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Boeing and South African Airways (SAA) are to work together to develop and implement a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa, a first for the continent.

The collaboration between Boeing and SAA is part of the companies' broader efforts to support environmental sustainability for the airline's operations and the commercial aviation industry overall, in addition to advancing South Africa's social and economic development.

"South African Airways is taking the lead in Africa on sustainable aviation fuels and, by setting a best practice example, can positively shape aviation biofuel efforts in the region," said Ian Cruickshank, SAA Head of Group Environmental Affairs. "By working with Boeing's sustainable aviation biofuel team, which has a history of successful partnerships to move lower-carbon biofuels closer to commercialization, we will apply the best global technology to meet the unique conditions of Southern Africa, diversify our energy sources and create new opportunities for the people of South Africa."

Boeing has collaborated extensively with airlines, research institutions, governments and other stakeholders to develop road maps for biofuel supply chains in several countries and regions, including the US, China, Australia and Brazil. The aerospace company's plan to work with SAA is the first such project in Africa.

"Sustainable aviation biofuel will play a central role in reducing commercial aviation's carbon emissions over the long term, and we see tremendous potential for these fuels in Africa," said Julie Felgar, managing director of Environmental Strategy and Integration, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Boeing and South African Airways are committed to investigating feedstocks and pathways that comply with strict sustainability guidelines and can have a positive impact on South Africa's development."

Flight tests show that biofuel, which is derived from organic sources such as plants or algae, performs as well as or better than petroleum-based jet fuel. When produced in sustainable ways, biofuel contributes far less to global climate change than traditional fuels because carbon dioxide (CO2) is pulled out of the atmosphere by a growing plant-based feedstock.

Boeing is also collaborating with America's Cup winner, ORACLE TEAM USA, to recycle 7,000 pounds (about 3,175kg) of carbon fibre of USA-71, a yacht built for the America's Cup campaign in 2003. The hull and mast of the racing yacht will be processed and repurposed, a first-of-its-kind effort for what will likely be the largest carbon structure ever recycled.

Boeing and ORACLE TEAM USA will utilize a technique developed to recycle composite materials from Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, which is 50 percent composite by weight and 20 percent more fuel-efficient than similarly sized aircraft. Composite materials allow a lighter, simpler structure, which increases efficiency, and do not fatigue or corrode. In yachts, composite construction also provides the ability to develop a lighter vessel that is stronger and stiffer at the same time.
 

Pharmacy giant Alliance Boots has been accused of using a legal loophole to avoid paying £1.1bn in tax in the UK. 

In a new report trade union Unite and the charity War on Want claim that after private equity bosses borrowed £9bn to buy Boots in 2007 they used interest due on the huge debt to cut UK tax bills by 95%.

An official Boots statement in response to the allegations says that the company “fully complies” with UK law and paid more tax last year than before the 2007 buyout.

Demanding the tax loopholes be closed, Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey commented: “Tax avoidance is now part of the DNA of a corporate British culture that is rotten to the core. The revelation that yet another high street name fleeces Britain, taking work from our NHS while avoiding tax responsibilities, will leave taxpayers furious.”

Associate director of retail initiatives Nell Geiser, from Change to Win, the federation of US trade unions added: “After avoiding millions in UK tax through massive borrowing, Alliance Boots’ private owners are selling out and stand to profit handsomely. Corporate tax avoidance is not going away unless we shine a light on it and unless policy-makers act decisively.”

However the Boots statement questioned some of the accuracy of the report and highlighted the fact that neither Unite nor War on Want contacted the company during the preparation of their report or subsequently: "We have published a detailed Annual Report on our website containing comprehensive information on both our tax charge and tax paid. In recent years this has included details of our tax charge and tax paid between the UK and other countries in line with evolving best practice."

A string of multi-nationals have been accused of using legals loopholes to avoid UK taxes in recent years, including Starbucks, Vodafone, Google, Facebook and Apple.

You can read the War on Want report in full here.
 

Unilever soap brand, Lifebuoy, is to expand its Help a Child Reach 5 campaign. The campaign, which was launched earlier this year, sets out to end preventable deaths of children aged under 5 by changing the handwashing behaviours, one village at a time.

