number of companies with production runs already underway are having to stall or delay work as they cannot get visas for their Quality Assurance (QA) staff to enter China.
– 18th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
Brands making green claims about their products need clarity on what they can and cannot say. This Ethical Corp. article highlights the difficulty for corporations in proving their green claims. The use of language, including sustainability and “low-carbon” were highlighted as terms that are difficult to prove and could potentially leave global brands open to criticism.
– 17th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
Two workers rights experts have held an insightful debate into Supply Chain standards and human rights for workers. Jeff Ballinger, academic, former union and NGO activist is clearly against standards as the end all solution for factory abuses, while Doug Cahn, consultant and formerly of Reebok, is in favour of standards and audits in bringing about change in supply chain factories around the globe.
This Ethical Corporation article features the full debate.
– 16th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
This link is to a flash movie on the key issues surrounding food safety and supply chain security.
The presentation is from O. Keith Helferich, Ph.D. -Professor, Supply Chain Management at Central Michigan University and
Instructor, Supply Chain Management, Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, and John Spink, MS., Director
Packaging for Food and Product Protection Initiative.
– 15th Sep 2008 by Alex Briggs
The Gallagher Review, commissioned by the UK government and released in July, concluded the EU’s biofuels target of 10% of all fuels by 2020 could not be met sustainably and advised that targets be scaled back.
The report concluded that, while the current targets are not realistic under the existing regulations,
if robust, comprehensive and mandatory sustainability standards are implemented now, a genuinely sustainable industry could evolve.
This ClimateChangeCorp.com article goes on to discuss existing standards, as well as introducing the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels “Version Zero” proposed standard.
– 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.
– 11th Jul 2008
The 3 Keys To CSR Reporting Are Materiality, Materiality And Materiality by Alex Hausman, CSR Reporting Manager, The Timberland Company.
– 8th Jul 2008 by Alex Briggs
This Retail Bulletin article discusses the results of a recently published survey on supply chain issues. According to the 100 UK supply chain professionals surveyed, supply chain managers spend up to 52 days a year keeping abreast of, and complying with regulation and legislation relating to the supply chain.
The research found 84 per cent spend up to 52 days a year on compliance while 16 per cent claim even more time. More than half (58 per cent) claim to be either concerned or very concerned about operating in an increasingly regulated environment.
– 8th Jul 2008 by Alex Briggs
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will be set up by the end of July, 2008 while the first set of food safety norms may come out within the next two months, according an Indian Government official.
– 7th Jul 2008 by Alex Briggs
A new IT survey from Rackspace has revealed that corporations are less likely in 2008 than in 2007 to base decisions on the environmental impact.
– 3rd Jul 2008 by Alex Briggs
Blog posts on events are supposed to be written immediately following the event or not at all. I am going to break that rule and write about a great Carbon Labelling event that took place on Monday, June 30th at the Lloyd’s Register HQ in London.
Forum for the Future, the sustainability charity in the UK, [...]
– 3rd Jul 2008 by Alex Briggs
Six years ago, not many of us were discussing climate change, carbon footprinting, carbon labelling. Global warming was starting to be discussed, and a few cutting edge companies were promoting their CSR activities.
Scientists reports, celebrity efforts and government/corporate commitments have significantly changed that landscape.
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has also played a major role in [...]
– 2nd Jul 2008
Has the credit crunch begun to affect what you put in your shopping basket? How about the Carbon crunch?
– 2nd Jul 2008
Telling customers about your environmental targets is all well and good but, as Paul Thomas argues, they are meaningless if you do not know how they are to be achieved.
– 23rd Jun 2008 by Alex Briggs
http://22000-tools.com/what-is-iso-22000.html
– 23rd Jun 2008 by Alex Briggs
The latest edition of the ISO Magazine is dedicated to ISO 22000, the food safety management system standard. Case studies from Kraft, Danone, Arla Foods and the Van Drie Group highlight the issue.
