The management systems community
30th Mar 2012
Food safety is, I think, still top priority in the food supply chain and I think for the coming years it will remain top priority in the food supply chain. But what you see more and more is that sustainability issues like food security, like child labour, like environmental issues, they become more and more important.
5th Mar 2012
After a smooth two day trip across the Drake Passage from Argentina, the International Antarctic Expedition 2012 arrived on the Antarctic Peninsula
2nd Mar 2012
LRQA’s Richard Smith & E-idea Winner Stephen Mushin Set Sail from Ushuaia for IAE 2012
27th Feb 2012
I believe that employees must not only be made aware of the big picture, but must also understand the vision and objectives of the organization and their responsibility vis-à-vis food safety. My experience has also shown that a well-thought-out management system to help achieve this objective is crucial.
21st Feb 2012
Training plays a critical role in assuring food safety. We can take our cues from recent work done by the GFSI. With the objective to improve food safety systems across the globe, the GFSI developed a tool kit to help food suppliers meet GFSI recognised certification schemes.
21st Feb 2012 by Alex Briggs
In the US, two food safety crises over the past three years have led certain interested parties to question the role and even complicity of both second and third party certification industry in managing risks in the food supply chain – LRQA discusses independent third party audits and why they are a good for food [...]
20th Feb 2012 by Cor Groenveld
Manufacturers and retailers see the benefits of a harmonised approach and they are more and more willing to work together. This is essential because this is the only way to achieve harmonisation.
17th Feb 2012 by JChowdhury
I would like to talk about the trends in the food supply chain – mainly related to audits and certification. I think the organisations in the food supply chain are ready now to harmonise. Manufacturers and retailers see the benefits of a harmonised approach and they are more and more willing to work together. This [...]
24th Nov 2011
In this episode we talk to Robert Hansor, Head of Climate Change and CSR for LRQA Asia, and Robert joins us on the phone.
24th Nov 2011
INOFOOD is the largest international food safety conference in Chile, and the event is packed with organizations that operate across the food supply chain in South America and around the world.
24th Nov 2011
LRQA Chile is pleased to sponsor this week’s INOFOOD 2011 International Food Safety Conference in Santiago, and proud to be the only certification body sponsoring and selected to speak at this extremely important event for the South American food supply chain.
24th Nov 2011
In this LRQA podcast series, Vel Pillay joins Michael Ramdohr, Business Manager for LRQA South America to discuss the INOFOOD event and the increasing interest in FSSC 22000 and PAS 223 across South America.
14th Nov 2011
Robert Hansor – Head of Climate Change and CSR – LRQA Asia
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 [...]
12th Oct 2011 by JChowdhury
Cor Groenveld, LRQA Global Product Manager Food Services reports live from the LRQA Food Event being held in Tokyo; “Today I am at the LRQA Food Event in Tokyo. This event has been organised by LRQA Japan to inform food organisations on the current status and new developments regarding standards, audits and certification in the [...]
11th Oct 2011
This event is organised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) to provide information on their activities and new developments in the food supply chain. There are over 200 delegates representing several food supply chain stakeholders including manufacturers, retailers, food service, certification scheme owners, certification bodies, consultants and trading companies.
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, [...]
30th Sep 2011
The last in a series of FERMA Risk Management blogs
29th Sep 2011
Seventh in a series of FERMA Risk Management blogs
28th Sep 2011
Sixth in a series of FERMA Risk Management blogs
27th Sep 2011
Fifth in a series of FERMA Risk Management Forum blogs
26th Sep 2011
Fourth in a series of FERMA Risk Management Forum blogs
23rd Sep 2011
Third in a series of FERMA Risk Management Forum blogs
22nd Sep 2011
Second in the series of FERMA Risk Management Forum blogs
21st Sep 2011
First in the series of FERMA Risk Management Forum blogs
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 [...]
2nd Sep 2011
The third blog from the LRQA Food Forum, Vel Pillay, Manager Food Safety Programs, LRQA Americas, discuss FSSC 22000.
1st Sep 2011
Blog by Cor Groenveld who is currently in Sao Paulo, Brazil, participate in 2 exiting events, LRQA Food Forum and a GFSI Focus Day Latin America.
31st Aug 2011
Vel Pillay discusses the paradigm shift in the way the food industry and government look at assessing food safety.
18th Aug 2011
The seventh in a series of blogs around the Carbon Disclosure Project…
17th Aug 2011
The sixth in a series of blogs around the Carbon Disclosure Project.
