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Galaxy Resources' Mount Cattlin exceeds target lithium output

Mt Cattlin Update - Plant Output Exceeds Target Production Rate

Perth, July 6, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Galaxy Resources Limited ( ASX:GXY ) ( GALXF:OTCMKTS ) ("Galaxy" or the "Company") is pleased to announce further successful optimization to the Mt Cattlin plant has resulted in increased recoveries and production. For June, production at Mt Cattlin was 14,038dmt, based on final recoveries of 61.3% during the month, well exceeding the initial targets of 50-55%. During the month, lithium concentrate production exceeded 500dmt on sixteen days, and on five of those days over 600dmt of production was recorded.

Highlights

- Mt Cattlin exceeds target production rate

- Total of 14,038 dry metric tonnes of lithium concentrate produced in June

- Galaxy receives US$860 per tonne FOB for first shipment on 2017 contract terms

- Laycan bookings for next three lithium concentrate shipments confirmed

In addition to improvements in the processing facility, crushing operations have continued to improve with approximately 133,000 tonnes of ore crushed during the month of June, which is the equivalent rate of 1.6 million tpa throughput.

Galaxy received payment for its third shipment of lithium concentrate at the end of June, and based on the revised 2017 contract pricing achieved US$860 per tonne FOB for this shipment. The Company has now booked the next three vessels for departure from Esperance. The next vessel is currently expected to arrive at Esperance around mid-July with a further vessel laycan booked for early August, and a third vessel laycan requested for the first week in September.

About Galaxy Resources Limited

Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX:GXY) (OTCMKTS:GALXF) is an international S&P / ASX 200 Index company with lithium production facilities, hard rock mines and brine assets in Australia, Canada and Argentina. It wholly owns and operates the Mt Cattlin mine in Ravensthorpe Western Australia, which is currently producing spodumene and tantalum concentrate, and the James Bay lithium pegmatite project in Quebec, Canada.

Galaxy is advancing plans to develop the Sal de Vida lithium and potash brine project in Argentina situated in the lithium triangle (where Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet), which is currently the source of 60% of global lithium production. Sal de Vida has excellent potential as a low cost brine-based lithium carbonate production facility.

Lithium compounds are used in the manufacture of ceramics, glass, and consumer electronics and are an essential cathode material for long life lithium-ion batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as mass energy storage systems. Galaxy is bullish about the global lithium demand outlook and is aiming to become a major producer of lithium products.

Output: Galaxy Resources produced 14,038 dry metric tons of lithium concentrate from Mount Cattlin plant in June, receiving $860/ton FOB for the first shipment on its 2017 contract terms.


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Global clean energy investment falls 12% YoY in Q2
 The second quarter of 2017 saw $64.8 billion invested in clean energy around the world, up 21% from 1Q this year, but down 12% compared to 2Q 2016.

New Investment in Clean Energy by Region, 1Q 2014 – 2Q 2017 ($BN)

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance

All values nominal. This includes investment into all asset classes except EST asset finance and R&D, which are compiled on an annual basis only.

This report covers an overview of annual clean energy investment, quarterly trends in new investments and funds in circulation, clean energy indexes and renewable energy capacity investment.

Read the press release here.

To find out more, download our fact pack

Output: Clean energy investment reached $64.8bn in Q2 2017, a 12% decline compared with Q2 2016. However, the investment total is "quite firm" when the falling costs of clean energy development are considered, said Abraham Louw, an analyst at Bloombeg New Energy Finance. The financing of two photovoltaic projects in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, 1.2GW and 800MW, respectively, jointly contributed $1.9bn to the Q2 total.


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Countries with coral reefs must cut emissions: Unesco
 Countries with responsibility over world heritage-listed coral reefs should adopt ambitious climate change targets, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions to levels that would keep global temperature increases to just 1.5C, the UN agency responsible for overseeing world heritage sites has said.

At a meeting of Unesco’s world heritage committee in Kraków, Poland, a decision was adopted that clarified and strengthened the responsibility of countries that have custodianship over world-heritage listed coral reefs.

Until now, most countries have interpreted their responsibility over such reefs as implying they need to protect them from local threats such as water pollution and overfishing.

But between 2014 and 2017, reefs in every major reef region bleached, with much of the coral dying, in the worst global bleaching event in recorded history. Over those three years, 21 of the 29 listed sites suffered severe or repeated heat stress.