– 19th May 2008 by Alex Briggs
Stonesfield Primary School in my village in the UK recently celebrated Eco-week, a week of activities centred around environmental issues, ranging from recycling to greenhouse gases. When I heard about it, I approached the lead teacher in the campaign, Miss Eastwood about getting more information. On this site, we have podcasts, as well as articles [...]
– 2nd May 2008 by Raz Chaudary
Pepsico has won an Energy Star Partner of the Year Award for its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiencies
– 25th Apr 2008 by Alex Briggs
This blog post takes a look at what it takes for a “for-profit” business to develop and maintain an ethical business culture.
– 24th Apr 2008 by Alex Briggs
Through the hard work and creativity of Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, and his Grameen Bank, Bangladesh is leading the way on solar energy. This ClimateChangeCorp article explains how Bangladesh is reducing its carbon footprint and creating jobs in the process.
Is anyone watching or listening?
– 18th Apr 2008 by Simon Emeny
Changes on the way for Medical Device conformity
The Medical Devices Directive (MDD) 93/42/EEC is well established. As is common with the EU, they decided that it couldn’t be left alone and instituted a review on its functioning. In summary, the conclusions were that the existing legal framework is appropriate, but that its implementation could be improved, including further regulatory clarification.
– 15th Apr 2008 by Alex Briggs
With the new Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) coming into force today, oil companies are required oil companies to ensure all petrol and diesel they sell in the UK contains a minimum level of biofuel. This article in the Independent takes a closer look at the debate over the use of farm land as a transportation fuel source.
– 8th Apr 2008 by Alex Briggs
This Neville Hobson blog post highlights Timberland’s CSR efforts, including the strongest sustainability information on product packaging out there.
– 8th Apr 2008 by Simon Emeny
The automotive unit of DG Enterprise and Industry has launched a Public Consultation on Future Regulation in the automotive area.
– 19th Feb 2008
John Tepper Marlin posted a blog post looking at CSR in the UK and the US, titled ‘UK vs US forms of CSR, who is ahead?’.
– 14th Feb 2008 by Alex Briggs
This article talks about the the credibility that independent third-party verification of CSR reports brings for companies looking to stand out from the competition.
– 14th Feb 2008 by Alex Briggs
With climate change dominating headlines around the world, this Wall Street Journal article takes a look at the efforts of nine cities to reduce their carbon footprint and their energy bills.
– 11th Feb 2008 by Alex Briggs
The Co-operative Group, have announced transparent, detailed plans on addressing stakeholder concerns. They will ban the sale of eggs from caged hens, convert its entire own-brand hot beverage range to Fairtrade, reduce the weight of its wine packaging and add a further 66 pesticides to its prohibited list.
– 5th Feb 2008 by Alex Briggs
A team of global climate change experts has ranked the most fragile and vulnerable regions on the planet, and warned they are in danger of sudden and catastrophic collapse before the end of the century.
In a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists identify the nine areas that are in gravest danger of passing critical thresholds or “tipping points.”
– 4th Feb 2008 by Alex Briggs
Lee Scott, CEO and President of CEO commented,
“The drive will see the retailer favour - and in some cases even pay more - for suppliers that meet our standards and share our commitment to quality and sustainability”.
“Paying more in the short term for quality will mean paying less in the long term as a company. Higher quality products will mean better value, fewer problems, fewer returns and greater trust with our customers,”
– 2nd Feb 2008 by Simon Emeny
Product Conformity – The assurance that the totality of a firm’s output satisfies accepted standards. For many, product conformity involves conferring a brand mark to the approved activity.
– 31st Jan 2008 by Gail Van Den Bos
We see a lot in the media about product recalls and product safety scares: these impact on brand reputation and cause customers to lose confidence.
And the items concerned come from supply chains that are a network of many unrelated organisations. These operate locally, nationally or internationally, all contributing to the delivery of a product or service to the end user, the consumer.