The pilot project was established in a rural village, Thesgora, known to have one of the highest rates of diarrhoea in India. Early results showed a significant impact on the health of the community and the programme will now extend to communities and villages across 17 countries globally.

Samir Singh, Global Brand VP, Lifebuoy said: “We know that handwashing with soap is one of the most effective and low cost ways to prevent diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea, which are responsible for the deaths of 2m children under 5 years of age every year.

"In the past three years we have taught 130m people healthy hand washing habits for life and integrated this successfully into our business model. Child mortality has gone down considerably, but there is still a long way to go.”

The handwashing programmes implemented as part of the Help a Child Reach 5 campaign are part of Lifebuoy’s broader handwashing programme portfolio, run in partnership with partners including PSI, Millennium Villages Partnership and UNICEF.

The programmes targeting school children, new mothers and community groups, all support Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan target – to help more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.

Some leading member nations of the G20 are still non compliant with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention according to a new report from Transparency International (TI).

The anti-corruption group highlights 20 countries, including G20 members Brazil, Japan, South Korea and The Netherlands, that have done little or nothing to hold companies and businesspeople to account for bribing foreign governments. Indeed, 23 countries have not brought any criminal charges for major cross-border corruption by companies in the last four years.

According to the report, Exporting Corruption – OECD Progress Report 2013, 30 of the 40 countries signed up to the convention are barely investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery, considering the large value of their exports.

“The 40 countries, which represent more than two thirds of global exports, would make it very hard to get away with bribery if they lived up to the requirements of the OECD anti-bribery convention,” said Huguette Labelle, TI’s chair.

Countries fail to enforce foreign bribery rules for several reasons, maintains the report: budget cuts in enforcement agencies, a lack of specialised bodies to investigate foreign bribery and a failure to take advantage of existing deterrents.

Only eight countries have met their commitments under the Convention and TI warns that the failure of so many countries to crack down on companies that bribe foreign governments may imperil the 1997 agreement.

The report also calls for major exporters China, India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to sign the OECD convention.

“It is especially important these economies meet their G20 commitments and ensure that their companies, which have increasing influence overseas, operate cleanly,” said Labelle.


Picture credit: © Liz Van Steenburgh | Dreamstime Stock Photos
 

The world’s largest parabolic trough solar plant entered commercial operation in the US this week. It is also the first solar plant in the US with thermal energy storage which allows electricity to be produced at night.

Abengoa’s Solana Generating Station in Arizona uses Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology with solar thermal storage.

Arizona Public Service (APS) will purchase the full output from Solana for its customers, adding to the company’s already substantial solar portfolio.

“Solana is a game-changer in that it is a large-scale solar power plant that continues to produce electricity even after the sun goes down, using an innovative process that is new to the United States,” said Don Brandt, APS president and ceo.

The ability to generate electricity when needed is one of the unique characteristics of the CSP technology versus other types of renewables. The solar thermal storage also eliminates intermittency issues that other renewables, such as wind and photovoltaics, contend with, providing stability to the grid and thus increasing the value of the energy generated by CSP.

The total investment of the plant is approximately $2bn and during financing, Solana received a federal loan guarantee for $1.45bn from the United States Department of Energy Federal Loan Guarantee Program.
 

Submitted by Guest Contributor

By Joanna and Wolfgang Hafenmeyer

This third profile in the series based on the book, Future Makers, is about Isaac Shongwe – political scientist and economist, entrepreneur, philanthropist – and former slum dweller in Johannesburg, South Africa. He’s the CEO of Barloworld Logistics Africa.

“We can eradicate poverty and inequality if we work as hard for it as we are willing to work for big money,” says Isaac Shongwe. Isaac knows what he is talking about. He was born in Alexandra, one of the “townships” of Johannesburg, during the time of apartheid in South Africa. Isaac never knew his father. When he was ten, his mother died following a severe illness and he was left alone.

