An Amazing feat!

Riding Solo to the Top of the World.






hatsoff to Gaurav Jani for his sheer determination and will to embark on such an adventure.

UNEP report claims green investments 'are a legal responsibility'

courtesy: IWA

Green investments are no longer just a luxury, but are now a legal responsibility, according to a new report by theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and a powerful group of asset managers who control some $2 trillion in assets.

The 120-page publication argues that if investment consultants and others do not incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their services, they face ‘a very real risk that they will be sued for negligence’.

It also stressed the central role that the world’s largest institutional investors – including pensions funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and mutual funds – have in easing the transition to a low-carbon and resource-efficient green economy.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: ‘ESG issues are not peripheral but should be part of mainstream investment decisions-making processes across the industry.’

He also noted that creative market mechanisms and other incentives can help to ensure that as investors return to markets after the current financial turmoil ends, they will put their funds into a greener economy and not the ‘brown economy of yesterday’.

The new report, titled ‘Fiduciary responsibility: legal and practical aspects of integrating environmental, social and governance issues into institutional investment’, was produced by the Asset Management Working Group of the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), a partnership between the agency and nearly 200 financial institutions around the world.
Lis Stedman

Australia town bans bottled water

A rural town in Australia has voted overwhelmingly to ban the sale of bottled water over concerns about its environmental impact.

Campaigners say Bundanoon, in New South Wales, may be the first community in the world to have such a ban.

They say huge amounts of resources are used to extract, package and transport bottled water.

The discarded plastic bottles then end up as litter or go into landfill sites, the "Bundy on Tap" campaign says.

More than 350 residents turned out to vote at the public meeting in the town hall.

Only one resident voted against the ban, along with a representative from the bottled water industry, ABC news reported.

The BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney says locals have promised not to set upon visitors if they ignore the ban, but they will be encouraged to fill a reusable container from water fountains in the main street.

The reusable bottles will bear the slogan "Bundy on Tap".

Campaigner John Dee said local opinion had been incensed when a drinks company announced plans to tap an underground reservoir in the town.

Environmental impact

"The company has been looking to extract water locally, bottle it in Sydney and bring it back here to sell it," he said.

"It made people look at the environmental impact of bottled water and the community has been quite vocal about it."

The ban has been supported by shopkeepers in the town, which has a population of about 2,500.

"We believe Bundanoon is the world's first town that has got its retailers to ban bottled water," said Mr Dee. "We haven't found it anywhere else."

New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees has backed the cause, ordering government departments to stop buying bottled water and use tap water instead.

Mr Rees says it will save taxpayers money and help the environment.

courtesy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8141569.stm