And these supply chains can be very complex. You may not realises it but:
– 25th Jan 2008 by Cor Groenveld
A roundtable discussion was recently organised by LRQA’s Netherlands office. The focus was on sustainability in the Food Supply Chain.
Here is a brief synopsis of the topics covered and the key points raised.
– 15th Jan 2008
The fundamental ethos and creativity of cancer research is threatened by too much management and excessive regulation, says a Keynote Comment in The Lancet Oncology, January 2008 issue. The Comment also adds that there is a serious lack of regulation harmonization between countries, a recent blog reports.
– 14th Jan 2008
A blog by Richard on http://eureferendum.blogspot.com reviews the recent Financial Times story headed, “Industry attacks EU green legislation”.
– 13th Jan 2008
TerraPass joined industry experts, environmental and consumer groups, and academics at a Federal Trade Commission hearing on carbon offsets, reports a blog written by Adam Stern.
– 8th Jan 2008
Regulations controlling the manufacturing, marketing and usage of medical devices in the EU are forcing manufacturers to incorporate language translation. Read the full blog by Shy Avni, posted 8th january 2008.
– 12th Dec 2007
Investors are already testing the potential of markets in greenhouse gas emissions, but what are the risks and how can they be avoided?
by Charles Longden, December 3rd, 2007.
– 5th Dec 2007 by Cor Groenveld
Research from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority in the Netherlands showed that many food products do not meet the EU regulations towards health claims on food products. The Authorities analysed 79 products and found 44 non compliances on 22 products against the regulations. The new EU Directive 1924/2006 towards claims is effective since July 2007 and it also covers health claims.
– 30th Nov 2007 by Alex Briggs
The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) is an association of security professionals and related business partners from various high technology manufacturing and transportation companies who have come together for the purpose of addressing the emerging security threats that are common to the relevant industries. The TAPA EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) brochure contains relevant information on the organisation, the TAPA FSR Standard and a list of the members and associate members.
– 27th Nov 2007 by Alex Briggs
The new Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) is already starting to raise the credibility of the voluntary carbon market. Clearly stated in the VCS is that a registry will be established to ensure that voluntary carbon units (VCU’s) will not be double counted.
This National Review article highlights the fact that Kyoto Protocol signatory nations will no longer be able to count their carbon credits in both the regulatory and voluntary market.
– 26th Nov 2007
Regardless of the political attitude: setting a limit on working hours is an essential employees’ right. In 1993 the European Union introduced the “Working Time Directive” - designed to protect the health and safety of workers.
– 30th Oct 2007 by Gail Van Den Bos
A recent article in The Observer newspaper in the UK, highlighted how a supplier to Gap Inc. had sub-contracted their work to another supplier where child labour was apparently found in use.
– 30th Oct 2007 by Alex Briggs
Counterfeiting costs the food and drinks industry an estimated $75 million, not to mention the damage to brand reputation and consumer confidence. With an increase between 2003 and 2005 of 250% in the volume of counterfeited food and drink items, there is a clear need for collaboration between industries and governments to fight the problem.
– 30th Oct 2007 by Alex Briggs
Anheuser Busch has denied serious allegations by Greenpeace that their Budweiser beer contains traces of a genetically engineered strain of rice known as “Liberty Link”.
Liberty Link is a series of strains of GM rice from Bayer CropScience. Some of the strains are banned in a number of markets around the world for human consumption, but not in the US.
Due to Anheuser Busch’s position as the largest single purchaser of American rice, Greenpeace claims that the group had a responsibility to ensure it was fully aware of how it is sourcing ingredients.
– 29th Oct 2007 by Anne-Marie Warris
Yet another report about the ‘failure’ of Kyoto Protocol. Whether it is right or not, my concern is that we are so busy complaining and repudiating Kyoto that we forget to look at what are the serious and sustainable options to achieve the reduction in GHG emissions we need.