16th Aug 2011
The fifth in a series of blogs around the Carbon Disclosure Project…
15th Aug 2011
The fourth in a series of blogs around the Carbon Disclosure Project…
12th Aug 2011
The third in a series of blogs around the Carbon Disclosure Project……
11th Aug 2011
The second in a series of blogs around the Carbon Disclosure Project…
10th Aug 2011
The first of a series of blogs around the Carbon Disclosure Project…
21st Jun 2011 by Madlen King
All verification work conducted elsewhere, outside of CDM and JI recognises that verification is not an absolute check.
14th Jun 2011 by Jo Brophy
Now that the dust has settled, the LRQA Climate Change Technical Team Round Table gathered together to reflect on their collective three days
7th Jun 2011 by Madlen King
A key issue for CDM going forward is a move from the CDM Executive Board; they are planning to make the DOE’s liable for any over issuance of CDM credits that happens from any of the projects that they verify.
3rd Jun 2011
Trading schemes have MRV rules, but the key is being able to demonstrate how green investments outside of those and outside of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are delivering…
3rd Jun 2011
A busy morning for LRQA at Carbon Expo with a keynote presentation from Madlen King, Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability at LRQA who spoke to a packed auditorium on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV)…
3rd Jun 2011 by Madlen King
How do green investments outside of international systems and the CDM show that they are delivering? Text from presentation given by Madlen King, Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability LRQA, at Carbon Expo Barcelona, June 1-3 2011…
2nd Jun 2011
One of the opening presentations of the morning saw Henry Derwent, President IETA expand on the issue of ‘Climate Finance’ …
2nd Jun 2011 by Madlen King
‘The’ carbon event of the carbon market calendar began today at the Fira de Barcelona conference hall in Barcelona….
31st May 2011
We do have serious uncertainty regarding the demand for the credits generated from CDM projects. We have the EU Scheme that has restricted the types of CDM credits so they’re going to be accepted in their scheme in the future and we have other countries that are working more in relation to bilateral schemes and moving away from what seems to be the UN scheme.
12th May 2011
Carbon Expo serves as an annual international platform to share information, best practices, and know-how and provides a business networking opportunity within the context of emissions trading, carbon abatement solutions and new technologies.
19th Apr 2011
LRQA Americas climate change experts attended the ‘Navigating the American Carbon World’ conference in Hollywood, California.
19th Apr 2011
LRQA Americas climate change experts attended the ‘Navigating the American Carbon World’ conference in Hollywood. In this blog post, LRQA’s Derek Markolf shareshis insight into Day One of the event.
28th Feb 2011 by Cor Groenveld
Certification was a recurring theme throughout the GFSI Conference in London. With “Developing” a food safety culture the overall theme of the conference, the links between the two topics is the focus of today’s blog.
3rd Feb 2011
LRQA Food Safety Podcast Series 2011, episode 3, is an interview with Cor which took place on the final day of the European Manufacturing and Safety Forum in Holland. Listen to the podcast below.
3rd Feb 2011 by Cor Groenveld
LRQA Food Safety Podcast Series 2011, episode 2, is an interview with Cor which took place at the end of day one of the European Manufacturing and Safety Forum in Holland.
17th Dec 2010 by Andy Ritchie
In this final blog Andrew sums up his thoughts, the good and the bad outcomes and the areas which are still under discussion.
13th Dec 2010 by Andy Ritchie
Andrew Ritchie, Climate Change Services Manager, LRQA blogs from the final day of COP 16. “Just when it looked as though the Cancun negotiations would produce little more than a commitment to carry on talking, common sense and the recognition of the need to compromise for the good of us all prevailed, and we reached a historic, ground-breaking and legally-binding agreement”
13th Dec 2010 by Andy Ritchie
Andrew Ritchie, Climate Change Services Manager, LRQA, blogs from day 9 of COP 16. “I never thought I’d find myself drawing parallels between COP 16 here in Cancun and Shrek (and probably a host of other films), but the clichéd line, ‘It’s quiet…too quiet’ seems particularly apt as a description of Day 9.”
9th Dec 2010 by Andy Ritchie
Unfortunately, as is to be expected at this stage of the COP negotiations, hard facts are difficult to obtain and uncertainty is rife, blogs Andrew Ritchie live from COP 16 in Cancun.
9th Dec 2010 by Andy Ritchie
Andrew Ritchie, Climate Change Services Manager, LRQA reports from week two of COP 16 in Cancun. “Today’s blog is naturally dominated by the commencement this afternoon of the High-Level Segment of these negotiations, and the subsequent ‘re-energising’ of expectations brought about by the arrival of world leaders and heads of state here in Cancun.”
9th Dec 2010 by Andy Ritchie
Andrew Ritchie, Climate Change Services Manager, LRQA reports from week two of COP 16 in Cancun. “My first day at COP 16 in Cancun, at the beginning of a second week of climate change negotiations which have, as yet, failed to come alive.”
