Royal Philips Electronics launched the company’s first annual Sustainability Report, adding detailed accountability for economic and social responsibility to its former Environmental Report. The reporting initiative is in line with the steps taken in recent years to increase transparency and accountability, adhering to the company’s business principles. Philips also announced that the company has established a Sustainability Board, Corporate Sustainability Office, corporate Sustainability Policy and a global sustainability sponsorship initiative. ... lees meer

This is to inform you that Nutreco has reached a common understanding with Friends of the Earth the Netherlands (“Milieudefensie”) about the developments around the Johannesburg Summit in August last year. You probably remember how Milieudefensie and its Friends of the Earth sister organisations accused us of not abiding to local laws in Chile (minimum wages, union rights, environment). Milieudefensie now acknowledges in a official statement that they made some mistakes. This gives us the possibility to “close the book”, stop the rumour, have a proper evaluation and continue a constructive dialogue with this key international NGO. We also agreed that we, Nutreco, will initiate a more detailed environmental impact assessment of our Chilean fish farms in lakes and ocean. Hopefully we can build upon the research work we are now doing in Scotland together with the independent Dutch research institute CREM on the development of a biodiversity assessment tool. Today, this Milieudefensie statement is published on their web site (www.milieudefensie.nl) Nutreco also have its statement on www.nutreco.com. We will also use the Milieudefensie statement in the Social & Environmental Report 2002. See below both the statement of Nutreco and Milieudefensie. ... lees meer

(Published in the IHT). Ruth Meza-Orozco, 23, works six days a week in a Taiwanese clothing factory in Managua’s Free Trade Zone. On Sundays, she studies. “My salary doesn’t help me with anything,” said Meza-Orozco, who has been working in the Free Trade Zone since she was 18. “I don’t even have a house.” The average hourly wage of apparel workers in Nicaragua is about 27 cents. Meza-Orozco would like to do something else, but in Nicaragua, there is little else to do. “In this country, the Free Trade Zone is the only kind of work,” she said. In the last decade, Meza-Orozco’s problems have become a topic of conversation in even the highest echelons of the fashion industry. “The company asks me regularly to discuss these issues,” said Christophe Girard, director of fashion strategy at LVMH and deputy mayor for culture of Paris. “I think it has become a more common debate.” ... lees meer