– 18th Oct 2007 by Alex Briggs
A new consumer research study has reiterated the results of the What Assures Consumers report.
Companies are currently winning interest and admiration (from a distance) but not trust and loyalty (closeness). Again, the need for independent, third-party verification of corporate green claims is a key point for business as it seeks to build consumer trust.
– 18th Oct 2007 by Gail Van Den Bos
Is there any value to benchmarking in supply chains? And how reliable is the information? Is the only organisation that benefits the one that does the number crunching and writes a report?
Where a set of metrics is issued to a company showing how they sit against their competitors, do they do anything with the information? From my experience, I’m not sure that they do.
– 10th Oct 2007 by Gail Van Den Bos
There’s a great deal of information available about supply chains. And increasingly, it’s highlighting new areas. No longer limited to product safety recalls and logistical headaches, we’re now hearing more about green supply chains, ethical supply chains, carbon management in supply chains, reverse outsourcing, supply chain security and so on.
– 9th Oct 2007 by Alex Briggs
An Ethical Corp story focuses on the effect the Stern Report has had on UK businesses. The articles describes the issue of the report as a “eureka moment” and provides the example of Cadbury-Schweppes as being a brand that responded to the report at the boardroom level.
– 9th Oct 2007
The @ Supply Chain Management blog points to a new supply chain report, which presents the results of comprehensive longitudinal research into supply chain management and supply chain security.
– 9th Oct 2007
A new report from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University suggests that US consumers believe that local food is safer than that from further afield.
– 5th Oct 2007 by Alex Briggs
A survey back in June, showed that only 9% of respondents said that a company’s “environmental values” were important, while 58% of respondents stated that a company’s “green credentials” were important.
This begs the question, what is the difference and how was that difference communicated to the survey participants?
And how would those numbers have changed over [...]
– 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 by Cor Groenveld
Small and medium food companies often struggle with food safety requirements. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has created a website to help small and medium size firms better manage their food safety.
– 28th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Those were the key elements of last night’s Powering the UK event in Manchester. Greenpeace hosted the event at Manchester City’s stadium. The club is set to unveil a very large wind turbine just outside the stadium in the coming months, working with Ecotricity and the Manchester City Council to provide power to the stadium as well the surrounding neighborhoods.
– 27th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Only through clear strategies that are informative and transparent to both business and consumers, backed by full government support and pressure, communicated by all types of media can there be a concerted global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Businesses having systems to measure data in place that are credible and verifiable will lead to the consumer trust that will change their buying habits.
– 25th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
The key issues of risk management, supply chain and climate change have made their way to the top of media and corporate agendas recently.
A Wal-Mart and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) joint effort will measure the climate change effects across the Wal-Mart supply chain.
– 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.
– 25th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
A recent CDP study has shown that the majority of large global companies have gotten the climate change message. The report highlighted the actions and views of those companies concerning climate change. 95% of those companies viewing climate change as a risk having already implemented a greenhouse gas reduction programme.
– 24th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
This Times article has raised a difficult topic for organic farmers.
The article reveals that Helen Browning, the director of food and farming at the Soil Association, sends pig shoulders from Wiltshire, England to Germany for processing into sausages and imports pork loins from Sweden to make bacon.
– 24th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
The Vegetarian Society has launched a new ad campaign on climate change. The ads are aimed at educating the public as to the carbon emitted by livestock.
This often overlooked issue was addressed by Rowland Hill, the Sustainability Manager at Marks and Spencer, in one of our podcasts as he talked about measuring the carbon footprint of their top selling ready meal, Beef Lasagne:
– 21st Sep 2007 by Anne-Marie Warris
Climate change issues remain on the agenda of major business organisations such as IETA (International Emission Trading Association). In preparation for the upcoming key meetings to negotiate the climate targets and processes beyond 2012, IETA has issued an open letter (see below next paragraph).
It is a positive to see that member led organisations with a substantial number of carbon emitters in its membership from across the world takes this type of initiative.