6th Dec 2010 by Madlen King
By Madlen King, Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, LRQA Follow LRQA on Twitter @LRQA_CC_CSR The fifth day of week one of Cancun saw in-depth debate on the future of the Kyoto Protocol. In order to reach any kind of conclusion at the end of next week, one would have hoped that all of [...]
3rd Dec 2010 by Madlen King
Madlen King, Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, LRQA, reports from day four of COP 16.
3rd Dec 2010
Nick Facciola, Manager of Carbon Emissions Programs, RMA (part of the Lloyd’s Register Group of Companies) reports back from his participation at the COP 16 side event about “A Smart Grid is a Green Grid” put on by the Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition (DRSG).
3rd Dec 2010
Jamie Britto is a Senior Carbon Emissions Specialist at RMA (part of the Lloyd’s Register Group of Companies), reports from a side event at COP 16 about China’s policies and actions for mitigating climate change.
3rd Dec 2010
Luis Carneiro, Climate Change Manager Latin America, LRQA Ltd blogs about his attendance at the official meeting of the SBSTA (Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice) yesterday on subjects relating to the CDM, at the impressive Moon Palace.
3rd Dec 2010 by Madlen King
Madlen King, Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, LRQA reports from COP 16 / CMP 6 day 3 about a very thought provoking side event entitled ‘Food for all in a Warming World’.
1st Dec 2010 by Madlen King
LRQA will be blogging from the COP 16 summit in Cancun over the next two weeks. Here is Madlen King, LRQA’s Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, with her day two blog.
30th Nov 2010 by Alex Briggs
Paul Smith, LRQA’s Climate Change Manager, is an expert on environmental management systems and carbon footprinting. He works with global organisations verifying their greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring that their data are relevant, complete, consistent, accurate and transparent. In this short interview, he shares the basic elements that companies need to understand to successfully manage their carbon footprint.
30th Nov 2010 by Madlen King
LRQA will be blogging from the COP 16 summit in Cancun over the next two weeks. Follow us on Twitter @LRQA_CC_CSR or visit www.climatechange.lrqa.com . Here is Madlen King, LRQA’s Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, with her Day One blog.
17th Nov 2010 by Deborah Evans
I hear from lots of companies that they don’t do much to promote their sustainability initiatives, citing either fear of being accused of greenwashing or the fact that they are doing it for the “right” reason, not for the publicity. PR firm Cohn & Wolfe has a great name for this: “green muting.”
12th Nov 2010 by Cor Groenveld
CIFSQ Event – November 2010 – Day One podcast blog from Cor Groenveld, Global Product Manager Food at LRQA. Read the transcript and listen to the podcast.
12th Nov 2010 by Cor Groenveld
Day Two of the CIFSQ Event, November 2010 – podcast blog from Cor Groenveld, Global Product Manager Food at LRQA.
8th Nov 2010 by Alex Briggs
The Wabtec Corporation is a leading supplier of value-added, technology-based products and services for rail, transit and other global industries. Wabtec has about 50 manufacturing plants, service centers and sales offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America and about 5,000 employees.
In this podcast, Bruce Thomas, Wabtec’s Quality Manager, talked to us about IRIS certification, how LRQA Business Assurance helps Wabtec meet stakeholder expectations and the importance of a robust assessment process.
28th Oct 2010 by Madlen King
LRQA’s Global Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, filed this report following the second and final day of Carbon Forum Asia Conference in Singapore.
19th Oct 2010 by Alex Briggs
The European Union is pressing ahead with its plan to include non-member-state airlines in its Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012, saying “The bottom line is that we are including aviation in the ETS from 2012, and it is our interpretation of the ICAO meeting that we can continue to do so.”
26th Jun 2010
Here is another great article, business and product quality consultant Tom Gaskell, looks at how good quality improves business performance and bad quality damages it and is costly in so many ways. The article looks at how you can audit yourself and continuously improve the way your business runs…
24th Jun 2010 by Alex Briggs
Health & Safety Managers are increasingly seeing Environmental Management (EM) duties becoming a part of their role. The National Examination Board in Occupational Health and Safety (NEBOSH) carried out research on UK Health & Safety managers and found that over 40% of them now have EM included in their role profile. “We’ve seen a dramatic [...]
21st Jun 2010 by Alex Briggs
Jon Poole, the recently appointed new chief executive of the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST), told FoodNavigator.com that the industry needs to be pro-active and not reactive. In this FoodNavigator article, Poole said, “There’s a lot we can do by being pre-emptive.”
25th May 2010 by Alex Briggs
The aim of LRQA Business Assurance is to ensure clients:
- have the capability to deliver on the promises you make, enhancing your reputation, creating confidence in your capabilities, helping you to substantiate claims and differentiate yourself
- see the tangible benefits of the value of management systems, linking these benefits to financial performance or improvements in effectiveness and efficiency
- develop your capability to manage a range of non-financial risks
• feel confident that management systems are meeting stakeholder needs and that you are getting a return on your investment.