Last month Unesco published the first global assessment of climate change’s impacts on world heritage-listed reefs and it concluded that local efforts were “no longer sufficient” – concluding the only hope was to keep global temperature increases below 1.5C.

The new decision builds on that assessment, clarifying the responsibility of countries with custodianship over world-heritage listed coral reefs.

The decision adopted by the world heritage committee said it “reiterates the importance of state parties undertaking the most ambitious implementation of the Paris agreement”, which it noted meant pursuing efforts to limit global average temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

It went on that it “strongly invites all state parties … to undertake actions to address climate change under the Paris agreement that are fully consistent with their obligations within the world heritage convention to protect the [outstanding universal values] of all world heritage properties”.

The decision appeared to implement the earlier finding that local efforts were insufficient to protect reefs, and indicated the committee considered that countries were obliged under the world heritage convention to undertake strong action on climate change.

The decision put most countries’ emissions targets in stark contrast with what was needed to protect their reefs. Combined, all countries’ commitments made so far are projected to allow warming or as much as 2.7C by 2100.

But some countries with coral reefs are not contributing their fair share to even that level of ambition.

Australia, which has responsibility over the world’s largest coral reef system – the Great Barrier Reef – has climate change targets consistent with between 3C and 4C of warming by 2100, according to Climate Action Tracker.

Moreover, Australia doesn’t have any policies in place that will help it achieve those targets, with official government projections showing emissions are not expected to be cut at all, and instead will rise for at least decades to come.

The first indication that Unesco would consider action on climate change an obligation of custodians of world-heritage listed coral reefs came in June when it assessed Australia’s progress in protecting the Great Barrier Reef, following back-to-back mass bleaching in 2016 and 2017 that killed as much as half its coral.

Despite acknowledging Australia’s progress in addressing water quality on the reef, and deciding not to put the reef on its “in-danger” list, Unesco noted that climate change was the most serious threat to it, and said there was the need to consider how bleaching was affecting the effectiveness of the country’s plan to protect it.

“Last week the Australian government bragged that the Great Barrier Reef was not put on the in-danger list at this meeting,” said Imogen Zethoven from the Australian Marine Conservation Society, who was at the world heritage committee meeting in Poland.

“However, this week the Australian government should be worried. It knows very well that it is still on probation with the world heritage committee. This decision means Australia needs to rapidly reduce carbon pollution and reject new coalmines – otherwise our reef is at great risk of being placed on the world heritage in-danger list in 2020.

“The Australian government must now, more than ever, rule out any new coalmines and urgently develop a climate policy that will protect our global icon. It must do its fair share of the global effort to reduce pollution.

“If it doesn’t, the world heritage committee should hold Australia to account for failing to tackle the single greatest threat to our Great Barrier Reef – and for putting all other world heritage coral reefs at risk.”

An Earthjustice attorney, Noni Austin, who also attended the world heritage committee meeting, said: “The world heritage committee’s decision has confirmed what scientists have been saying for years: urgent and rapid action to reduce global warming and implement the Paris agreement is essential for the survival of coral reefs into the future.”

Output: Countries responsible for world heritage-listed coral reefs should aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels that would limit global temperature increases to 1.5C, according to Unesco. The decision to strengthen and clarify the responsibilities of countries that are custodians of reefs was taken at a meeting of the United Nations agency in Poland. Previously, most countries regarded their custodianship responsibilities as covering issues such as water pollution and overfishing rather than climate change. Last month, Unesco launched the first-ever global assessment of the impact of climate change on reefs, declaring that local efforts were “no longer sufficient”.


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TigerRisk first insurance adviser in R3 blockchain test group
 Risk management and capital solutions company TigerRisk has become the first insurance advisor to join R3’s Centre of Excellence for distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the global insurance and reinsurance industry.

The Centre of Excellence was launched earlier in April in partnership with ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development). The Centre aims to offer a dedicated setting for both the members of R3 blockchain consortium as well as ACORD’s members, to research, test and create blockchain applications.

“We are pleased to welcome TigerRisk to our growing network of insurance members. The discussions and collaborative work taking place in the Centre of Excellence inform the continued development of our Corda distributed ledger platform, enabling us to build functionality and features that address the specific challenges facing companies in the insurance and reinsurance industries,” David Rutter, CEO of R3, commented.