– 21st Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
In a food safety environment that is being increasingly driven by consumer awareness and outcry, soft drink manufacturers are taking steps to assure consumers that they are reducing additives in their products.
This Foodqualitynews.com article
A recent Food Standards Agency (FSA) report stated:
“eating or drinking certain mixes of additives together with the preservative sodium benzoate, could be linked to a negative effect on children’s behaviour.”
– 21st Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
A Forbes article on growing supply chain risks, published a year ago this week, stated:
The three most cited disruptions to their supply chains were the supply of raw materials, the performance of supply chain partners (specifically in delivery and quality) and volatile fuel prices.
– 20th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Successful consumer led campaigns against companies using cheap labour may be the blueprint for upcoming campaigns aimed at brands not paying enough attention to the “greenness” of their global supply chain.
This Supply Chain Digest article once again shows that brands cannot afford to get their supply chain wrong.
It is no longer enough for a brand [...]
– 20th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Despina Keegen of JP Morgan Global Trade Services has written a guest column for Supply and Demand Chain which features a supply chain checklist. Interestingly, the column talks about a possible “import czar” position being created at the cabinet level of the US government. A sign as to how important supply chain safety, supply [...]
– 20th Sep 2007 by Cor Groenveld
Will we ever have a “one size fits all” food safety management system? The Food Safety section editor, Cor Groenveld, provides an informative update on the initiatives that are all trying to bring some uniformity to the food industry. This blog post makes sense of a very complex situation.
– 18th Sep 2007 by Andy Ritchie
Just got back from the two-day Carbon Footprint Consumer Products Summit in Chicago…
– 18th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Andrew Wadge, The UK Food Standards Agency’s Chief Scientist has a blog. In his latest post, he writes about some good news on lower salmonella contamination levels in eggs.
– 18th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Dr. Glen Barry, in his Climate Change blog, presents two possible scenarios that could play out over the next 40 plus years.
More proof that business and governments need to change, now. The education level of the consumer is growing and increasingly they are demanding that businesses and governments become more accountable and more responsible. Can [...]
– 17th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
A recent study has shown that 90% of all global exports are transported by shipping. The DTZ study has raised the importance of supply chain security for ports.
So, where is the threat to the security of the supply chain coming from? The research identified four key areas of threat with terrorism becoming increasingly important. This not [...]
– 17th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Leo Hickman of the Guardian Ethical Living blog has posted an informative, thought provoking article on choice editing. The B & Q story was truly ahead of its time. Have a look at Anne-Marie’s blog posts on choice editing, 1 and 2 .
– 17th Sep 2007 by Gail Van Den Bos
China’s manufacturing sites come in for a lot of bad press… maybe deservedly, but they are part of a chain of responsibility that starts with the customer at one end of the chain. Quite a few questions need to be asked before identifying culprits who contribute to product failures.
– 17th Sep 2007 by Anne-Marie Warris
Recent research has indicated, as I think we all knew, that as individuals we are very concerned about climate change and its effects but when asked if we would pay more tax or change our behaviour the research indicate that no we will not. So what can we do?
– 17th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
An article on a new white paper has shown that Chinese food exports are the safest in the world, with the EU accepting 99.8%, the US 99.1% and Japan accepting 99.42% (better than the EU and the US rates of acceptance for Japan).
With the recent food safety scares originating largely in China, the Chinese government watchdog [...]
– 17th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Following on from our Friday post on the VCS market, this article talks of a shrinking of the accepted Voluntary Carbon Standards, with just three expected to survive and thrive. The Voluntary Carbon Standard, currently being written, is one of them.
– 14th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
The Arizona Republic ran a story on a recent Associated Press study indicating that the anticipated wave of government and industry regulation following last year’s E Coli outbreak has not materialised.
AP’s review of data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act found that federal officials inspect companies growing and processing salad greens an average of just once [...]
