Defra calls emergency drought summit

Posted 16.02.2012 | 0 Comments

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has arranged a crisis summit to deal with the worst drought in Britain since 1976 and the Environment Agency say they are "planning for the worst."

Speaking on the Today programme this morning, Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, described the problem and said that they are taking the unusual step of moving fish out of some rivers, something which is out of the ordinary in February, because of the low levels of water.

He said it was down to the fact that we are reaching the end of the second consecutive dry winter and has had serious implications and is starting to affect farmers and the environment.

Paul Valleley, director of water services at Anglia Water also spoke to say they were monitoring the situation in their area very closely and that the likelihood of a hosepipe ban in the East of England is ever increasing.

The drought summit on Monday next week will bring together water companies to discuss the measures that need to be introduced.

16 February 2012

New retailers including Norauto and Fast Retailing join event regulars Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch, Desigual and Mango at Retail Connections 2012

Posted 14.02.2012 | 0 Comments

In the current economic climate the events industry has been one sector to suffer the most. As marketing budgets are slashed and every penny needs to be accounted for companies are looking for results. In spite of this, Retail Connections is set to grow 40% from last year, with more retailers than ever signing up to take part.

This year 35 shopping centre developers, owners and agents have signed up already, and over 100 retailers have responded to their invitations. Even more exciting, we are set to welcome several new faces this year.

Developers joining us for the first time this year include NCC Property Development who develop and sell commercial property in the Nordic countries and the Baltic Region; H B Kroetse Paternotte, leading real estate broker in the Netherlands, Centrum Targoue PTAK SA, Poland's largest retail trade centre and REAM International. New designer outlet company REAM International are working on a number of European projects, including the Copenhagen Designer Outlet Center on the outskirts of Copenhagen.

We are also excited to welcome some new faces to our retailer attendee list this year with Fast Retailing, Promod, and Norauto joining us for the first time. Continued support comes from large retailers such as Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch, Claire's, Debenhams, Desigual and Mango.

For more information on how to promote your company’s leasing schemes, for sponsorship opportunities or to discuss how we can help you promote your real estate projects please contact Mady Maplethorpe on +44 (0)20 7344 1895.

14 February 2012

EFRA evidence on the Water White Paper published

Posted 9.02.2012 | 0 Comments

The Efra Select Committee published the 54 submissions it received on key issues raised in the Water White Paper this week.

Following the government's publication of its White Paper on water, Water for Life, on 8 December 2011, the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee invited written evidence on key issues raised in the White Paper.

As part of its written evidence, Water UK calls on Government and Ofwat to take great care to ensure that its actions do not inflate financing costs through investors’ perceptions of sectoral risk. The evidence goes on to say that, if this were to happen, the adverse impact on customers’ bills and company investment programmes would be significant.

To read all the submissions click here.

9 February 2012

The future of sustainability reporting

Posted 7.02.2012 | 0 Comments

The vast majority of companies on the Fortune Global 250 list now voluntarily publish some form of sustainability report in addition to their financial report. Every year the number of companies reporting is growing, making sustainability reporting for these companies a routine practice, with most of them using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework.

A recent Chatham House report compiled responses from companies about the benefits of sustainability reporting and found they include improved transparency and governance, increased employee engagement and a greater ability to listen and respond to stakeholders.

While reporting is certainly contributing to better strategy and performance, there are still challenges around regulation, accuracy of data, transparency and embedding sustainability in business.

The Future of Global Reporting conference is taking place on Thursday 20 September in London. This conference, in association with GRI, coincides with the first GRI global review of the framework in five years and is being held during the consultation period for G4; the next major version of the global framework.

The UK has a crucial role to play in determining the direction of global reporting. This conference will debate the future of sustainability reporting, with a particular focus on GRI and integrated reporting.

For further information about attending or contributing to the conference contact Shelley Wills on 0207 344 1843.

7 February 2012

Involving the community - Lodestar hosts consultation event for Tottenham Mews Mental Health Resource Centre

Posted 1.02.2012 | 0 Comments

Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust are currently working on plans to redevelop the existing Mental Health Resource Centre on Tottenham Mews into a new, improved facility and enlisted the help of the Lodestar team in holding a consultation event to get feedback on the revised plans from the users and the local community.

Attendees included users, local businesses, local residents and representatives from community associations. Feedback was extremely positive on the service that the new facility would provide and its role in the community.

1 February 2012