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Business Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
British business slows climate action, sees government net zero agenda as unrealistic
[LONDON] British business leaders are putting a brake on their plans to combat climate change and do not believe the government's approach to net zero is compatible with growth, a survey of 1,000 executives showed on Tuesday. Both large companies and small enterprises in health, construction, finance and manufacturing are turning away from climate-related action like target-setting, as falling confidence in Britain's climate agenda and high costs turn the tide on enthusiasm for net zero, the survey by the British Standards Institution (BSI) showed. The shift is happening despite the Labour government's commitment to boosting green growth, and substantial pledges for investment in clean energy, green technology, and jobs. Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of business leaders surveyed said the government cannot expand the economy while at the same time trying to reach net-zero. Half (50 per cent) said that objective was unrealistic, according to the findings by the BSI, which sets best-practice quality requirements for anything from ball point pens to net-zero plans. The turnaround in sentiment coincides with a notable drop-off in corporate target-setting, action and climate commitments among British businesses, with firms citing high costs, lack of finance for green tech and a move to prioritise business growth as barriers, the BSI said. Scott Steedman, director general of standards at BSI, said the survey showed a 'hiatus in corporate activity probably linked to changes in government policy in the UK after the election and international backpedalling.' Only a third (36 per cent) of British businesses claim this year they have set targets to achieve net zero, a significant drop from the 58 per cent who stated they had done so last year, the survey shows. The portion of businesses this year taking climate action has also fallen markedly from 83 per cent in 2024 to just under a half (49 per cent) this year. Overall, the proportion of businesses saying they felt they would likely achieve net zero by 2050 fell from 76 per cent last year to 55 per cent this year, with over half expecting to revise their strategies or targets. However, the BSI said the vast majority of businesses (83 per cent) still wanted to take action and would like support to do so. REUTERS
Fashion United
09-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Safety and quality fears preventing consumers from buying more sustainable products
A new report from the British Standards Institution (BSI) has revealed that UK consumers' expectations for sustainable fashion across both high street and luxury brands is on the rise, but a lack of trust in the quality and safety of the item is holding people back. The BSI's 2025 Global Circularity study, 'The Tipping Point: Building Trust in the Circularity Economy,' was developed in partnership with experts from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), to identify "how building trust in quality and reliability can drive consumer uptake of circular behaviours'. The research asked people to rate themselves on a scale of adoption for 10 circular behaviours, including recycling, reusing packaging or purchasing second-hand goods, with more than half globally (53 percent) identifying as an early adopter or early majority and one in three (35 percent) added that they were comfortable buying second-hand clothing. However, fears about hygiene and quality of reused or repaired products are holding back global efforts to move to a circular economy and minimise the impacts of consumption on the planet, adds the BSI. While the majority of consumers (68 percent) say ambition to benefit the environment motivates them to reuse, repair, and recycle, the 'fear factor' prevents them from purchasing refurbished goods. The public is unwilling to compromise on quality (56 percent), safety (51 percent) or reliability (49 percent), highlighting the need for businesses to prove the value of circular products. The lack of trust in environmental claims is 'a barrier' to purchasing circular products for a third of people (32 percent), yet 59 percent said a recognised label to support claims would build trust. The data also revealed that 42 percent of UK consumers hold high expectations for luxury brands to use sustainable materials, with 43 percent having moderate expectations. For high-street fashion, 34 percent have high expectations and 51 percent have moderate expectations, showing a clear demand for more sustainable practices. Susan Taylor Martin, chief executive of the BSI, said in a statement: 'The circular economy presents an immense opportunity for both people and the planet, enabling us to protect natural resources and reap economic benefits. Yet trust remains a crucial barrier to adoption. While consumers routinely weigh price and quality in their purchasing decisions, reused, repaired or recycled goods introduce new questions around quality, safety, and reliability. 'For circularity to thrive, businesses must move beyond sustainability messaging and bolster it by demonstrating genuine value, durability, and trustworthiness - convincing consumers that circular options are as reliable as traditional products."