Find out more about Business Assurance here
25th May 2010 by Alex Briggs
This quote is taken from the recent Just off the Starting Blocks – Benchmarking Sustainability and Carbon Assurance in the FTSE 350 report:
Verified data is the only credible way to assess whether we are lowering our emissions and meeting our targets as a country.
Ben Murray, managing director
Carbon Smart
28th Apr 2010 by Alex Briggs
Dr. James L. Marsden is Regent’s Distinguished Professor of Food Safety and Security at Kansas State University. His blog post, “Ten things government can do to help small plants improve food safety”, is our link of the day today.
Find out how LRQA is actively helping organisations manage their food safety risks,
26th Apr 2010 by Alex Briggs
The 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer is out, and the results show that consumers want independent verification of corporate claims.
14th Apr 2010 by Alex Briggs
Saffron Rouge, the first retailer in the beauty industry to focus exclusively on organics, has conducted a customer survey on the value of 3rd party certification of a company’s organic and sustainability claims. Saffron Rouge’s study found that 77% of their customers have trust and confidence in third party certification, whereas 72% did not trust natural and organic claims made by brand owners.
12th Apr 2010 by Alex Briggs
Organisations are making the link between the security of their online data and the potential risk to their corporate reputation. In a recent Websense study 98% of organisations indicated that they are under pressure from clients to protect data.
So what tools are out there to help them deal with it?
16th Mar 2010 by Alex Briggs
China has vowed to clampdown on food safety issues across the supply chain. In this Food Quality News article, China’s Vice Minister of Agriculture Wei Chao’an said,
Our agricultural products overall are safe and of high quality, but we must also recognize that while we transition from traditional to modern farming, many of our operations remain scattered, production methods are still backward and our supervision lags behind.
26th Feb 2010 by Alex Briggs
On the final day of February, LRQA’s Food Month, we bring you an interview with Catherine Francois, Director Food Safety Programmes, Consumer Goods Forum. Catherine is one of the most influential figures in the world of food safety. This podcast features her thoughts on certification, the GFSI’s role in harmonising global food safety standards and the Global Food Safety Conference.
22nd Feb 2010
Our blogger for day 16 is Luiz Bueno da Silva, LRQA São Paulo Business Centre Manager. Luiz has been with the Lloyd’s Register Group since 1975. He joined LRQA in 1991 and was named Sao Paulo Business Centre Manager in 2007.
22nd Feb 2010
Even with the falling birth rates and emigration, some Asian countries are struggling to feed the poor. Poverty and hunger may cause political instability and will slow down economic growth. The UN also noted that food stability will be a key issue to the Asian growth story.”
Our blogger today is Richard Gunawan, Area Business Development Manager LRQA Asia.
22nd Feb 2010
Our blogger today is Cor Groenveld. Cor talks about his recent food safety webinar.
18th Feb 2010
ISO 22000, PAS 220 and FSSC 22000 are changing the world of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) assessments.
18th Feb 2010
“Recently, a food manufacturing client asked me why they needed a FSSC 22000 management system certification and Business Assurance from LRQA. The conversation was all about “what could a certified management system approach offer that a checklist approach could not?” Read the full blog!
12th Feb 2010
“A deliberate typo in relation to last week’s Global Food Safety Conference. Yet a relevant typo, as the issue is ‘who do you trust?’ I will explain later.”
Day Ten’s blogger is Ronald de Kok, LRQA.
12th Feb 2010 by Alex Briggs
This podcast is an interview with Robert DuPuy. Robert is the Vice-President of Sales and Training for LRQA USA. Robert joined LRQA in 2007. Robert has brought a revolutionary approach to the certification industry, with his insight and extensive IT experience helping shape Business Assurance in the USA. On the final day of the Global Food Safety Conference in Washington, D.C., we talked to Robert about his take on the event and organisations in attendance.
11th Feb 2010 by Cor Groenveld
Cor talks about his recent visit to the Global Food safety event in Washington and specifically talks about FSSC 22000, GFSI and more.
8th Feb 2010 by Alex Briggs
Cor Groenveld, LRQA’s global food safety expert, delivered a presentation at the Washington D.C. Global Food Safety Conference. His presentation on the Food Supply Chain was one of the highlights of the world’s largest food safety conference.
Cor is also the chairman of the Foundation for Food Safety Certification, the owners of FSSC 22000.
4th Feb 2010 by Alex Briggs
On day two of the Global Food Safety Conference in Washington, D.C., we talked to Vel Pillay, LRQA’s food safety expert for the Americas. Vel talked about the road that LRQA has taken to FSSC 22000 and what lies ahead. Visit our food blog throughout the month of February for more information from the event.
