Ketan who is technical director of Ethical
Junction and Kate, who is EJ’s administrator, recently got married.
The couple are both vegans so they had an all vegan wedding (everyone
really liked the food!) and they set out to use as many Ethical Junction
companies as possible as part of their wedding. Kate and Ket would like
to give a big Thank You to all of the Ethical Junction companies that
they were able to make use of for their products and services as part
of their wedding.  

They gleaned tips, practical advice and
inspiration from both Green Union and Ethical Weddings. Their rings
were ethically sourced from Fifi Bijoux

Kate, the Bride made her own dress and
jacket using organic fabric from Greenfibres, and wore shoes from Beyond
Skin, her necklace was from Natural Collection, her handbag was from
Feel Good Handbags, her make up from Beauty Without Cruelty and Inika.
Both the bride and groom used skin care products from Green People and
Simply Soaps, hair care products used were from both Faith In Nature
and Daniel Field.

Ket, The Groom wore an organic linen
suit (unfortunately not from an EJ, a gap in the marketplace there people!).
Ket’s shoes were from Natural Collection. The beautiful faritrade
roses that were used for the buttonholes and the bride’s bouquet were
from Imogen Stone (Kate kept the fairtrade tags on the rose stems).  

Paper for the invites, place settings,
and table names was from the Exotic Paper Company and envelopes from
Eco-Craft. All the alcohol was from Vintage Roots (organic and vegan).
A Lot of Candles who is part of the company A Lot of Chocolates supplied
organic candles.

Ket’s band played to the guests as part of the evenings entertainment, and is currently having a bass guitar custom built by Simon Lee Guitars .

The couple used gift lists from Greenfibres,
Our Green Wedding List, Natural Collection and Bishopston Trading. The
honeymoon destination later in the year is to be at Bloomfield House. 

Kate and Ket would like to say, “Thank
you to you all 22 Ethical Junction members for making our day so wonderful and memorable.” 

5 June
2009

World
Environment Day (WED), 5
June, 2009, is an initiative aimed towards building worldwide awareness
of environmental issues and climate change and is a principle vehicle
for the United Nations to enhance political attention and action

(http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/). This year’s WED slogan is
‘Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate change’
which reflects the urgent need for an internationally binding policy
on climate change. Although a significant part of the fight against
climate change is the implementation of an international policy, it
also requires individual and corporate actions.

As part of Article 13’s
ongoing commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) commitment, and
specifically our efforts to support the environment and climate change,
we robustly monitor our own environmental impact, as well as show advocacy
and support for its protection. Below are examples of our actions, reporting
and review measures:

• We conduct a monthly audit
  of our usage of paper, electricity, and fuel, seeking to improve our
  impact on the environment. We believe that these small actions contribute
  a positive impact and are in keeping with our corporate sustainability
  and responsibility status.
• Secondly, we volunteer members
  of our in-house team for conservation work, as part of our efforts towards
  the protection and management of environmental resources.
• Thirdly, we create awareness
  and highlight the latest information on environmental technologies,
  policies and conferences through regular advocacy and information dissemination.
• See our UNGC pages for our latest actions and 2009 KPIs

   (http://www.article13.com/csr/ungc_iip_values.asp).

A small selection of
Article 13 resources includes:

• Article
  13 Climate Change Resource centre: http://www.article13.com/csr/climate-change-cont.asp
• Article 13 environmental case
  studies:
• Aviva – reducing and offsetting
  carbon emissions http://www.article13.com/A13_ContentList.asp?strAction=GetPublication&PNID=1376
• 3M – Development of a life
  cycle management approach http://www.article13.com/A13_ContentList.asp?strAction=GetPublication&PNID=1312

For information on how
Article 13 can assist you in auditing your company’s practices, developing
environmental action plans, and reducing your business related environmental
impacts, contact Fiona Banyard on 020 8840 4450 or email fionab@article13.com

Money Matters

Putting the Eco into Economics

- global crisis and local solutions

David Boyle

28th May 2009

Published by Alastair Sawday Publishing

Visitwww.sawdays.co.uk to buy a copy

£7.99• Paperback •  ISBN 9781-906136-20-8

From
hedge funds to hyperinflation, credit cards to credit crunch, David
Boyle’s new book demystifies the economic system that has us all caught
in its tentacles. 