Fashion Network
08-07-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Safety, quality fears stop consumers buying more sustainable fashion says BSI study
Consumers want more sustainable products, but a big 'say-do gap' remains in terms of their actual buying behaviour. That's the conclusion of a new report from the British Standards Institution (BSI). BSI's 2025 Global Circularity study, The Tipping Point: Building Trust in the Circularity Economy, was developed in partnership with experts from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and 'identifies how building trust in quality and reliability can drive consumer uptake of circular behaviours'. The research asked people to rate themselves on a scale of adoption for 10 circular behaviours, including recycling, reusing packaging or purchasing second hand goods, with more than half globally (53%) identifying as early adopter or early majority. Yet those who actually buy are much lower. While 67% of people globally cite environmental benefits as a top-three driver for adopting circular behaviours, only 35% are willing to buy secondhand clothing. And the figures are even lower for other categories such as secondhand/refurbished furniture (29%), wonky food produce (25%), and a secondhand bike or scooter (22%). It interviewed over 8,000 people globally and said the survey 'highlights a strong and growing consumer demand for sustainability. For instance, 42% of UK consumers have high expectations for luxury brands to use sustainable materials, and globally, 40% expect this from luxury, 37% from high street, and 29% from discount online fashion'. However, the data also uncovered the aforementioned significant 'say-do gap' and this 'poses a challenge for the [fashion] industry's ethical transformation'. Despite high expectations, the report said there's 'no significant increase in consumer willingness to spend over £200 on clothing items that are upcycled, made from recycled materials, or have third-party verified sustainability credentials'. The 'Net Likely' number of people who'd spend over £200 on a regular item (39%) is almost identical to an upcycled/recycled item (38%) or one with verified credentials (41%). That said, 68% in the global study said the ambition to benefit the environment motivates them to re-use, repair, and recycle their own items – but the 'fear factor' prevents them from buying refurbished goods. Worries relate to things like a lack of hygiene and quality of repairs. People seem unwilling to compromise on quality (56%), safety (51%) or reliability (49%), highlighting the need for businesses to 'prove the value of circular products'. This lack of trust in environmental claims is a barrier to purchasing circular products for a third of people (32%), yet 59% said a recognised label that supports such claims would build trust. Despite 76% of people globally recognising that their behaviours and purchasing decisions contribute to circularity, the share of re-used materials entering the globally economy has fallen from 7.2% to 6.9% in recent years. Susan Taylor Martin, Chief Executive, BSI said: 'The circular economy presents an immense opportunity for both people and the planet, enabling us to protect natural resources and reap economic benefits. Yet trust remains a crucial barrier to adoption. While consumers routinely weigh price and quality in their purchasing decisions, reused, repaired or recycled goods introduce new questions around quality, safety, and reliability. For circularity to thrive, businesses must move beyond sustainability messaging and bolster it by demonstrating genuine value, durability, and trustworthiness - convincing consumers that circular options are as reliable as traditional products.'
Euronews
19-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Exclusive: At-home spit test certified as a contraceptive in Europe
A new at-home spit test appears to be as effective as birth control pills at preventing pregnancy – and it will soon roll out across Europe, Euronews Health has learned. The device from Inne, a Berlin-based women's health tech company, has been available for years as a fertility-monitoring tool designed to help people boost their chances of pregnancy. Called Minilab, it works by tracking users' progesterone, the sex hormone that plays a role in fertility, via daily changes in their saliva. Now, Minilab can also be used to prevent pregnancy, after a small study showed the device was 92 per cent effective – about on par with birth control pills, but without any of the side effects. 'Progesterone can be used for conception or contraception,' Eirini Rapti, Inne's chief executive and founder, told Euronews Health in an exclusive interview. But 'there was no reliable saliva testing' on the market, she said. So Rapti and her team decided to create it themselves. The British Standards Institution, which reviews medical device manufacturers in Europe, certified Inne's Minilab this month, meaning it can now be sold as a contraceptive device as well as a fertility tracker. Inne plans to roll out the device in the European Union in September, with sales in the United Kingdom to follow. The device is part of a new wave of women's health apps that have gained steam in recent years by infusing tech into fertility awareness, in a bid to make these contraceptive methods more effective, scientifically rigorous, and personalised. Key competitors like Natural Cycles – which, in 2017, became the EU's first certified contraceptive app – rely on temperature readings to track hormonal levels. But Rapti said saliva, as 'hardcore biological data,' is more accurate because it isn't affected by, for example, having a fever or working up a sweat. Meanwhile, blood tests are considered the gold standard for hormone tracking, but some research indicates saliva could be a promising alternative because it is cheaper, faster, and can be done easily at home. The Minilab device is fairly easy to use. Around the same time each day, the user spits into a test strip and inserts it into a small, sleek device that measures their progesterone. That data feeds back into an app, which learns about their hormonal fluctuations over time. That allows it to identify their fertile window, or the approximately six days per month when they are most likely to get pregnant. 