3rd Feb 2010 by Alex Briggs
The Global Food Safety Conference is the world’s leading global food sector event. With over 700 delegates attending the Washington D.C. event, food safety issues are being addressed at the highest levels.
We are live at the event, with daily blogs, podcasts and news stories.
On day one, we interviewed Cor Groenveld, LRQA’s leading global food sector expert, Andrew Smith, LRQA’s Senior Vice-President, Americas and Martin Brown, LRQA’s Vice-President for the Americas.. Visit our blog throughout February 2010 for daily blogs on issues affecting the food sector.
31st Jan 2010
This is the second blog revisiting my 9/11 Disaster Preparedness article in the February 2002 issue of Quality Progress.
30th Jan 2010
Latest blog from Mis use of expenses, covers how you can use Risk Surveys to Identify, Assess and Mitigate Business Risks.
28th Jan 2010
Jeanette Purcell, chief executive, Association of MBAs talks about the economic downturn and how it was was widely considered to have revealed some shortcomings in what is taught at business schools.
26th Jan 2010 by Alex Briggs
The 1.25 million pound salami recall by Daniele Inc. and the associated outbreak have once again raised questions about traceability. This Food Safety News article highlights the seriousness of the issue.
15th Jan 2010 by Sarah Whitworth
Wal-Mart Stores plans to squeeze billions of dollars out of its supply chain this year by purchasing more goods direct from manufacturers, cutting out third-party suppliers.
12th Jan 2010
Read the latest Blog By Bob Ferrari on Supply Chain Business Process and Technology.
18th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Episode 11 of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast Series is an interview with Karin Sjolin-Frudd, one of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s leading environmental experts. Karin presented the results of an independent climate change and shipping study during the COP 15 conference in Copenhagen.
18th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Dr Anne-Marie Warris’ blog today is also an audio blog as she called us from outside of the Bella Centre last night to update us on the latest COP 15 happenings. The audio file is just above, and below is the transcript of her phone in. Just before this was uploaded, Anne-Marie called back to say,
The mood has definitely changed over the course of today, with optimism on both funding and the possibility of a deal being done creeping back into people’s thoughts.
17th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s blog was phoned in by Sean Cuthbert, the Lloyd’s Register Energy’s leading climate change expert. The blog post is available as an audio file or as the transcript below.
16th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Lloyd’s Register COP 15 blog
LRQA Copenhagen links of the day:
December 17, 2009
December 16, 2009
Copenhagen Podcast Series
Episode 10, Interview with Paul Genoa, Nuclear Energy Institute
Episode 6 Final episode with Dr Anne-Marie Warris
Episode 5, Standards and Schemes interview with Madlen King, LRQA
16th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen COP 15 blog post is from Sean Cuthbert, one of our leading climate change experts. Sean attended an oil industry meeting at the COP 15 conference and here are his thoughts.
Skeptics, Standards, and Peak “Everything”
15th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
W Ian Hamilton is today’s Lloyd’s Register COP 15 blogger. He is the Technical Director for Human Engineering, a member of the Lloyd’s Register Group. His insightful post takes a look at what can be done to influence human behaviour in regards to climate change. May be the best post in the series yet?
14th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Dr Anne-Marie Warris writes about the rapid changes that are happening at the Bella Centre, the home of the COP 15 Global Climate Change Conference negotiations.
Start of week 2 and reports indicate the waiting times at Bella centre have been getting longer. Late afternoon indications are that they have closed registration and will reduce NGO’s to 7000 individual max tomorrow, so the queues should be interesting…
11th Dec 2009 by Anne-Marie Warris
Dr Anne-Marie Warris’s Blog from day three of the COP 15.
11th Dec 2009
Sean Cuthbert’s Blog from day three of the COP 15 conference.
11th Dec 2009 by Madlen King
Read Madlen King, LRQA’s Global Climate Change Manager, Blog from day three of the COP 15 conference.
10th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
On day three of the COP 15 global climate change conference, the CDM was still firmly on the agenda. Marine also remained a central topic.Dr Anne-Marie Warris shares her thoughts on day three of the conference in the last daily edition of the Lloyds’ Register Copenhagen Podcast Series.Visit www.copenhagencountdown.blogspot.com for the Lloyd’s Register Daily Blog.
9th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
On day two of the COP 15 global climate change conference, several important themes began emerging. The future of the CDM was a recurrent theme throughout the day, with the CDM Q and A session being a standing room only meeting. A joint IMO/ICAO (marine and aviation organisations) also drawing a large crowd.