– 14th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
The voluntary carbon market tripled in 2006, according to a comprehensive research paper by Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon Finance. The need for a standardised methodology for all voluntary carbon schemes has never been more relevant than now. What is being done to bring a stronger sense of confidence to the voluntary market? The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) is currently being updated, with version 2 due to be published in the coming months.
– 13th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
The climate change debate is remaining firmly on the front pages.
Here are some quotes from industry and government and NGO’s that indicate the seriousness of the situation:
“The global threat from climate change is now clearer than ever. The whole economy has to change.”
Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco Chief Executive
“Climate change and the impact that it will [...]
– 11th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
For those of you who haven’t seen it, ISO has put a promotional video on YouTube! The video is an overview of the environmental management standard, ISO 14001, and has over 5,400 downloads so far!
Further, there are supply chain videos on YouTube!, including this promotional video from Cisco and Ford, as well as Food Safety videos, including this one on Food Safety and China.
– 11th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
The Carbon Disclosure Project is hosting a series of global launches to announce the results of their fifth written report.
The first one will take place on September 24, 2007 in New York, with former President Bill Clinton scheduled to speak.
The CPD was launched in Dec, 2000, with the 1st CDP report being launched in early 2003, [...]
– 11th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
A recent Social Funds article analyses the different methods being used to evaluate a company’s carbon footprint. Socialfunds.com is a personal finance site devoted to socially responsible investing.
– 10th Sep 2007 by Gail Van Den Bos
At the recent Global Food Safety Summit inPrague, a number of key messages emerged. These included the importance of effective risk assessments across all of the supply network, of the need to have processes in place to prevent emergencies (product recalls, security incidents), and also to be prepared to respond if the worst happens. Whilst the [...]
– 10th Sep 2007 by Anne-Marie Warris
The last few weeks has been full of climate issues on the news front, be it the EC stopping Chinese import of cheap energy efficient light bulbs. How does that square with the need consumers identified in the What assures consumers report for choice editing?
Choice editing is the term used in the report to describe instances [...]
– 7th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Dow and Union Pacific have joined together with emergency responders across California to improve and test their safety and security skills in chemical rail transportation.The exercises are taking place all over California, as part of a road show.”We take very seriously our obligation to responsibly manufacture and move our oducts,” said Henry Ward, director of transportation safety [...]
– 7th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
A survey released this week by IPSOS focuses on the financial and image benefits of being the greenest (or percieved as the greenest) in your sector. US Online consumers were surveyed on their views towards the world’s largest tech companies. Over half (57%) said that the Energy Star label was an influencing factor in their purchase [...]
– 7th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Supply Chain Digest, in their graphic of the week have proven a direct link between supply chain disruptions and a negative impact on a company’s stock prices.
The importance of a company being able to effectively manage their supply chain, from beginning to end, has never been more relevant. Recent high-profile media cases, have highlighted the need [...]
– 7th Sep 2007 by Cor Groenveld
I just got back from the Global Food Safety Summit 2007 in Prague. The event featured stakeholders from the food manufacturers, retail, food services and suppliers of food ingredients. It was a series of presentations, interactive sessions and individual meetings, all based around the issues of food safety in the supply chain. The attendees and [...]
– 6th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
A Greener Choice Blog post has highlighted a recent Consumers Report poll has found that 92 percent of Americans want their food products to be labelled with the country of origin.
In line with the recent What Assures Consumers report which focused on UK and US consumers and their attitudes toward climate change, the Consumers Report poll has [...]
– 6th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Canadian Blogger Robert Paterson has linked three key Business Assurance issues into one post: Food Safety, Supply Chain Assurance and the importance of transparency. Have a look at his “know your farmer, trust your farmer” point of view.
– 4th Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
The US government and media have made 2007 the “year of the environment”. To the general US public, it may seem that the US is leading the way on this one. For the majority of Europeans, particularly Brits, the viewpoint is much different. While they clearly welcome the US interest in “green issues” and the environment, [...]
