Ethical Finance

Environmental pollution – from filthy air to contaminated water – is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world. More than smoking, hunger or natural disasters. More than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

One out of every six premature deaths in the world in 2015 – about 9 million – could be attributed to disease from toxic exposure, according to a major study released Thursday in the Lancet medical journal. The financial cost from pollution-related death, sickness and welfare is equally massive, the report says, costing some $4.6 trillion in annual losses – or about 6.2 percent of the global economy.

Stockton, California is expected to become the first US city to launch an experiment in universal basic income, a system of wealth distribution in which people receive a set amount of money just for being alive.

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs said that by August 2018 he hopes to enroll an undisclosed number of Stockton’s 315,000 residents in the program. Tubbs said the experiment – which is set to hand out $500 a month, or $6,000 a year – would ideally last for a period of three years.

Using smartphone behind the wheel can be dangerous. Even a 2-second distraction can increase the risk of accidents by 20%, claims a study by driving analytics company Zendrive. The US-based study examined sensor data from more than 3 million drivers and 5.6 billion miles of trips and found that drivers are using their phones on 88% of their journeys. According to WHO (World Health organisation), car crashes accounts for 1.2 million people deaths and over 50 million disabilities every year.

Gucci has banned the use of fur. The Kering-owned megabrand says the ban with take effect with its Spring/Summer 2018 collections and it has signed up to the Fur Free Alliance, an organisation that promises to end exploitation and killing of animals for fur, as part of a wider sustainability plan.

“Do you think using furs today is still modern? I don’t think it’s still modern and that’s the reason why we decided not to do that. It’s a little bit out-dated,” chief executive and president Marco Bizzarri told BoF ahead of a speech in London outlining the move. “Creativity can jump in many different directions instead of using furs.”

The number of obese children and adolescents aged 5-19 has risen tenfold over the past four decades, reports the World Health Organization (WHO)external link. Wednesday, October 11, is World Obesity Day.

On the occasion of World Obesity Day, the WHO and Imperial College London released their latest study on childhood and adolescent obesity worldwide, which was published in the medical journal The Lancet.

Logistics company Matternet has announced a permanent autonomous drone network in Switzerland that will now see lab samples like blood tests and other diagnostics flown between hospital facilities, clinics, and labs. The first delivery network will be operational from next month, with several more to be introduced later in the year. Matternet says medical items can be delivered to hospitals within 30 minutes.

Philip Morris on Wednesday announces its support for the establishment of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World. The Foundation will fund research and encourage innovative measures to reduce the harm caused by smoking. It will evaluate the impact that smoke-free alternatives can have on smokers and public health, assess the effect of reduced cigarette consumption on the industry value chain, and measure overall progress towards a smoke-free world.

Nestle India on Wednesday said it has inaugurated the first Nestle Food Safety Institute (NFSI) in the country at its Research and Development (R&D) Centre in Manesar to develop a collaborative approach towards ensuring safe food.

According to the company, NFSI India, an integral part of Nestle R&D Centre India will work closely with the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.