'It's similar technology to COVID tests with antibodies, or pregnancy tests,' Rapti said. In the company's observational study, more than 200 women in Germany used the Minilab for six months. They were advised not to have unprotected sex on days the app said they were fertile, and asked to record their sexual activity. Eleven women got pregnant, but two were excluded from the analysis for violating the study guidelines. Others had unprotected sex on days the app identified as high risk for pregnancy, Rapti said. 'We did not have a case where our system gave the wrong ovulation day, or the wrong fertile day,' Rapti said. The findings translate to an effectiveness rate of 92 per cent, meaning that if 100 women used the Minilab as a contraceptive for one year, eight could expect to become pregnant. That's about the same as birth control pills or the contraceptive patch, and more effective than condoms (82 per cent). But it's far less effective than non-hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs), sometimes called copper coils (more than 99 per cent). Notably, the study – which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed, academic journal – did not include a control or comparison group, so Inne can't definitively prove that the device is what prevented pregnancy. Other methods of birth control have also been researched for decades, which means it can be difficult to directly compare Inne's results. But if the findings hold up over longer periods of time and with larger groups of people, it would make Minilab equally effective as Natural Cycles, the only other app-based contraceptive on the European market. The approach is also not for everyone. Women should not use Minilab if they have irregular menstrual cycles or were pregnant or breastfeeding within the past three months, the company said. It said women interested in switching from a hormonal contraceptive – such as birth control pills or certain IUDs – should wait at least two months before starting Minilab to allow their hormones to return to natural levels. Minilab already has thousands of users in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Rapti said. Eventually, she hopes to add testing for cortisol – the stress hormone – as well as testosterone and vitamins, to help women track their health throughout their lives, not only around pregnancy. 'If you have three or four years of data,' Rapti said, 'you can really start building some intelligence'. People who use cannabis or its synthetic cousin, cannabinoids, are twice as likely to die from heart problems as those who abstain from the drugs, new research has found. Recreational cannabis use remains illegal in most of Europe, but it is the region's most commonly used drug. An estimated 8.4 per cent of adults – 24 million people – used cannabis in the past year, according to the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA). Cannabis is generally stronger and more diverse than in past decades, with users having a choice between smoking marijuana, edibles, cannabis concentrates, and cannabinoids, which are synthetic psychoactive drugs with a high concentration of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis that makes people feel high. That has prompted concern about the potential health consequences of modern cannabis – and the new study, published in the journal Heart, is the latest to show they carry weight. In addition to the doubled mortality risks, cannabis use is tied to a 20 per cent higher risk of stroke and a 29 per cent higher risk of heart attacks or other types of acute coronary syndrome, which is when blood flow to the heart is severely restricted, the study found. The findings raise 'serious questions about the assumption that cannabis imposes little cardiovascular risk,' Stanton Glantz and Dr Lynn Silver, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco who were not involved with the study, said in a written comment. For the analysis, a French research team assessed real-world data from 24 studies conducted between 2016 and 2023. Most participants were between the ages of 19 and 59, and cannabis users were more likely to be younger and male compared with people who did not use the drug. Notably, most of the studies were observational, meaning researchers can't say that cannabis use causes heart problems directly. There was also a high risk of bias in most of the studies. More research is needed to understand exactly how cannabis is linked to heart problems, and whether the risks differ based on the type of cannabis someone uses. Despite the limitations, the study authors said their analysis is among the most comprehensive yet to probe the possible link between cannabis and heart problems in the real world. Glantz and Silver pushed for health warnings on cannabis products and protections against secondhand smoke exposure, particularly as countries relax their cannabis laws and the drug becomes more easily available. 'Cannabis needs to be incorporated into the framework for prevention of clinical cardiovascular disease,' they said.
Spectator
01-06-2025
- General
- Spectator
No, Zoomers: life wasn't better before the internet
Almost half of 16 to 21-year-olds wish they had grown up without the internet. A similar portion are even calling for a social media curfew, with a quarter wanting phones banned in schools, according to research from the British Standards Institution. Really? The truth is that Zoomers – those born between 1997 and 2012 – don't know how lucky they are to have come of age during an era in which they had access to the web. While my own generation of Millennials were early guinea pigs for Facebook, Twitter and – for the connoisseurs out there – MSN Messenger, much of our teenage lives remained firmly analogue. Having first snuck online to the sounds of a dial-up connection, my recollection is that life before the internet was often quite dull. Many teenagers today blame their woes on social media and smartphones.