– 3rd Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Fresh Metz, a California based “grower and shipper specializing in year-round custom-grown spinach” has voluntarily recalled 8,000 cases of its products after an internal test found traces of salmonella on some of their products.
Coming on the back of new guidelines rolled out just five months ago, the latest recall of spinach has shocked the industry and [...]
– 3rd Sep 2007 by Alex Briggs
Renault is going beyond the marketing speak in addressing climate change. Their latest ad campaign, sets out clear and measurable targets for their cars to meet in the coming years. In the ads, “Renault introduces its new Eco2 Symbol, clearly proclaiming its commitment to a product offering that is both Economical and Ecological.
This Ecological [...]
– 2nd Jul 2007 by Tim Kitchin
If we are to trade our way out of climate change, consumers are going to need to make much better environmental choices.
Realistically, they will need a lot more information; honestly produced and simply presented.
– 16th May 2007 by Anne-Marie Warris
We are at the beginning of a new era, of a new exciting place to be. But we’re also facing a huge level of challenge.
We as individuals have to start making carbon choices that we’re not prepared to make yet, but that we’re beginning to think about.
– 14th May 2007
A letter to the editor of the FT today points out the unnecessary dichotomy which many people perceive between markets and carbon taxing when attempting to fight climate change.
– 10th May 2007 by Alex Briggs
The 4th annual Carbon Expo was a true test of how far up the agenda carbon emissions have come.
An evening roundtable at the end of day one featured Fiona Harvey, the environment editor for the FT and six of the carbon industries leading players discussing the issues facing the credibility of today’s carbon market.
– 26th Apr 2007
Interesting leader in the FT today for anyone who’s active in the ETS or carbon offsetting space - titled Carbon markets create a muddle, it argues that CO2 needs a price, but that taxes are the best way to set it.
– 16th Apr 2007 by Tim Kitchin
UK newspaper, The Times has highlighted a growing scandal as demand for ‘ethical’ and sustainable products outstrips supply, and unscrupulous suppliers are pushing farms.
– 3rd Apr 2007
Under current legislation in the UK, producers of compostable waste may need to apply for a license before they can spread it on land.
According to an article on the IEMA website, he new Quality Protocol proposed by the Environment Agency in England and Wales will mean that compostable products will be easier to dispose.
– 29th Mar 2007
Deming argues that managers must ‘adopt the new philosophy’ — in this case, his new philosophy — but the rationale is applicable whether or not we examine his approach.
His argument was thus: unless management adopt the reforms they put in place, they shouldn’t expect their workforce to do so; the same goes for management systems.
– 8th Mar 2007
Gareth Hughes, Climate Change Capital’s head of corporate development, outlined today the growing opportunities for corporations in the capital markets if they can prove they have superior environmental performance.
– 6th Mar 2007
The ASQ Quality in Education blog highlights a video by Karl Fisch and Scott Macleod, and shows why any commitment to quality must also include a commitment to continuous improvement .
– 15th Feb 2007 by Simon Emeny
I was reading my BIKE magazine and came across a page about the proposed motorcycling licence changes scheduled for 2012.
– 14th Feb 2007
RTHK reports about the changes to legislation in Guangdong which introduces emissions trading for large power stations.
– 2nd Feb 2007 by Tim Kitchin
McKinsey has performed its own cost estimate around carbon reduction strategies, and concluded that reforestation and energy saving measures can provide around half of the required adjustments. The analysis significantly downplays perceived threat to economic growth.
– 31st Jan 2007 by Tim Kitchin
A constructive debate is raging over at David Miliband’s blog around the likely effectiveness of consumer carbon credits.
– 30th Jan 2007
Research conducted by Monash University’s Australian Supply Chain Management Research Unit and supported by JAS-ANZ, the government appointed accreditation body for Australia and New Zealand, explores the transition from ISO 9000:1994 to ISO 9000:2000.