8th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s blog post is from Andrew Ritchie, a member of the LRQA Climate Change Team. Andrew is in Copenhagen attending the CDM DOE meeting today. This post features his thoughts on the CDM, DOE’s and the meeting on Tuesday.
Materiality and the Clean Development Mechanism
Andrew Ritchie (from Copenhagen)
8th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
On day one of the COP 15 global climate change conference, we were in Copenhagen and interviewed two of the Lloyd’s Register Group’s leading global climate change experts, Dr Anne-Marie Warris and Sean Cuthbert. In this 5-minute podcast, they shared their first impressions and expectations of the conference. Visit www.copenhagencountdown.blogspot.com for the Lloyd’s Register Daily Blog.
7th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
As the COP 15 conference gets under way, today’s post on the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen blog features Dr Ivor John from RMA. Dr John’s post is an excellent look at the US climate change situation, both for people in and out of the US.
To read the entire post, click read more below…
6th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s post features our leading climate change expert, Dr Anne-Marie Warris. She is on her way out to Copenhagen today. She will also be posting several times throughout the conference.
Click on read more to read the entire post…
6th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Episode 6 of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast Series features an interview with the Lloyd’s Register Group’s leading global climate change expert, Dr Anne-Marie Warris. Anne-Marie was also the interviewee in episode 1 and episode 2, as well as being the interviewer for episode 4. In the episode in the series, Anne-Marie takes a look at the developments that have taken place over the past weeks that will have a direct effect on the COP 15 negotiations.
5th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Link of the day today is the latest post in the Lloyd’s Register COP 15 Blog. It is an update on 5 key topics that are making headlines on the weekend before the COP 15 global climate change summit begins.
Read the entire post by clicking read more…
4th Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s link is to the latest Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Blog post. Today’s topic is the Marine sector and COP 15, with Dr Anne-Marie Warris the blogger.
3rd Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s link is to Dr Anne-Marie Warris’ second post on the Lloyd’s Register COP 15 blog. This post takes a look at the debate between scientists and public opinion polls.
2nd Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s link is to Nicholas Brown’s blog post on the progress being made in the shipping sector on climate change issues.
2nd Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s link is to Sean Cuthbert’s blog post on CCS and the Copenhagen conference. Sean is recognised as a leading thinker on Carbon Capture and Storage.
2nd Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s link is to the first blog post of the Lloyd’s Register COP 15 Climate Change blog. Today’s blogger is Dr Anne-Marie Warris.
1st Dec 2009 by Alex Briggs
Sean Cuthbert’s blog post takes a look at the climate change debate and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in particular.
30th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Building on the success of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast Series, today is the beginning of the Lloyd’s Register COP 15 blog. Dr Anne-Marie Warris, our leading climate change expert, is our blogger for day one. Her first post is up now. The blog will run at least through the Copenhagen negotiations, with several leading experts from different sectors and nationalities posting their views on the COP negotiations.
30th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Episode 5 of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast Series features an interview with the Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) Global Climate Change Manager, Madlen King. Madlen talks about the importance of the COP 15 Copenhagen discussions for the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, including CDM, JI and the EU ETS.
She also takes a look at the recent inclusion of the Aviation sector in the EU ETS.
29th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a report out of Australia timed to influence the Copenhagen negotiations.
28th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Brazil has called on developing countries to arrive in Copenhagen with firm GHG commitments. The fact that this link is coming from the official “China View” website seems to indicate that China supports their position.
27th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
In this FoodNavigator.com article, Dr Lea Borkenhagen, head of Oxfam’s Sustainable Livelihoods Strategy, said, “The food and beverage industry is at the forefront of change due to their reliance on agricultural goods at the top of the supply chain.”
27th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
This article highlights the negotiating positions of 10 of the world’s 17 top emitters. Valuable insight into the likely discussions that will take place at the COP15, December 7-18.
26th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, has welcomed the news that US President Barack Obama will attend the COP 15 meetings.
25th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
This Treehugger article delivers a direct link to the current Copenhagen Podcast on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and the Energy sector .
24th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Today’s link of the day comes from the Jakarta Post. This article takes a look at some of the climate change leaders coming out of developing economies.
23rd Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
With COP 15 now less than two weeks away, celebrities have added their names to the lists of VIP’s battling to get their voices heard. This Telegraph article looks at some of the A-list celebrities and what they are doing to help move climate change up the public agenda.
23rd Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Episode 4 of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast Series features a discussion between Dr Anne-Marie Warris, the Lloyd’s Register Group’s leading climate change expert and Sean Cuthbert, Lloyd’s Register Energy’s climate change expert. Anne-Marie and Sean take a closer look at the key issues that the different elements within the energy sector will be watching during the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) negotiations in Copenhagen, December 7-18.