Now,
more than ever before, we are worrying about money.  With our
mortgages, savings, credit card bills, loans and pensions, we are all
implicated in a system that operates ostensibly in our name.  But for
something we all use so much of, money is extraordinarily elusive; it
is coins and it is debt, it is a plastic debit card and it is infinite
numbers of bytes in cyberspace.  But where has all the money gone?

Money Matters is
essential reading for anyone who feels in the dark about the economic
situation.  It will brief you for the current financial debate and will
make you look at everything from your bank statement to the coins in
your pocket in a whole new way.

The
book covers the origin of money, the banking system, the stock markets,
trading, the global flow of e-money, debt, mortgages, interest, tax,
pensions, the global currency of oil, forgery, great crashes of the
past, the dot.com
explosion, the credit crunch of 2007 and the 2008 crash, and the
emerging ways to trade in the future, such as Ethical Banking, Local
Exchange Currencies, the Transition Town Movement, and sustainable
finance.

David Boyle has
written widely about money from a green and ethical perspective.  He is
a fellow of the New Economics foundation and editor of their newspaper,
Radical Economics.  His books include Why London needs its own Currency (2000), Virtual Currencies (2001), The Money Changers (2002) and The Little Money Book (2003).

A new report, out today, shows that discriminating customers now insist on more evidence of the integrity of so-called ethical companies touting for their business.

I’d say this is entirely reasonable – I certainly would like to know that my hard-earned folding stuff is being well spent – especially in these days of cash constraint.

Also, if we can’t expect high standards of integrity in the ethical marketplace, where can we expect them?

The report shows that one feature now held in high esteem is validation of a trader’s credentials by a transparent, non-profit, professional organisation that is well-establised and trusted in the marketplace. I swear I heard about just such an outfit only the other day…

You can read about the report here: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/05/05/lohas-consumers-want-proof-and-third-party-verification/

Enjoy

Rob Weston

Schmeditor

Produced daily by the Social Enterprise Coalition

CICs should get tax
relief

Hundreds of miles
of ice drop from Antarctic shelf

 Blears: ‘Recession
could cause civil unrest and fracture communities’

Continue reading for lots more…

National

CICs should get tax
relief

Gemma Hampson,
Social Enterprise Magazine

Community interest
companies (CICs) should be entitled to an equivalent of Gift Aid,
according to the law firm behind the legal structure. Abbie Rumbold,
a partner with Bates Wells and Braithwaite, which helped set up the
CIC structure four years ago, is working with the Social Enterprise
Coalition to push for tax relief for the 2,600 registered CICs. She
said the success of the CIC structure showed it was seen as a
valuable legal structure and that tax incentives would see it grow
even further.

http://www.socialenterprisemag.co.uk/sem/news/detail/index.asp?id=950

Learning from
others is a key to success

Social Enterprise
Magazine

John Pepin is
consultancy firm JPA’s Europe partner and has over 15 years as a
CEO of a variety of charities and social enterprises. He also has a
wealth of consultancy experience in many areas from strategic and
business planning, to collaboration, sales and mentoring.  Here,
he talks about his latest experience at a master class for social
entrepreneurs in Indonesia.  On 23-24 March in Jakarta, 18
social entrepreneurs gathered for a master class entitled Skills for
Social Entrepreneurs, Achieving Your Dreams: Growing Your Enterprise
Profitability, Enhancing Your Financial and Social Return.