With the other members, TigerRisk will design DLT applications that enhance and foster the efficiency of insurance processes including claims handling and data management. The company will also gain access to R3 Wiki, which is an online knowledge library containing a collection of research and resources that are created and compiled by R3 and its members.

R3’s Centre of Excellence counts on a number of other major insurance industry companies that includes MetLife, AIA and Suncorp Group, as well as other financial services members that have their own insurance groups.

“We are excited to be part of R3’s Center of Excellence,” Jayant Khadilar, Global Head of Analytics and Technology at TigerRisk, stated. “We believe that DLT/blockchain technology will bring significant efficiencies to our industry. This technology has already introduced frictionless processing to the banking industry and we are confident that we will be able to bring similar benefits to the insurance and reinsurance industries.”

Output: Risk management firm TigerRisk has joined the R3 Centre of Excellence for distributed ledger technology, becoming the first insurance adviser to do so. The Centre of Excellence was launched to create a dedicated experimental space for the members of the R3 blockchain consortium to conduct research on applications of blockchain in the financial industry. TigerRisk will test distributed ledger applications for insurance processes, such as data management and claims handling.


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Apache joins Canadian oil sands exodus with Paramount sale
 File photo of the Athabasca Oil Sands near Fort McMurray, Alta.Ben Nelms/Bloomberg Share

Another international oil company is marking its exit from Canada's energy sector – this time Houston-based Apache Corp.

Apache announced late Thursday that it will complete what has been a staged departure from Canada by selling Alberta and British Columbia assets to Calgary-based Paramount Resources Ltd. Specifically, Paramount will acquire natural gas-focused Apache Canada Ltd. for $459.5-million, deepening the trend towards homegrown ownership in the Canadian energy industry.

At the same time, Paramount announced it will merge with Trilogy Energy Corp., another Canadian company formed through a spinout of assets from Paramount more than a decade ago. Paramount has entered into an agreement with Trilogy that will see Paramount acquire all of the shares of Trilogy on the basis of one Paramount share for every 3.75 Trilogy shares.

Opinion: There's opportunity in the death of the oil industry's business model

The merger keeps things all in the family. Both Paramount and Trilogy are already controlled by Calgary's wealthy Riddell family. Billionaire Clayton Riddell founded Paramount, served as chief executive until two years ago, and still serves as executive chairman. He is also chairman of Trilogy. Both companies are now led by his son, James.

Apache joins a growing list of companies that have sold out of Canada's energy sector – a movement that has been most pronounced in the oil sands. Recent moves include Cenovus Energy Inc.'s $17.7-billion deal for ConocoPhillips Co.'s oil sands holdings and other Canadian assets, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC's announcement that it will sell major oil-sands holdings in Alberta to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for about $7.25-billion (U.S.).

"Today's announcement is consistent with Apache's objective of streamlining our portfolio and focusing on assets in the United States, United Kingdom North Sea and Egypt. This strategic decision will enhance the company's resource allocation to its primary growth areas, particularly within the Permian Basin," John J. Christmann IV, Apache's chief executive and president, said in a news release.

"With our decision to exit Canada, Apache's resulting global portfolio is more streamlined and our resources more focused."

The movement by global energy players has been spurred by low crude prices, high global supplies, and more attractive investment opportunities in other parts of the world, including the U.S. Permian Basin. But Albertans continue to debate what role regulatory uncertainty, tougher Canadian environmental rules, and limited pipeline access to key refinery markets has played in the international exits.

Even before Thursday's announcement, Apache had agreed to sell its Provost assets in Alberta to an undisclosed privately owned company. Also in June, Apache sold other Saskatchewan and Alberta assets to Calgary-based Cardinal Energy Ltd. The Cardinal transaction closed in late June, and the others are expected to close by the end of the summer.

Apache said in a release that aggregate proceeds from the three transactions are approximately $927-million (CAD). The proceeds will be used to fund a portion of the company's capital program, to reduce debt, or to improve overall liquidity.

For its part, Paramount said the deals will make it Montney, Duvernay and Deep Basin-focused. The integration, it said, "will generate operational synergies, optimize cost structures, offer financial flexibility and provide economies of scale."

In its news release, Paramount also said it plans to fund the Apache Canada acquisition with cash on hand, and no debt will be assumed.

