Argentina business council for sustainable development

Legislation proposed for the Bipartisan Innovation Act would reportedly allow the government to review corporate investments to China in order to protect American industries the government considers vital to U.S. national security, according to The Wall Street Journal. The U.S.-China Business Council, an organization which counts over 250 American companies as members, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that the legislation may actually harm the U.S. economy. Pastor Bob Fu, president of the human rights organization ChinaAid, told TheDCNF that the U.S.-China Business Council is a “pro-CCP interest lobbying group” and “partially responsible” for the “ongoing supply chain disaster.” Major American businesses and trade groups are fighting newly proposed legislation intended to protect U.S. industries deemed critical to national security from China. A bipartisan group of senators and representatives proposed legislation for inclusion within the Bipartisan Innovation Act … [Read more...] about Big Business Fights Bill Intended To Stop Selling America Out to China

Leading digital solutions platform Globe was recently recognized for its efforts in sustainable building management and energy efficiency and conservation in the 2022 Europa Awards organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). The 2022 Europa Awards recognize companies with exceptional performance and contributions to promoting sustainability according to global standards and the Philippine Development Plan. Globe received commendations for their entries in the “Clean and Green Energy” and “Green Building” categories. Employing sustainable solutions for responsible energy consumption In line with the first category, ECCP cited the company for successfully incorporating clean and renewable energy sources in its day-to-day operations, particularly in 14 of its high-energy utilization facilities. The shift of facilities to 100% renewable energy via power purchase agreements started in 2019 and has steadily increased year-on-year, aligned with … [Read more...] about Globe recognized for green solutions, sustainability programs in 2022 Europa Awards

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When I first heard about Chopvalue , a circular economy furniture and design company that used the humble chopstick as sustainable and reusable resource, I couldn’t help but think it was a gimmick. But the more I dived into this fascinating company and its journey, the more convinced I became that it was a singularly innovative and scalable idea that could inspire fresh ways for us to think about the resources we have in our urban environment. I caught up with Founder Felix Bock to find out more about this fascinating idea. Afdhel Aziz: Felix, welcome. Please tell us a little bit about ChopValue and how you first came up with the idea? Felix Bock: I have a background in wood engineering from Germany and was pursuing a PhD in structural bamboo composites in Vancouver, where I quickly developed a sushi addiction. I had an eye-opening moment when I connected the chopsticks I ate dinner with to the vast amount of … [Read more...] about How ChopValue Is Creating A Supercool Sustainable Design Brand Using The Humble Chopstick

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): The joint venture (JV) of Sime Darby Property Bhd and LOGOS SE Asia Pte Ltd (LOGOS Property), SDPLOG, on Friday announced the first close of its first US$250 million industrial development fund, which will go towards the development of sustainable and integrated modern logistics facilities with green building certification at its E-Metro Logistics Park in Bandar Bukit Raja, Klang. With 70% in capital commitments secured at first close for a fund size of up to US$250 million, the shariah-compliant fund will be anchored by Permodalan Nasional Bhd and unit trust funds under its management and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), according to a joint statement on Friday (June 24). This is alongside Sime Darby Property and LOGOS Property as sponsors of and co-investors in the fund, which will enable the development of logistics assets over the next three years, in accordance with the fund's business plan. The immediate capital … [Read more...] about Sime Darby Property, LOGOS Property JV achieves first close of US$250 mil development fund

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin CEO of PragmatIC Semiconductor, Scott White is an experienced serial entrepreneur leading his sixth technology venture at PragmatIC. In the face of growing geopolitical concerns and a global chip shortage, Western governments are considering generous packages to boost semiconductor manufacturing. In my last article , I discussed how such support packages have the potential to grow the economy and generate thousands of skilled jobs. This time, I look at another urgent question: How can the money be best spent? In the late ’80s, the U.S. launched SEMATECH, a consortium that received $500 million in government funding to regain competitiveness in the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry. The consortium has a complicated legacy: Although SEMATECH became the standard for how industry and government could work together to restore manufacturing industries, it didn’t produce leaps in semiconductor manufacturing … [Read more...] about Developing A Semiconductor Innovation Strategy That Builds For The Future