http://www.socialenterprisemag.co.uk/sem/tradingplace/detail/index.asp?id=949

Filling the gap

Joanna Lyall, The
Guardian

As the government
looks for savings from public services, a small building in a
Derbyshire mining village could reshape the way we receive NHS dental
care. Here in South Normanton, Genesis Dental Care opened its first
practice as a social enterprise, welcoming NHS patients just months
after new contractual arrangement in April 2006 led to more than
1,000 dentists fleeing the NHS. “The nation seemed deprived of
dental solutions, and the new contract was going to make the needs
even more acute,” says former banker Steve Holmes, chief
executive of Genesis Social Enterprises.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/29/dentists-shortage-nhs

Reluctant role
model

Mary O’Hara, The
Guardian

As one idea after
another pours from Mark Brown, he comes across like the enthused
young editor of any start-up magazine – and with its playful design
and headlines like “Eat yourself fitter”, the magazine he
edits looks and feels like any lifestyle publication. But it isn’t.

….Brown recalls how,
sitting in a greasy spoon cafe in Camden, north London, a couple of
years ago, he and a few colleagues from the social enterprise Social
Spider, where he is a director, “knocked the idea around”
for a magazine that could plug the “information gap” for
people with mental illness.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/29/one-in-four-mental-health

Blears: ‘Recession
could cause civil unrest and fracture communities’

Jon Land, 24dash

The recession could
tip Britain towards riots and civil disorder unless voluntary
organisations are handed extra resources, Communities Secretary Hazel
Blears will warn today. Promising to come up with sustainable sources
of funds by the summer, Ms Blears will say the economic downturn
could either drive communities apart or bring them closer
together.
….”Not ‘on your bike’ like previous recessions,
but how can we help you open a bike repair workshop, start a social
enterprise to encourage cycling, start a bike-share scheme in your
neighbourhood.

http://www.24dash.com/news/Local_Government/2009-04-29-Blears-Recession-could-cause-civil-unrest-and-fracture-communities

Barnardo’s to
deliver training contract to Doha charity

Charity Finance

Barnardo’s has
secured a six-figure contract to deliver training and professional
development to a children’s disability charity in Qatar.

In the first phase of
the partnership, the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs
in Doha will be visited by Barnardo’s staff who will conduct a
needs analysis and decide what kind of training the Qatari employees
could best benefit from.
….The contract will be delivered by
Barnardo’s training social enterprise, tlc, which earns the charity
more than £700,000 a year.

http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/home/content.php?id=2775&pg=15&cat=58

Nunn to leave
Futurebuilders in restructuring

Futurebuilders
England’s director of market development, Gill Nunn, is to leave
the organisation at the end of June as part of a “proposed
restructure” at the government funder. She will have been in the
post for nine months. According to Futurebuilders’ interim head of
press, Jo White, Nunn (pictured) has taken voluntary redundancy as
part of a proposed restructuring of the organisation.  White
said the restructure had been prompted by the winning of the contract
to deliver the Department of Health’s £100m Social Enterprise
Investment Fund. “The organisation needs to change to accommodate
that,” she said.

http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/home/content.php?id=2772&pg=15&cat=58

Scottish SMEs
’should capitalise on public contracts’

Small Business

Public bodies in
Scotland are being encouraged to give small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) access to their contracts. Finance minister John
Swinney outlines a range of measures which can be taken to increase
the number of small firms, charities and social enterprises winning
public sector contracts. He suggests small businesses would benefit
from more promotion of the free Public Contracts Scotland online
portal which highlights opportunities. In addition, outcome-based
tenders which encourage innovation and payment terms that ensure
settlement within 30 days could make public sector contracts more
attractive.