22nd Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
As Copenhagen COP 15 nears, the push to raise the general public awareness of the key issues continues. Earthscan is offering a Pre-COP 15 webinar, “An Economy Fit for a Low Carbon World — The Pre-COP Earthcast”
21st Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
This Market Oracle blog takes a look at the potential failure of the Copenhagen negotiations and the effect on the oil and gas industry.
20th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
The WWF have launched their Inside COP15 video blog page.
20th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
The US Senate approved the Food Safety Bill yesterday, bringing the bill to its final hurdle. The House of Representatives is not likely to being debating the bill until next year, with their approval meaning the bill would effectively pass into law, as President Obama is a vocal proponent of the bill.
19th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Finally some good news in the lead up to Copenhagen. Russia, in meetings with Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, has agreed to a reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions. Russia agreed to reduce their GHG emissions by 20-25 percent from their 1990 levels by 2020, an increase from their original 15 percent commitment.
18th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
The International Institute for Environment and Development, the IIED, has published a journalists guide to COP15, the UN climate change summit.
17th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
This Guardian blog compares the lead up to Copenhagen and the lead up to Kyoto 12 years ago.
This Treehugger post has an interesting Copenhagen Top 10 list.
16th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
As we move into the final weeks before the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, COP 15, we will be having regular links, podcasts, blogs and resources related to the conference.
To start off, our first link to the Huffington Post’s excellent coverage of the stories around Copenhagen.
For everything we have on COP 15, visit our Copenhagen page.
10th Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Episode 3 of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast Series features an interview with Anton van Himbergen, Principal Consultant for Lloyds Register Rail in Utrecht, Holland. In this interview, Anton talks about the climate change issues that the rail and road transport industries will be watching during the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) negotiations in Copenhagen, December 7-18.
Anton talked about both the current situation for rail and road transport, as well as the most likely issues in the future, stating, ” It is important for the rail sector to focus on long-term sustainable planning to improve the climate friendliness of the railway system.”
3rd Nov 2009 by Alex Briggs
Episode 2 of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast Series features Dr Anne-Marie Warris talking about the key issues that the Marine sector will be watching during the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) negotiations in Copenhagen, December 7-18. Anne-Marie is the Lloyd’s Register’s leading global climate change expert and will be representing the Lloyd’s Register Group in Copenhagen.
2nd Nov 2009 by Richard Gunawan
How do we balance the priorities between the government’s interests and organisational objectives?
With the proliferation of trade security initiatives showing no sign of abating, there is an urgent need to adopt a common architecture to manage the assurance requirements essential to the public and private sectors.
26th Oct 2009 by Alex Briggs
In episode 1 of the Lloyd’s Register Copenhagen Podcast series, Dr Anne-Marie Warris provides an overview of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) negotiations in Copenhagen, December 7-18, including what to expect, who might play a key role, which nations will be at the centre of negotiations and a closer look at which industries are likely to be most affected by any possible global deal that may be signed during the conference
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 [...]
9th Oct 2009 by Richard Gunawan
Aviation experts have welcomed a new proposal from recently formed Aviation Global Deal (AGD), with many saying they believe the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the industry’s governing body and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), are unlikely to reach agreement with United Nations for Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December.
14th Sep 2009 by Alex Briggs
In Episode 8 of the 10-part LRQA Business Assurance Trust and Transparency Podcast Series, Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Foundation, Alan Knight, AccountAbility and Solitaire Townsend, Futerra Communications share their thoughts on what it will take for organisations and government to rebuild consumer trust.
25th Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
Part 12 of the LRQA Food Safety Webinar is also from the technical presentation of Cor Groenveld. Here he talks about sections 6-8 of PAS 220:2008. the sections dedicated to Utilities, Waste Management and Equipment suitability.
24th Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
In Episode 7 of the 10-part LRQA Business Assurance Trust and Transparency Podcast Series, Sandy Sutherland, Head of Technical and Regulatory Affairs for Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) talks about trust, carbon footprinting and the “AccountAbility Gap.” The interview was conducted at the Launch of the What Assures Consumers in an Economic Downturn Report at the Lloyd’s Register HQ in London. The research is the latest in a series from AccountAbility, sponsored by the Co-operative and supported by LRQA.
21st Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
As of last Monday, August 17th, Tesco has begun labelling the carbon footprint of a pint of milk.
Tesco Community and Government Director, David North said:
We think carbon labels on milk can play a great part in raising awareness and helping customers navigate the new carbon currency.
Helping to raise awareness of climate change and the carbon impact of products, it is a major milestone in the company’s pledge to have footprinted 500 products by the end of the year.
18th Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
Last year the world had a wake-up call with the sudden oil and food price rises. While we know the price of our food, the full environmental costs and the costs to our health are significant and hidden. We need a radical rethink of how we produce and consume our food.