Output: International oil company Apache will exit the Canadian market by selling its Alberta and British Columbia assets to Calgary-based Paramount Resources for CAD459.5m ($355.6m). The move continues the trend of international companies selling Canada-based oil-sands resources to Canadian companies. Recently, ConocoPhillips sold its oil sands holdings and other Canadian assets to Cenovus Energy for CAD17.7bn, while Royal Dutch Shell announced it would sell oil-sands holdings in Alberta to Canadian Natural Resources for $7.25bn.


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Redrow unveils new homes near Swindon
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Three show homes - part of the Heritage Collection by Redrow Homes - have opened to the public at the Abbey Farm development near Swindon.

Redrow create bespoke developments in both rural and urban locations, winning numerous awards including, most recently, the Gold Award for the Best Large Housebuilder at the What House? Awards 2015 and 2014.

One of the UK's leading house builders, Redrow Homes aim to provide high quality homes in prime locations with housing ranges featuring designs to suit all lifestyles. The Heritage collection combines traditional looking 'Arts and Crafts' influenced exteriors with bright, modern, high specification interiors.

Visitors can drop by seven days a week to take a look inside the four-bedroom family homes that are currently available from £433,995.

Redrow sales consultants will be on site to answer any queries about the properties.

Just five miles north of Swindon, the 175-plots home development sits on the edge of the beautiful Cotswold countryside. The properties, whose exterior design is inspired by the Arts and Craft movement of the 1920s and 30s, offer comfortable interiors suited to contemporary family life.

When completed, the development will consist of three, four and five bedroom family homes.

A car park is available in the sales office area.

For more information about the Abbey Farm development, call 01793 391760 or visit:https://www.redrow.co.uk/developments/redrow-at-abbey-farm-swindon-242428

Output: Housebuilder Redrow has opened three show homes for the public to visit at its 175-plot Abbey Farm development, near Swindon. The properties, part of the developer's Heritage collection, were inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, and a four-bedroom version costs around £433,995 ($557,985).


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Regus to launch new co-working space in Manhattan
 Regus plans to launch its co-working concept Spaces in Manhattan at RXR Realty’s Helmsley Building, where the executive-suites company recently inked a 55,000-square-foot renewal.

Spaces, Regus’ answer to the co-working giant WeWork, has 35 locations already open worldwide and another 28 scheduled to open in the near future, according to the company’s website.

In New York, the sole location is at the Falchi Building in Long Island City, where Regus signed a 34,000-square-foot lease in 2015. A representative for the company was not immediately available for comment.

The company’s been a longtime tenant at RXR’s Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue near Grand Central Terminal, and when its lease came due, Regus took the opportunity to reposition its space.

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As part of the 15-year deal, Regus is relocating from the building’s 10th floor to space on the third and fourth floors, and will enjoy a private entrance on Vanderbilt Avenue.

“It presented a unique opportunity for Regus to secure a building-within-a-building presence,” said Transwestern’s Patrick Heeg, formerly of JLL, who represented the tenant in the negotiations along with JLL’s Jim Wenk.

Asking rent for the space was in the low-$80s per square foot. RXR’s Jordan Berger represented the landlord in-house.

RXR bought the iconic, 1.4 million-square-foot Helmsley Building in partnership with Blackstone Group in 2015 for $1.2 billion.

Output: Flexible office supplier Regus is set to open its second location in New York, with the launch of Spaces at RXR Realty’s Helmsley Building in Manhattan, near the Grand Central Terminal. The 15-year deal sees Regus, a long-term tenant of the building, move to the third and fourth floors, allowing the firm a private Vanderbilt Avenue entrance. Regus' other New York location is at Falchi Building in Long Island City.


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Ping An and Swiss Re offer typhoon parametric policies in China

 The FINANCIAL — Swiss Re has partnered with Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China, Ltd to launch China’s first mobile-enabled typhoon property parametric insurance solution.

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In addition to the technological support and reinsurance service from Swiss Re, the solution uses the company’s catastrophe models and data on natural disasters to generate precise quotes to Ping An’s customers.

This innovative solution is designed to provide an affordable, easy-to-use insurance product to both individuals and enterprises located in areas that are prone to typhoons, and covers the economic losses caused by the typhoon. It gives customers the ability to purchase insurance, make inquiries and complete the claims settlement process from a mobile device, according to Swiss Re.

The insurance covers eight coastal provincial regions in Southeast China, including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Shandong and Hainan.

