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Primark has joined the United Nations’ Fashion Charter (UNFCCC), supporting the Charter’s net-zero ambition for 2050 and committing to a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In joining the Charter, Primark is committing to tackling emissions from across its entire value chain, including beyond its own operations, or ‘Scope 3 emissions’, which make up the vast majority of...

Ofgem has issued three suppliers with final orders compelling them to pay £15 million in outstanding payments to comply with the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme and in Feed-in Tariff (FIT) levelisation payments by 31 October 2020. The three suppliers are Nabuh Energy Limited (£2,683,631.70), Robin Hood Energy Limited (£12,057,879.42) and Symbio Energy Limited (£506,308). The three suppliers failed to pay into...

The Scottish Government is consulting on a number of proposals to further reduce air pollution, including potential controls on the supply of wet wood and house coal as it launches a new draft air quality plan. The draft five-year Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 strategy follows the recently published Programme for Government. Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham commented on the announcement: “The...

A coalition of trade associations representing major British industries including retail, property, construction and technology, has written a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ask for renewable energy technologies such as solar PV and battery storage to be excepted from business rates. The Solar Trade Association has estimated that excepting solar PV from rates could deliver 1500-1800 additional...

Water regulator Ofwat has warned that customers will pay more on their water bills and investors could scoop up the extra as higher dividend pay-outs if the Competition and Markets Authority confirms its position on the price review of four water companies. In December last year, Ofwat set out what water companies should deliver for customers and the environment, and...

The Welsh Government is seeking views on their proposed plan for tackling fuel poverty in Wales between 2020 and 2035. The new draft plan is informed by extensive engagement with the third sector supporting Welsh communities, including a round table held by Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs in June last year. It is further informed by the...

The first large-scale study of the risks that countries face from dependence on water, energy and land resources has found that globalisation may be decreasing, rather than increasing, the security of global supply chains. Countries meet their needs for goods and services through domestic production and international trade. As a result, countries place pressures on natural resources both within and...

A new science and innovation strategy for forestry in Great Britain has been published by the Welsh Government. The new strategy recognises 'the key role the sector has in addressing the challenges of reversing the decline in biodiversity, climate change, and supporting the green recovery from COVID-19, and science and innovation’s contribution in this.' Welcoming the strategy’s publication, Welsh Government Environment,...

The Scottish Government has set a new ambition to increase offshore wind capacity to 11 gigawatts of energy installed by 2030 – enough to power more than eight million homes. The aim of substantially increasing the offshore wind capacity in Scottish waters supports the delivery of Scotland’s 2017 Energy Strategy and the decarbonisation of heat and transport and has been...

The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to “think again” after voicing concerns over its provisional plans for four water companies’ future bills and service commitments. CCW has published its formal response to the CMA’s proposals for Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Bristol Water and Yorkshire Water. This comes after four companies appealed against water...