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/channels/sales-and-marketing/news/1021111/scottish-smes-should-capitalise-on-public-contracts.thtml

Local

Business Diary

North West Evening
Mail

A CUMBRIAN-based
organisation is behind a major social enterprise summit underlying
the sector’s key role in driving the North West out of
recession.NEW luxury hotel, Eden Lodge, owned by a German
businessman, opens at Bardsea. The event has been launched as new
figures reveal that the Third Sector is generating £2bn for the
region’s economy, employs 50,000 people and utilises the resources
of 30,000 volunteers. Kevin Brennan, Minister for the Third Sector,
will deliver the keynote speech at the event being put together by
Social Enterprise North West and Cumbria’s Social Enterprise
Partnership.

http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/business_2_3069/business_diary_1_547339?referrerPath=raiders

Commissioner visit
to see EU funds helping economic development and regeneration

East Midlands
Development Agency

Danuta Hübner,
European Commissioner for Regional Policy, today visited the East
Midlands to witness first hand how European money is being used to
increase levels of innovation, productivity and enterprise. This
visit comes one year on from emda’s official launch of the region’s
new European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness
Programme for the period 2007 – 2013
….ERDF is a valuable
source of funding for Local Authorities, universities, business
support intermediaries, entrepreneurs, social enterprises and
community organisations.

http://www.emda.org.uk/news/newsreturn.asp?fileno=3612

New grant unveiled
for Peak District Businesses

Staffordshire
Moorlands District Council

FARMERS and small
businesses in the Peak District have been urged to apply for a new
grant starting at £3,500. The plea was made this week by
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council after the European Union and
the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs agreed to
plough £1.9m into a Leader programme established for the Peak
District Rural Action Zone.

….The Leader
initiative is intended to improve productivity and quality of life in
the Peak District by funding projects drawn up by micro businesses
and social enterprises that are too small to qualify for the main
RDPE programme.

http://www.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=768

Helping disabled in
the workplace

Isle of Man Today

A COMBINATION of
corporate goodwill and one of the world’s largest auction websites is
set to become the launch pad for helping people with disabilities in
the Isle of Man into full time work. Friends Provident International,
one of the Isle of Man’s leading life and pension companies, has
helped fund start-up costs for a new office project in Douglas to be
run by the Crossroads charity.
….Now they have come up with the
novel idea of starting a Social Enterprise initiative, employing
people with disabilities to work in office premises above the main
shop, marketing and selling some of these donated products on eBay.

http://www.iomtoday.co.im/isle-of-man-business/Helping-disabled-in-the-workplace.5202929.jp

Battle to reopen
Albion Leisure Centre

This is Nottingham

PROTESTERS who want to
reopen an Ilkeston leisure centre have been given new hope. They
gathered in Ilkeston ahead of an extraordinary meeting of Erewash
Borough Council yesterday. It was called to discuss the Albion
Leisure Centre which the council closed last year. Members of the
public formed the Friends of Albion Leisure Centre (FALC) and applied
to reopen the building as a social enterprise, but their bid was
rejected. Yesterday evening, around 50 people – many of whom were
children – gathered to protest about the rejection of the bid and
called for the council to reopen negotiations over the centre’s
future.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Hope-leisure-centre-campaigners/article-945413-detail/article.html

Of general interest

Politics:

Back expenses
changes, urges PM

BBC News Online

Gordon Brown has urged
MPs to back his planned expenses reforms in Thursday’s vote, despite
having dropped the main proposal for a daily allowance. He has faced
calls to delay any changes until after an independent inquiry but
says interim action must be taken now.

Tory MP Bill Cash
jibed Mr Brown about his “comedy turn on YouTube” – a
reference to the internet broadcast in which he outlined his original
plan. He told MPs he would keep using YouTube as an important
information tool.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8024433.stm

Business:

‘Talks to end
working time opt out fail’
Bob
Sherwood and Stanley Pignal, Financial Times