The situation for Isaac was desperate. Often, he did not know where his next meal would come from. Sometimes he even thought about ending his miserable life – nobody would have missed him. Today, however, Shongwe is a successful businessman, and invests much of his energy and money in order to improve the situation of people who are forced to rely on support.

Education: His Path Out of Poverty

Isaac was fortunate to be given possibility to continue his education after he reached the age of 12. It changed his existence. He says:

“I am one of the few lucky people who were given a chance. My chance was education. Today you can drop me anywhere in the world, and I will survive thanks to it.”

After he graduated from school in the early 1980s, he received a stipend to attend a university in Great Britain, then found another scholarship to study in the USA. In 1987, Isaac graduated in politics and business, and returned to his home in South Africa.

Leaving a Dent in the World

It is a fascinating success story – “the orphan from the slums fights his way up to become an entrepreneur.” Even more extraordinary is the other side of Isaac Shongwe. His enterprises were a way of becoming financially independent and enabling him to do what he really wanted to do. Isaac was always clear that he did not want to become a normal capitalist:

When you finish your life and you have a comment to make before you die – what are you going to say? You came and consumed in a sea of poverty? I want to leave a dent in the world, just a little impact. Because of my existence, I want the world to be a better place.

Isaac started to meet with other young entrepreneurs. At the meetings, he always challenged them, asking whether they wanted to become “regular capitalists” – as can be found all around the world – or whether, with consideration for the history of their country, they wanted to become capitalists of a new stripe.

By visiting the townships with them and organizing other activities that brought the country’s inequalities right before their eyes, he made it clear that people in positions of leadership have enormous responsibility for the weaker members of society. Within a short time, Isaac’s group expanded to 100 managers and together they began organizing social projects.

The Africa Leadership Initiative

Isaac committed himself to lead the “Africa Leadership Initiative” to success on the African continent.

It is his aim to create a network of leaders who dedicate themselves to real problems in the world, instead of focusing only on themselves and their own interests. According to him, society must ostracize entrepreneurs who only act in their own interest.

We have to create a culture, a movement that isolates and shames such people.

Only those who strive for a better world and earn their money in “win-win-win-situations,” meaning profit for themselves, for society and for the environment, deserve the respect of their fellow human beings.

Life Is Not About Money

Isaac’s own experience told him that selling one’s soul for money is tempting, especially for well-educated, intelligent, capitalist-minded black Africans. But,

Life is not about money. Money is good, but it will not make you happy. You buy a holiday home in Cape Town, and then you realize you can buy a vineyard and you can buy a yacht … how much is enough? Everyone has to answer this question for themself.

Isaac knows from his own experience that capitalism can “suck you in” very quickly and financial success can get you hooked on having more and more.

Economic Activism

Isaac wants to create a like-minded community of what he calls the “socially creative.” If they have the right positions in government, economy and civil society, these people can have a positive effect on the world. He is convinced that we can eliminate poverty on earth if more and more people share this attitude and way of thinking.

Day by day, he works to mobilize human capital and send it to where the supply is still running low – to the business of improving the world. He likes talking about what he calls “economic activism.”

You look at how the apartheid system was defeated. It was defeated because some of us who grew up in a township were activists. We were so convinced that the system was wrong, we were prepared to die for it.

That activism is gone. My strong feeling is that we need to bring back that activism. But now, because we are a democracy, it needs to be in different areas. There is a new enemy out there! Those of us who moved out of the townships don’t see that enemy. However, one of the things that keeps me awake at night is the huge inequality that exists. We have the responsibility and perhaps even the possibility for the first time in history to defeat this enemy.

More information about Shongwe can be found here.