– 24th Jan 2007 by Simon Emeny
In June 2006 the “International Railway Industry Standard” was published. This standard is promoted by UNIFE but is primarily aimed at suppliers to the 4 major European train builders.
– 16th Jan 2007
The Times reports that group of private-equity firms across Europe have come together to start a charitable organisation with £5m in start-up funds.
– 30th Nov 2006 by Tim Wilson
“Degrees of shoparation” is the extent to which I don’t know the provenance of a product — it might be that I don’t have any connection with it at all.
How does this affect brands and branding?
– 28th Nov 2006
In his report on the Lloyd’s Register Group annual accounts, David Moorhouse neatly sums up the concept of business assurance.
– 24th Nov 2006 by David Lawson
I’ll be off to Barcelona at the weekend in time for LRQA’s Business Assurance Summit, “Setting the Agenda for Change”.
We’ve invited a small group of clients to come and share our latest thinking on management systems performance. It promises to be a very interesting gathering indeed.
– 22nd Nov 2006 by Andrew Kakabadse
One of the most critical applications facing management systems, is their deployment across complex supply-chains, where the same ‘rules and processes’ will need to be adapted into different cultures and risk management frameworks.
– 21st Nov 2006 by Tim Wilson
The difference in value between a tired, stage-battered, old Fender Stratocaster previously owned by my mate Chas, and one owned by Eric Clapton could be more than £50,000. Why is that?
– 8th Nov 2006
In an article in the FT today, David Barnes, CIO at UPS argues that supply chains will soon overshadow companies in terms of their impact on business success.
– 4th Nov 2006
Results from a three-year European study into the benefits of environmental management systems demonstrate a link between certified systems and improved environmental performance
– 30th Oct 2006
According to Maplecroft the risk of social unrest in China is on the rise, following the revelation that the poorest 10 per cent of the population in China has actually become worse-off despite the economic boom.
– 6th Oct 2006 by Tim Kitchin
The number of cases of E. coli in spinach continues to multiply in the US, displacing more serious governance concerns like HP’s alleged employee-spying from the front pages of newspapers.
– 6th Oct 2006 by Tim Kitchin
Despite acknowledging that it will not hit its emissions targets, Canada has ruled out carbon credits as a mechanism to meet its Kyoto commitments, claiming such credits are of dubious value, offering no assurance that emissions will actually be reduced.
– 6th Oct 2006 by Tim Kitchin
Vietnam has carried out a review of all of its 8000 quality standards, and discovered that just 27% meet the specification of their global equivalents.
– 27th Sep 2006
According to a leading research analyst Bell Potter, reported in The Age, revisions to Accounting Standards have made it more difficult to analyse company performance.
– 20th Sep 2006 by Tim Kitchin
The Clinton Global Initiative is emerging as a purposeful counterpoint to WEF in influencing the operating models of international development.
The Annual gathering this week (20-22 September) is expected to yield a number of new commitments to alleviate poverty and ill-health, but which will actually work.
– 20th Sep 2006
The traditional association between organic foods and health is being steadily eroded, and replaced, with greater consumer association with the environmental benefits.
– 19th Sep 2006 by Tim Kitchin
People-centric systems are the key to improved manufacturing performance, according to a survey from solution providers Invistics, profiled at in Pharma Technology.
Their recent research report highlights Bristol-Myers Squibb’s achievement in slashing cycle times by 80 per cent and Work-In-Progress (WIP) by 75 per cent.
– 19th Sep 2006 by Tim Kitchin
After more than three years of extended and extensive consultation, GRI is less than a fortnight from unveiling its G3 sustainability guidelines.
– 18th Sep 2006 by Tim Kitchin
Jenny McCartney of the UK’s Daily Telegraph has drawn attention to the chasm emerging between ‘trivial’ health and safety concerns, and the ‘profound’ safety issues prevailing in developing countries, or when individuals are effectively compelled to take inappropriate risks.
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