Governments requesting more internet user data, Japan’s giant wind farm and corporate forest footprints
More government requests from Google
Google has released its latest Transparency Report, revealing that government appeals for internet user data are on the rise worldwide, and the US is leading the charge with 40% of the requests.
The internet giant started publishing Transparency Reports twice a year in 2010. From July to December 2012, Google received 21,389 requests for information on 33,634 users, a whopping 70% increase since 2010. The US government made 8,438 of those requests, with Google responding to 90% of them. Along with the US, India, France, Germany and the UK made the most requests for user information.
For the first time, Google’s latest report also breaks down the various legal mechanisms US government entities employ to procure user data. In the second half of 2012, 68% of the requests Google received came through subpoenas, issued under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which Google says are the easiest to obtain because they usually don’t involve judges. Search warrants made up 22% of requests, and the remaining 10% were court orders issued under the ECPA by judges or other processes that “are difficult to categorise”.
It’s worth noting that Google’s transparency reports do not include requests for user data made under the US Patriot Act or Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendment Act, which are prohibited from being disclosed to the public under national security protocol. It’s therefore unknown how many of these requests have been put forward, and thus the total number of user data requests the US government has actually made.
Whole World Water launched
Whole World Water (WWW) is a new three-year campaign to unite the multi-trillion-dollar hospitality and tourism industry with one mission: increase global access to clean drinking water and cut carbon emissions, while increasing companies’ bottom lines.
One billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water. The problem seems intractable. But WWW co-founders Jenifer Willig (former chief marketing officer of U2 star Bono’s Red initiative) and Karena Albers (a documentary filmmaker) see a massive opportunity for hotels, resorts, spas, and restaurants to participate in a non-competitive platform that enables them to collectively contribute $1bn annually and solve this pressing issue – simply by filtering and bottling their own water, and contributing 10% of the proceeds to the Whole World Water fund.
“This is much more than a fundraising initiative,” says Willig. “It’s a revolutionary, creative way of thinking, a new way to do business and a replicable model designed to combat environmental, health and economic issues. Most importantly, it will be the first time that a single industry has united on a non-competitive platform, taking action and eradicating a major global issue.”
To join, members pay an annual fee of $1,000, which provides access to WWW’s multi-media marketing arsenal. Properties then install the Vivreau water filtration system, and bottle and sell the water using WWW’s campaign glass bottle, fashioned by acclaimed industrial designer Yves Béhar.
All proceeds from the sale of Whole World Water will support clean water projects around the world via the Whole World Water Fund, a registered UK charity.
In a few short months, the campaign has already garnered some big-name members, including the Ritz Carlton, Virgin Hotels, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, and Tao Restaurant Group. The goal is to reach at least 1,000 members in 2013.
“We hope Whole World Water demonstrates the unlimited possibility of a simple idea,” says Albers. “Anyone can take a single, simple idea and put a lot of intention and energy behind it and be a world changer.”
The campaign officially launches globally on March 22, World Water Day.
Japan set to build the world’s largest wind farm
In the wake of Japan’s 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima that prompted the nation to shut down all but two of its nuclear facilities, Japan has opted to take an alternative energy route and is constructing the world's largest offshore wind farm.
A consortium of heavy hitters including Marubeni Corporation, the University of Tokyo, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI Marine United, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Nippon Steel, Hitachi, Furukawa Electric, Shimizu and Mizuho Information & Research will spearhead the pilot wind farm project, which will be funded by Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry.
The wind farm will reside off the coast of Fukushima and consist of 143 floating wind turbines, each stretching 200 metres high, and built on steel-frame platforms. The first stage of the project will start in 2012 with one 2MW floating wind turbine, the world’s first 66kV floating power sub-station and undersea cables.
Once completed in 2020, the wind farm will generate 1 gigawatt of power. The project architects have designed it in such a way to prevent harming the seabed (and thus the local fishing industry), and it has been tested to withstand natural disasters that plague the region, including earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons.
“We believe that creating a practical wind farm business scheme through this experimental project could lead to the deployment of large scale floating wind farms in the future,” the consortium says. “Taking advantage of the experience and knowledge gained through this, the world’s first floating wind farm, this business could be expanded on a global basis and lead to the development of a new Japanese export industry.”
McDonald’s sustainable fish
Fans of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich in the US will soon notice a new blue logo adorning their sandwich packaging.
McDonald’s USA, which has 14,000 restaurants, will be the first restaurant chain in America to certify its fish with the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) ecolabel, an advance the company made in Europe in 2011. Additionally, the company is rolling out a new fish item on its menu called Fish McBites, which will also be certified and use wild-caught, MSC-certified Alaska pollock.
Before receiving MSC certification in the US, McDonald’s worked closely with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and Conservation International to verify the sustainability of its fishing practices.
Bill Fox, vice-president and managing director of fisheries at WWF, says the move “gives consumers a way to contribute to the conservation of the world’s biodiversity, [and] demonstrates McDonald’s leadership in feeding a growing population while helping to maintain healthy fisheries.”
McDonald’s says: “As one of the largest single buyers of fish in the US, McDonald’s scale will help assure that growing seafood demands are balanced with MSC’s responsible sourcing practices to maintain the health and sustainability of fish stocks for the future.”
Forest footprints
Christian Dior, Colgate-Palmolive, Groupe Danone, Gucci and Agropalma are a handful of the new participants in the fourth annual Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) review.
The review is based on companies’ voluntary disclosure of their forest footprint across 12 sectors, and is based on the use of five commodities in their supply chains: soy, palm oil, timber, cattle products and biofuels.
The latest report showed a 15% increase in participation, with 100 international companies submitting results (out of 450 requests made), as well as a boost in geographical scope to Mexico and Japan.
The 2012 leaders include New Britain Palm Oil, which took the top spot in the agricultural products sector; L’Oréal, which led the personal products and household products sector; and PrimeAsia Leather Corporation, which was the best performer in the textiles, apparel and luxury goods category.
“PrimeAsia’s commitment to the environment guides us to create the highest quality leather with the lowest lifecycle footprint through innovation and engagement of employees, customers, suppliers, and the communities in which we operate,” says Sarah Swenson, PrimeAsia’s environmental manager.
However, while participation has increased, there is a growing gap between the leaders and their peers, with an average 16 percentage point difference between the winners’ scores and the runners-up across all sectors.
Additionally, the oil and gas and agricultural production sectors are still under-represented in the report, despite their central role in global supply chains.
“The lack of engagement from any of the major oil and energy companies globally, with the commendable exception of BP, continues to be shameful, especially when public and financial community interest in their performance continues to be so high,” the report states.
Looking ahead, the FFD will merge with the Carbon Disclosure Project by February 2014, creating an even more robust reporting mechanism.
“For the first time, water, carbon and forests will all be under one roof, and this means that both companies and investors will be able to review and evaluate how well a company is managing its environmental footprint, so it is important for companies to act in order to be sure that they are not left behind,” says James Hulse, director of FFD.
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