About the Authors:

Joanna Stefanska Hafenmayer is the Managing Director of “MyImpact”, an organisation focusing on helping leaders to realize meaningful careers through coaching and seminars, as well as assessment tools and publications. An expert in the development of corporate responsible leadership programmes, Joanna is also a member of the Board of “Öbu” – the Swiss think-tank for business and sustainability – and leads the Responsible Corporate Leadership (RECOL) Forum, a group of innovative global enterprises in this area. Prior to 2012, she was a member of Microsoft Switzerland’s Executive Board as their Innovation & Sustainability Officer. Joanna was selected as a First Movers Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

Wolfgang Hafenmayer is the Managing Partner of LGT Venture Philanthropy, with a mission to improve the quality of life of less advantaged people. To realize this mission, Wolfgang built a team of 25 investment managers and philanthropy advisors on five continents to identify and support organizations with outstanding social and environmental impact currently improving the quality of life of 7.9 million less advantaged people. Wolfgang has been an Investment Manager with BonVenture, the first social venture fund in German-speaking Europe, and helped set up Forma Futura, a sustainable asset management company.

In the first crossover partnership of its kind in the UK between a car manufacturer and an energy company, Volkswagen Group is to provide a 100% green electricity offer on its electric vehicles. The German car giant is partnering with renewable energy company Ecotricity and the offer will apply to purchases of both Volkswagen and Audi brands.

Volkswagen Group UK’s Head of Environmental Management, Andrew Bannister, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer those customers who are making a choice to purchase an electric-powered car the option to adopt a green energy package, meaning their motoring can be powered by 100% renewable energy."

The announcement comes shortly after the Volkswagen Group’s chairman, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, announced that the company had its sight set on market leadership in electric vehicles by 2018.

The first Volkswagen Group electric car to go on sale in the UK will be the Volkswagen e-up! city car, with orders being taken in November and the first deliveries in January 2014. The e-Golf will follow in mid-2014; while the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid is due to arrive at the end of 2014.

Ecotricity founder, Dale Vince OBE, commented: “Ideally an electric car should be charged using 100% renewable energy; otherwise you are still powering it from fossil fuels. Running a car on green electricity from the wind and the sun is the last piece of the jigsaw; it’s the ultimate in green motoring.”
 

Submitted by Guest Contributor

By Mark Feinberg, CEO and Co-founder, Uruut

The market loves equity crowdfunding.

It's clear, however, that significant roadblocks lie ahead, not in the least, the Securities & Exchange Commission's unwillingness to regulate the sector as CSRwire’s Senior Editor Francesca Rheannon recently reported – "Equity Crowdfunding: Why Did The SEC Leave It Out Of New Rules?"

So while the term receives 400 times the number of Google searches than “donation based crowdfunding” each month, market opportunities still continue to favor crowdfunding’s first model – donation-based giving.

Modern crowdfunding first emerged in 1997 when British rock band, Marillion, used online fan donations to fund a $60,000 reunion tour. In 2000, ArtistShare became the first official crowdfunding platform. Today, Crowdfunding.org’s Industry Research Report predicts that the market will accelerate rapidly, reaching $16.6 billion by 2014.

Of this growth, donation-based crowdfunding will comprise the majority of giving, growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 444 percent compared to equity crowdfunding, which is growing at a rate of 168 percent.

The Future of Donation-Based Crowdfunding

The rapid adoption of donor base crowdfunding has been spurred by the viral nature of crowdfunding and its social networking-like platforms, which make giving attractive to individual donors. But there are several other trends that will continue to spur the donation-based crowdfunding market.

Until now, donation-based crowdfunding platforms have only harnessed the giving power of individuals. However, each year businesses and foundations donate nearly $60 billion to nonprofit organizations. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) officers and private foundation boards are always seeking nonprofit projects that align with their missions, and crowdfunding offers these entities a highly-searchable, easy-to-use model for sourcing and vetting worthwhile causes.

Why then have crowdfunding sites failed to fully tap this market opportunity? I believe it can be achieved by building platforms that support funding from not only individuals but other audiences as well. It’s this belief that led me to launch Uruut in July 2013 – the first crowdfunding platform that helps nonprofits harness donations from individuals, foundations and businesses.

The Equity Revolution

As Rheannon noted in her article, equity crowdfunding is gaining momentum and poised to experience exponential growth in the U.S. thanks to the JOBS Act. Websites like Seedr, CircleUp and AppsFunder are springing up, promising to give crowd investors a share of the profits if projects are successful.

According to EquityNet’s latest research, the odds are enticing. Fifteen percent of companies seeking equity funding are already lucrative and 90 percent of the remainder say they will be profitable in three years or less.