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Elad Inbar, CEO of RobotLAB Inc , is dedicated to making robots smart and useful, supporting businesses in their journey to the 21st-century. With only 10% of people looking for work experiencing any urgency to secure a paycheck, service-related small businesses are having a hard time recovering from the pandemic. Despite food service, hospitality and other low-skill jobs seeing sharp wage increases — many exceeding the symbolic $15 per hour rate some have been clamoring for — “help wanted” signs proliferate in cities and towns across America. The widespread unwillingness to reenter the workforce could not have come at a worse time for restaurants, bars, movie theaters, barbers and other companies that deliver their services in person and are desperate to find ways to return to some semblance of normality and pre-pandemic revenue levels. Most were forced to lay off their staff when Covid-19 forced their … [Read more...] about How Small Businesses Can Rely On Robots As The Labor Shortage Grows

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, affable married couple Chuah Seet Sheng and Liew Huey Ying were running a fashion retail outlet in a shopping mall. When the lockdown was first imposed and mall traffic dropped to zero, Chuah and Liew knew they needed to do something to sustain themselves. “We were previously in the fashion retail line, selling women’s clothing and accessories. But during the movement control order at the start of the pandemic, nobody wanted new clothes. “We had to keep paying rent and our staff salaries so in the end, we had to cut off the business, because it was too difficult to sustain,” explains Chuah. Chuah and Liew then thought about starting a food business to pay their bills. The biggest problem they had? Neither of them knew how to cook! Liew (left) and Chuah had to give up their clothing store during the pandemic, and despite being neophyte cooks, found a new calling in a home food business. “The main issue we had was both of us didn’t … [Read more...] about Ordering in: The couple who couldn’t cook but started a successful food business

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Emily Pickrell, UH Energy Scholar The tiny South American country of Guyana has been transformative for Exxon Mobil Corp. in the last decade, after the oil titan made the first of a series of gigantic discoveries just off its coast. As the country moves into its new role as a prolific oil producer, it’s time for it to now take the helm in managing these relationships. Indeed, its current arrangement with Exxon and partners — Hess and Chinese CNOOC — reveals the story of a country that was new to the game and inexperienced in negotiations several years ago. This team first found oil in Guyana seven years ago and has since made an astonishing 18 oil discoveries in its giant Guyanese Stabroek block. These discoveries contain generous fossil fuel wealth: nearly 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas potential and counting, following the latest spate of new discoveries in April. Exxon and its … [Read more...] about As Guyana’s Oil Business Booms, Could A Potential New Deal With Exxon Loom?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This week is the Cannes Lions Festival Of Creativity - the huge annual jamboree for the advertising and PR industry. Sustainability is one of the main themes, but change isn’t easy for an industry based on selling more stuff to more people. Advertising plays a pivotal role in climate change. On one hand, advertising defends the destructive oil and gas industry, greenwashes brands and drives consumption. As the recent IPCC report put it: “A good number of corporate agents have attempted to derail climate mitigation by targeted lobbying and doubt-inducing media strategies.” But on the other hand, the power of creativity and storytelling could change the course of climate change. The IPCC also made clear that: “Socio-cultural changes within transition pathways can offer Gigaton-scale CO2 savings potential at the global level” In non-geek speak…The IPCC is saying that culture eats climate for breakfast! The … [Read more...] about 43 People Changing Advertising For The Climate

- A + A (June 23): In a virtual speech delivered at the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday lauded the BRICS mechanism as having shown resilience and vitality in the current global crisis, and called on the mechanism to stay open and inclusive to welcome like-minded partners to join the big BRICS family, while firmly opposing the abuse of unilateral sanctions and rejecting "small circles" built around hegemony. Chinese analysts said the summit sent a strong signal to the world that apart from Western-dominated organizations, which have harmed the world economy with bloc-to-bloc confrontation and abuse of sanctions, there are multilateral mechanisms formed by non-Western major economies, just like BRICS, that can effectively represent the majority of the international community in making joint efforts to realize recovery and overcome global challenges. Xi noted that over the past year, the world has faced the continued spread of … [Read more...] about Global Times: Xi calls on BRICS to form one big family to reject small circles