NEW INITIATIVE FOR SUSTAINABILITY - The Business in the Community Ireland group, which includes many well known businesses operating in Ireland, has unveiled a new certification. The Business Working Responsibly certification which will be awarded to businesses which meet the relevant criteria. The group says trust has been eroded in Irish business recently and this initiative can help show there are many businesses here which have sustainable and responsible business practices. The new standard is being launched at conference on Corporate Responsibility being held in Dublin today.
The head of Sustainable Business with Marks and Spencer, Mike Barry, says that sustainability is all about balancing the economic needs of a company with doing the right thing socially and environmentally. He says there is two major aspects to the social aspect of corporate responsibility. The first is helping consumers tackle social issues and the second is ensuring that workers in a company's supply chain are treated fairly and properly.
The President of Coca Cola in Northwest Europe, James Quincey, is also at the conference. He says that focussing on sustainability is not a choice, but a must for a business, and something that can actually save money. He says that companies must see sustainability as a benefit instead of a cost. Mr Quincey says that the Japanese have led the way in this area and helps us shift our views towards sustainability. He adds that sustainability is not an option, but a must as the world's consumers can not sustain the current consumption rates into the future.
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MORNING BRIEFS - As the representatives from the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission arrive in Dublin today, the chief economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pier Carlo Padoan, has said Ireland's reluctant position about a possible bailout reflects a 'mistaken sense of national pride'. He said risks of contagion persist for banking systems, like those in France and Germany, which are more exposed to troubled countries. Padoan said there was too much alarmism from some European leaders, while others seemed to be more concerned about the public opinion in their own countries than the best interest of Europe.
*** A report carried out by Financial Services Ireland, the IBEC group which represents financial services companies here, has found they contribute €2.1 billion in tax annually. 32,700 people are employed in 500 firms in the sector and 36% of total corporation tax take come from IFSC companies. These are not just companies based in the IFSC in Dublin, but any company based in Ireland and primarily involved in financial services exports.
*** The Chairman of NAMA, Frank Daly and its chief executive Brendan McDonagh will face questions today about how agency is functioning and how it identifies eligible bank loans from the five participating banks in the scheme. The men will be before the Dail Public Accounts Committee, whose Chairman Bernard Allen says that the taxpayer has a right to know how one of the most significant agencies ever established by the state is conducting its affairs.
*** An interim management statement from Grafton Group says that merchanting sales are continuing to fall, but the rate of decline has eased. Retailing sales fell 7% in the year to October. Group turnover was €1.7 billion, up marginally on the €1.69 billion recorded in the same period last year.
*** Irish Continental Group says that in the three months to the end of September it saw a 12% rise in operating profits to €19m on revenues of over €81m. There was also a 25% increase in earnings to €25m.
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at one dollar and 36.00 cents and 85.42 pence sterling.