The Marriage of Equity and Donation-Based Models

The outlook for both equity and donation-based crowdfunding is clearly bright, but I believe the two models can coexist and support each other into the future. Just as the Internet didn't exactly put brick and mortar stores out of business, the industry’s new darling – equity crowdfunding – won't put donation-based crowdfunding out of business any time soon.

More importantly though, there are opportunities for equity platforms and donation-based platforms to work together.

For example, imagine a community that wants to revitalize one of its neighborhoods. An infrastructure project of that size would require commercial and residential real estate projects that could be equity based. To complement these efforts, the neighborhood could support the creation of new parks, community gardens and education programs through donation-based crowdfunding. Together, a blend of both equity and donation-based models can help this neighborhood revitalize in less time and with broad support.

In time we might see more platforms that support both crowdfunding models, or that create partnerships between the two. Together, I’m optimistic the crowdfunding community can solve the world’s most pressing issues and spur social innovation for years to come.

About the Author:

Mark L. Feinberg is a 15-year veteran of Atlanta’s investment and business communities. He left his investment management career in 2012 to launch Uruut, a crowdfunding platform for individuals, businesses and foundations to support nonprofit and civic organizations. Through Uruut, Mark is able to blend his business, technology, investment and entrepreneurial background with his desire to improve the nonprofit fundraising landscape.

Uruut developed the first crowdfunding platform built from the ground up to support donations from all three non-profit funding sources – individuals, businesses and foundations. Find Uruut on Facebook at facebook.com/get.ruuted and on Twitter @Uruut.

British supermarket chain Tesco has introduced a collaborative buying club which will help its suppliers invest in energy efficient lighting equipment and installations by offering substantial discounts and advice. 

The Buying Club, which has been developed in collaboration with 2degrees and the Carbon Trust, will be available to the 700+ businesses that are members of the retail giant’s Knowledge Hub – a global and exclusive online community for Tesco suppliers which encourages members to share information, experiences and best practice in carbon reduction.

The scheme will work by using the collective purchasing power of the suppliers in the Knowledge Hub to negotiate discounts on energy efficient lighting equipment. Savings of up to 25% will be available on the cost of equipment, which could result in savings of up to 80% on energy bills.

The launch follows a successful pilot of four suppliers who trialled the model earlier in the year. Feedback from those who took part showed that power of collaboration can remove barriers and concerns to investing in energy saving measures - such as confusion over the huge range of low energy lighting providers, and quality and price.

Chloe Meacher, Tesco Climate Change Manager said: “We are committed to using our scale for good and this initiative is just one way we can do that, helping our suppliers make energy savings. Our suppliers have told us that cost and lack of knowledge can be the biggest barriers to making investment in energy savings. The Buying Club will address these concerns and support them in reducing their carbon footprint in a really practical way.”

Leading international companies are maintaining their investments in local communities and helping more people, despite the tough economic climate.

New data on corporate community investment just published by LBG, the international standard for measuring and benchmarking corporate community investment, shows companies are contributing a greater proportion of their profits, giving staff more paid time off to volunteer and increasing their support for education and young people.

According to LBG’s 2013 Annual Review, annual community contributions have reached a total of £1.7bn ($2.6bn; €2.0bn) among participating companies and on average the companies contribute 1.7% of pre-tax profit, equivalent to £428 per employee ($527, €677); and 17% of employees volunteer in paid time.

A quarter of total contributions go to support education and young people (26%) and a similar amount to health (24%). LBG says an estimated 95m people in more than 130 countries benefit from the corporate programmes with some 77,000 partner organizations.

Pam Webb from Zurich Community Trust and chair of LBG, commented: “Companies using the LBG model are making a big difference to their communities. By adopting a strategic approach, they build strong relationships with not-for-profit partners, encourage their employee engagement, build business value and achieve a long term impact in the community.”

Over 300 companies around the world use the LBG standard to improve their management, measurement and reporting, with 109 companies participating in this year’s survey.

Picture credit: © Karen Foley | Dreamstime.com