UK Environment minister, Hilary Benn
17th Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
The latest part of the LRQA Food Safety Webinar to be uploaded is PART 11. Part 11 is also from Cor Groenveld’s PAS 220:2008 technical presentation. In this 3 minute segment, Cor talks about section 4 and 5 of the specification, including construction and premises outlay issues.
13th Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
Third-party recognition is important for many of USDA’s audit-based programs. We understand the value of this step as we continue working to strengthen the integrity of the NOP and to build the organic community’s trust in the program.
USDA deputy secretary Kathleen Merrigan on the importance of independent, third-party auditing.
11th Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
In episode 6 of the 10-part LRQA Business Assurance Trust and Transparency Podcast Series, carbon footprinting and “green issues” are discussed. Featured are Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Foundation, Sandy Sutherland, LRQA and Solitaire Townsend, Futerra Communications.
8th Aug 2009 by Alex Briggs
This podcast is a result of www.businessassurance.com being a media supporter at the Guardian Climate Change Summit in London in June 2009.
Some of the global climate change experts you will hear from in this podcast include Gavin Neath, VP Unilever, Donna Young, Head of Climate Change at BT, Zac Goldsmith, former editor of the Ecologist and one of the Conservative Party’s leading environmentalists and Andy Atkins, CEO of Friends of the Earth.
30th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
Part 10 is the second part of Cor Groenveld’s technical update webinar on PAS 220.
29th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
Following on from the first 8 parts of the Food Safety Issues and Standards Webinar, the second set of videos will be from the technical session of the webinar. Part 9 is the beginning of the technical webinar from Cor Groenveld, one of the world’s leading food safety experts.
28th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
We are also quite sceptical when confronted with environmental claims from large organisations, assuming they are either greenwash or for PR.
That makes the following statement from Gavin Neath, Senior VP for Unilever all the more suprising and important:
I do think when business people talk about climate change, they ought to start with some humility. The harsh realities are that for the last thirty years or so the environmental movement has been right on this question and business has been fundamentally wrong. I think the salient point to make is that although business is now engaged with this question and many businesses are doing good work on it, the reality is that isn’t the case for all businesses and I don’t think business has fully internalised the consequences for it.
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.
24th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
a href=”http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/669868″>This article in the Canadian Star talks about the recent listeria outbreak that caused the death of 22 people and cost the government over $3 million.
The independent commission has come back to the government with six key suggestions to improve the state of Food Safety in Canada.
23rd Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
In Episode 5 of the 10-part LRQA Business Assurance Trust and Transparency Podcast Series, Dr Alan Knight, Head of Standards and Related Services at AccountAbility, one of the leading think tanks on corporate social responsibility and climate change issues, and Kate Ives, co-author of the What Assures Consumers in an Economic Downturn report and also from AccountAbility, talk about some of the key results from the latest What Assures Consumers research.
22nd Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
The latest LRQA Business Assurance interview features Robert DuPuy, the Head of Sales and Training for Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, Inc. (LRQA). In this interview, Robert talks about some of the key issues that organisations are facing during difficult economic times. He talks about management systems, the characteristics of a good management system and the importance of having accredited independent third party certification of management systems.
20th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
This Food Navigator article highlights the seriousness of health and safety for food manufacturers. With 3 deaths in the UK over the past few months, many firms in the Food sector are looking at OHSAS 18001 certification as a way to help them manage their risk and reduce health and safety incidents.
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.
14th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
In Episode 4 of the 10-part LRQA Business Assurance Trust and Transparency Podcast Series, the importance of independent assurance in restoring consumer trust in organisations and government is highlighted. Featured are Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Foundation, Helen McTaggart of the Co-operative, Alan Knight and Kate Ives, AccountAbility, Sandy Sutherland, LRQA and Solitaire Townsend, Futerra Communications.
13th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
The recent LRQA Food Safety Webinar is now available in smaller segments, starting with the opening session, “Food Safety Issue and Standards” being broken down into 8 individual video files. This post contains 5-8. Click on any of the images below to view that section of the webinar. Here is also the link to sections 1-4 .
9th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
The recent LRQA Food Safety Webinar is now available in smaller segments, starting with the opening session, “Food Safety Issue and Standards” being broken down into 8 individual video files. This post contains 1-4. Click on any
8th Jul 2009 by Alex Briggs
The July 1st Food Safety Webinar from LRQA is now available for listening, viewing and downloading.
The entire session is available as a recorded Webex here.
You can also view the webinar in parts with each of the sections being uploaded individually. The first sections will be uploaded tomorrow, covering all of the opening session, “Food Safety Issues and Standards.”
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.
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 [...]
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.
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
“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
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
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
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
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.
17th Nov 2008
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
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 [...]
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 [...]
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
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 chain [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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?
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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