Supermarkets must slash food waste to play their part in tackling climate change, a leading industry figure has said.
Ken Murphy, the chief executive of UK supermarket chain Tesco, said the company felt a “huge responsibility” to curb its carbon footprint.
It came as a UK business tsar told companies that they needed to halve their emissions in the next decade as part of their plans to reach net zero.
Andrew Griffith, a Conservative MP and climate champion for Cop26, told businesses that “the eyes of the world are upon us” in the lead-up to the November summit.
The UK is urging businesses to sign up to the UN’s Race to Zero campaign and commit to net zero by 2050 at the latest.
Experts say that 2050 targets must include commitments to cut emissions in the shorter term.
Mr Murphy said the food industry had a major role in this because it depends on exploiting natural resources.
Tesco had generated more than 84,000 tonnes of food waste over the past year, he said.
“We rely on resources around the world and we’re very conscious that food production is a big contributor to climate change,” Mr Murphy said.
“We know that a third of all food produced is wasted, and therefore we feel a huge responsibility to do our part in doing that.”
He said Tesco had stepped up food donations to help people who were pushed into poverty by the fallout from Covid-19.
“It’s an issue that during the pandemic became much more acute,” he said.
Tesco said it cut waste by 29 per cent over the past four years and aimed to halve it by the end of the decade compared to 2016/17 levels.
“It’s not an optional ambition,” said Mr Murphy of Tesco’s climate targets. “I think this is something we all understand as critical, it’s existential.
“It’s amazing what your people can do if you unleash their thinking and problem-solving capability.”
Mr Murphy spoke at a business leaders’ event on Thursday which was part of London Climate Action Week.
The actions of every single business are going to be central
Andrew Griffith
Mr Griffith, the UK’s official Net Zero Business Champion for Cop26, said there was a pragmatic case for businesses to invest in climate action.
He said companies could sign up to net zero with the confidence that the target is backed by the UK government, the UN and leading scientists.
“The actions of every single business are going to be central to our successful transition of the new low-carbon economy,” he said.
“If we get it right, we’ll open up large and attractive sectors of the world economy of which British businesses will be able to attract significant market share.”
Dr Enass Abo-Hamed, a representative of youth forum One Young World, told the summit that businesses should listen to younger people who had “skin in the game”.
Many technological breakthroughs in recent years had been spearheaded by young people, she said.
“You want to live a better life, you want a good opportunity to benefit from everything that our planet could offer while it’s liveable.
“That is why giving the young generation a voice and a seat at the table is really important when it comes to the conversation around climate.”
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
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Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
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Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
