It was the American actor William Redfield playing Dale Harding in the Oscar-winning film ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest who put it best. ‘This world… belongs to the strong, my friend! The ritual of our existence is based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak.[i]’
This article was co-authored by Thora Frost, Senior Client Manager, Carbon Trust and Seb Beloe, Partner-Head of Research, WHEB
The impact investment market has grown rapidly in recent years as investors increasingly allocate capital on the basis of both potential financial returns and the intention to generate positive societal and environmental impacts. Read more …
On 5th July the UK newspapers The Times and Sunday Times broke several stories based on undercover investigations into the fast fashion retailer Boohoo. The stories alleged that workers were making garments for Boohoo for as little as £3.50 an hour (barely a third of the legal minimum wage)[i]. The investigation also alleged that manufacturing continued during the local lockdown rules to control the spread of COVID-19 and that no additional hygiene or social distancing measures were in place. Read more …
Information technology and sustainability both represent major economic transformations. Sometimes linked, but by no means always. Read more …
If the last few months have shown us anything, it is that the role of companies in addressing social and environmental issues is now an accepted – even expected – part of running a business. Read more …
Since the invention of just-in-time manufacturing in the 1960s, companies have been pursuing ever greater efficiency in their supply chains. Consolidating suppliers is one of the most common ways to reduce supply chain costs and improve efficiency. However, the risks of doing so are often overlooked. Robustness and resilience can be sacrificed along the way in exchange of greater efficiency. Read more …
‘Never waste a good crisis’. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union (“EU”) has proposed a €750 billion recovery plan to repair the economic and social damage. But this recovery plan has green strings attached. 25% of the recovery spending is set aside for green investments.
Sustainability is at the core of everything we do at WHEB. As a founding member of the Business Declares network[i], we understand that serious changes need to be made by governments and corporations in order to restrict global warming to 1.5o C above pre-industrial levels.
At the risk of stating the obvious: there is a lot going on at the moment. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the very fabric of society. We’ve had to carefully re-evaluate every position we hold in the last two months.
Usually our focus on long-term signals makes it relatively easy to screen out the noise, which tends to be shorter term. At the moment, even the noise is long-term. Read more …
It began just before the quarter started. A novel virus emerged in the historic Chinese regional city of Wuhan. That virus would be named COVID-19. It would deliver the worst global pandemic in modern history. Read more …