British employers
breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday after attempts to abolish the
UK’s right to opt out of European Union rules limiting a working
week to 48 hours finally disintegrated. The failure of marathon
negotiations between the European parliament and EU governments to
break the deadlock on the issue means UK companies will continue to
be able to offer staff the opportunity to work longer hours.  The
CBI employers’ organisation hailed the retention of the opt-out as
a “victory for common sense”. Pat McFadden, employment relations
minister, said the government had “refused to be pushed into a bad
deal for Britain”.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7bd1924-33c3-11de-83af-00144feabdc0.html

Environment:

Hundreds of miles
of ice drop from Antarctic shelf

David Rising, The
Independent

New satellite images
from the European Space Agency show massive amounts of ice are
breaking away from a shelf on the western side of the Antarctic
Peninsula, researchers said today. The Wilkins Ice Shelf had been
stable for most of the last century, but began retreating in the
1990s. Researchers believe it was held in place by an ice bridge
linking Charcot Island to the Antarctic mainland.

But the
127-square-mile (330-square-kilometer) bridge lost two large chunks
last year and then shattered completely on 5 April.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/hundreds-of-miles-of-ice-drop-from-antarctic-shelf-1676149.html

Natural mattresses may be the answer for allergy sufferers says buyOrganics

 Top luxury organic lifestyle gurus buyOrganics 
now offer people the chance to sample fabric swatches of their organic
mattresses in response to increasing numbers of customers with
allergies buying them from the online store. Maybe one reason for this
is the growing realisation that avoiding the synthetic materials and
chemicals present in regular mattresses can actually exacerbate not
only skin and sleep problems, but also even perhaps other conditions
such as ME.

As the average person spends one whole third of their life in bed, many people are unaware that what your mattress is made of could also be affecting your health?

Sonia Kalia-Sagoo of buyOrganics explains: “Organic mattresses are made from materials which have been created by traditional farming methods, thereby avoiding the use of highly toxic fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, which would otherwise leave residues in the final product.   Organic mattresses are made with 100% unbleached untreated cotton, coir (coconut) and wool products, meaning no health risks to the sleeper.   Sleep disturbances and neurological conditions such as ME have been linked with exposure to such toxic chemicals, as well as skin allergies such as eczema, so it is particularly important for example, for babies to sleep on organic bedding.”

As well as being safer for the end user, organic products are less harmful to the environment and for the growers and workers harvesting the crops, meaning that choosing an organic mattress will not only be healthful for yourself, but an ethical choice as well.  The pocket sprung and cot mattresses on the buyOrganics site are both Soil Association certified.

buyOrganics is very happy to send fabric swatches to potential customers to try before choosing which mattress they wish to buy.

ENDS

Media enquiries: Lisa Jackson, Eurydice PR ethical communications
lisa@eurydicepr.co.uk  01440 709460  /  07702 415187
Stockist details:  www.buyorganics.co.uk   0208 952 1424 

Article 13 focuses on emerging trends within the scope of business
responsibility.  In this update, we identify the current issues
surrounding sustainable investment, also known as ‘socially
responsible’ investment (SRI) or ‘responsible’ investment. This form of
investment has grown enormously in the past decade, with an increase in
sustainable funds and sustainable options. Sustainable investment has
been interlinked with developments in areas such as corporate
governance, corporate accountability, and sustainable development.

Socially responsible investment is a broad-based approach to investment, offering a way for ethically conscious investors to avoid investing in organisations which directly conflict with their values (i.e. organisations which present a conflict of interests). Socially responsible investors can include both individuals and institutions, such as corporations, universities, hospitals, foundations, insurance companies, and public and private pension funds. It is an investment strategy which not only seeks to maximise financial return, but also combines meeting social, ethical and environmental criteria. SRI can take the form of many methods of investment, such as:

• Socially responsible funds and durable performance funds (“best in class”);
• Thematic funds, such as green funds;
• Human rights funds.

