Big brands sign up to promote healthy eating – but is it enough?

Over 170 brands including Tesco, Diageo, Unilever and M&S  have signed up to the Government’s “Responsibility Deal” to promote healthy living, and have pledged to support responsible drinking and eating behaviour at home and work.

Pledges include reducing salt and trans-fats, printing calorie counts on menus, and clearer labelling to show alcohol units – but is this just tokenism? Will it really change behaviours and stem the growth in obesity and alcohol abuse that’s so endemic in the UK today? Or should our ‘big brands’ do more?

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

Nicki, Business Director

PepsiCo launches world’s first ‘green’ bottle

Lots of talk about ‘bottle wars’  this week as Pepsi announced that it has developed the world’s first 100% plant-based bottle – beating its rival Coca-Cola to the green post.

The new bottle is made from switch grass, pine bark and corn  husks (basically plant waste) and PepsiCo plan to pilot production in 2012. They also hope to use orange peel, potato scraps, oat hulls and other leftovers from its food business as renewable sources in the future.

Read the full story at http://bit.ly/gegV4z

Nicki, dbda

Every little helps: Tesco edges closer to zero

Global retail giant Tesco is looking to take its zero carbon commitments one step further by adopting energy-from-waste as a renewable technology.

Tesco has been working hard to reduce its carbon footprint over recent years with a firm commitment in place to halve emissions by 2020. On top of this, it is striving to become a zero carbon business by 2050.

O2 retains Carbon Trust Standard

Mobile network O2 has released figures today for carbon efficiency across its business.
According to figures released by the company, in the last two years it has cut carbon emissions by nearly 30,000 tonnes CO2.

KPMG launches six-year training scheme to turn school leavers into accountants

KPMG will pay the tuition fees of up to 100 school leavers joining its new degree programme this September.

Within a few years, the company hopes to recruit more than 400 school leavers annually.

The accounting giant said the scheme was a “blueprint” for employers to support teenagers faced with rising fees, while helping to devise a vocational course relevant to the world of work.

Eli Lilly’s holistic approach to corporate strategy (video)

How adopting a holistic approach to your corporate strategy can deliver both monetary and non-monetary benefits, by
Greg Spratt, advisor for environmental sustainability, Eli Lilly and Company.

http://live.edie.net/_Eli-Lilly39s-holistic-approach-to-your-corporate-strategy/video/1516811/25995.html

Video: 15 mins

Source: Edie.net (Gemma)

Jaguar ‘The Jaguar Cars Maths in Motion Challenge for Schools’

Jaguar ‘The Jaguar Cars Maths in Motion Challenge for Schools’
http://www.mathschallenge.co.uk/
• About: using PC-based simulation linked directly with practical mathematics, students work together in small teams, over a period of time, trying to win a series of aces against their classmates. They use basic mathematics and more.
• Challenge aim: to win races in school, get through the regional heats and reach the National final; to raise achievement levels and the perception of maths in schools.
• Who’s eligible: All UK primary and secondary schools for three ages: any primary age Years 7-9 and Years 10-11.
• Maths topics covered: percentages, multiplication, division, calculators, decimals, rounding, rations, chance, risk, measuring angles, measurement, scale, speed, distance, time, mean, modelling, graphs, stats, engine tuning, aerodynamics, suspension and gears.
• Subjects: Maths, Science, Technology, Engineering, D&T and English. Students are eligible to apply for bronze CREST award.
• How it works: work through practical maths, measuring and scaling real race tracks, determine characteristics of the circuit. This info entered into software and merged with decisions made about fuel carriage, tyre types, car set-up and driver temperament. All cars are then raced and if answers are wrong they will crash. Lead Centres and individual schools can purchase software package.
• Timeline: In-school Champions (Feb/March 11); LA (Local Authority boundary) winners announced (Mar 11); Semi Finals (May 11); Finalists announced (May 11); National Final (June 11).

Source: BETT Show 2011