SRI recognises that corporate responsibility and societal concerns are valid parts of investment decisions and consider both the investor’s financial needs and an investment’s impact on society. There is a large variety of socially responsible investments available that appeal to socially responsible investors based on topical, and relevant ethical issues. There are a number of leading indexes used to identify sustainable investments; these include the following:

• Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (www.sustainability-index.com)
• FTSE4Good (www.ftse.com/Indices/FTSE4Good_Index_Series/index.jsp)
• Innovest Strategic Value Advisors (www.innovestgroup.com)

Benefit from SRI
The increase in sustainable investment is leading to an increase in inspection and monitoring of companies’ business practices, in order to hold them to certain environmental and social standards and create portfolios for an individual investor. There are ethical funds that use shareholder pressure to bring about changes in company policy. By joining forces with other investors some ethical funds have successfully influenced several companies to change their practices. For a comprehensive expert view on SRI see:
http://www.article13.com/A13_ContentList.asp?strAction=GetPublication&PNID=110

For more information please contact Fiona Banyard on fionab@article13.com or call 020 8840 4450. Please also see Article 13’s website www.article13.com.

With all the dodgy dealings and financial problems over the past year it’s difficult to know who you can trust with your money. The global banks are not your only option, why not switch your account to an ethical bank?

What is an ethical bank?
Ethical banks – including Triodos Bank, the Charity Bank and the Co-operative Bank – are breaking the financial mould, with a more progressive approach that values people and planet as well as profit. Ethical savers benefit from a ‘dual return’. As well as the interest they earn from their savings, they know that they’ve made an investment for good, and their money’s working in a way that they’re proud of.

The Break The Bank Campaign is an opportunity for you to do something to make a difference. it’s very simple.

1. Select an ethical bank (yes, they do exist) either by searching online or following this link to Ethical Junction’s ethical finance directory > > >

2. Close your existing bank account and open one with your chosen ethical bank.
    
3. Send an email to info@ethical-junction.org with the following words in the Subject line:

I broke the bank at [name of your old bank] and joined [name of your new bank]

We will then add up all the banks that have been left and all the banks joined and publish the results on 1 May 2009.

Enjoy making a difference today!

Join the campaign and spread the word. Break The Bank is on facebook >>> 

Click on the image to see what’s happening!

As part of Article 13’s values and principles  we feel it our duty to do everything we can to reduce our environmental footprint. Therefore on a monthly basis a dedicated member of the Article 13 team monitors; the levels of fuel use; electricity and paper consumption; air travel; and public transport. Furthermore, Article 13 has inserted a standard rate Carbon Clause into client contracts which contributes £20 to offsetting carbon emissions.

We have recently published our annual Environmental report  which details;

1. Our monthly usage of fuel, electricity, paper, air travel emissions, public transport;
2. The 2008 percentage change on our 2007 levels;
3. Our targets and actions for 2009 to further improve our
   environmental practices and impacts of our business activities and
   operations.

Due to the day-to-day individual efforts of our team, as well as a
Company concerted effort up to and including 2008, Article 13 has
monitored and the following changes in our; in our fuel consumption
(14% increase on our 2007 levels due to increasing attendance and
therefore use of car travel to and from the office); electricity
consumption (a 27% decrease); paper consumption (a 10% decrease); and
business related air travel emissions (a 144% decrease) on 2007 levels.

To continue to push our targets and thus efforts, for 2009 we have
committed to further improvements to our environmental practices and
actions, mainly by; changing behaviour (e.g. reducing business related
car travel), promoting responsibility (e.g. advocate and raise
awareness through our vast network and website), and actioning measures
(e.g. annual offset of our carbon footprint)

These actions, alongside our existing and longstanding Environmental
policy , exemplify Article 13’s continual striving to improve its
environmental performance and advocates responsible business in the
area of environmental and social sustainability.  

For more information regarding Article 13’s environmental practices and policy, please see our UNGC pages.

For information on how Article 13 can assist you in auditing your
companies practices, developing action plans, and reducing your
business related effects on the environment, contact Fiona Banyard on
0208 840 4450 or mail fionab@article13.com