The mobile-enabled insurance solution provides real-time tracking of a typhoon’s path and wind speed as announced by the national meteorological center of China. The trigger for the payout amount is also based on this information. When a typhoon occurs, a user can access an inquiry page, check if the claim terms have been triggered and submit a remote self-service claim. The system will then automatically calculate the claim amount and settles the claim within three days. This product offers a maximum payout of RMB 20,000 per address for individuals and RMB 500,000 per address for enterprises. It is designed to enhance typhoon response and post-disaster recovery for the high-risk regions.

“Typhoons are the most often and costliest natural catastrophes which occur in China. They can cause severe life and property loss in economically developed and densely populated regions. We want to leverage on our experience in using cutting-edge technology to develop tailor-made solutions, together with our clients to protect the people who are potentially affected by these natural catastrophes. The successful launch of this product can serve as an important example for other regions affected by similar natural disasters,” says John Chen, President of Swiss Re China.

Using its catastrophe modelling and big data capabilities, Swiss Re takes into consideration the insured’s risk exposure conditions, builds an on-line pricing engine based on cloud technology and produces a dynamic quote to users of the solution based on the real-time atmospheric circulation information. This innovation marks a historic break-through for catastrophe products in China.

“China is a vast country that experiences diverse natural disasters, but has a low level of insurance coverage, which leaves a significant protection gap. Swiss Re’s rich experience in catastrophe modelling and strong data analysis capability can help insurance companies to better evaluate risk and price their products. Products such as this help accelerate economic recovery after natural disasters, and allow people to return quickly to normal life,” adds Mike Mitchell, Head of Property and Specialty Reinsurance, Swiss Re.

Output: Swiss Re's catastrophe models and natural disasters data are being utilised in a partnership with Ping An that's providing China's first mobile-enabled typhoon parametric insurance. The service will enable policyholders in eight coastal provinces to buy the insurance, which will pay out when winds hit a predetermined set of parameters. The triggers will be established through real-time tracking of a typhoon's path and windspeed, and policies will pay out up to RMB20,000 ($2,941) for individuals and RMB50,000 for businesses.


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UK clothing sector sees increased carbon footprint
 The carbon footprint of the UK clothing sector is worsening, a new report reveals, driven by the ongoing popularity of cheap and cheerful “fast fashion” and a shortage of sustainable raw materials.

Although the amount of clothing being sent to landfill has fallen by 14% from 350,000 tonnes in 2012 to 300,000 in 2016 a staggering one-quarter is still binned rather than recycled. That is down from 31% four years ago.

The volume of clothes bought rose by nearly 200,000 tonnes to 1.13 million tonnes in 2016, causing 26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from production to disposal and putting clothing fourth after housing, transport and food in terms of its impact on the environment, according to new research by the government’s waste advisory body Wrap.

However the 2017 Valuing our Clothes: The Cost of UK Fashion report – an update on an study done in 2012 – also found that UK householders are saving 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by washing clothes at lower temperatures and ironing and tumble-drying them less.

Just over a quarter of washes (26%) were tumble-dried, down from nearly a third (32%) in 2012, while people were also ironing their clothes less, a survey of more than 2,000 people as part of the research revealed.

But the UK needs to find new sources of sustainable materials and new markets for used clothing, the report says, singling out “fibre to fibre” recycling – whereby clothing is turned back into clothing – as a key opportunity.

Wrap launched a sustainable clothing action plan (Scap) in 2013, a voluntary agreement whose signatories account for 58% of the sector’s retail sales by volume, with targets to reduce carbon, water and waste across the life cycle of products.

Steve Creed, director of the Wrap business programme, said: “It’s great that fewer clothes are ending up in the residual waste, but overall our carbon footprint is rising so the next few years are critical in balancing growing demand with supplying clothes more sustainably. I’m confident Scap will play a big part in helping to make this happen, and make sustainable fashion much more mainstream.”

The organisation is now urging retailers and brands to focus on so-called “priority” garments which have the biggest environmental impact and are also the biggest sellers. Top of the list are women’s dresses, jumpers and jeans, followed by men’s T-shirts and jumpers. The global water footprint of 1kg of cotton (a shirt and pair of jeans) is between 10,000 – 20,000 litres, for example, depending on where the cotton was grown.

Trewin Restorick, chief executive of the Hubbub environmental charity, commented: “It is encouraging that the amount of clothing being landfilled is decreasing, but research suggests this may be because people are hoarding more at home. Overall sales of clothing is increasing and the UK needs to jump off the fast fashion treadmill to find a truly sustainable approach.”

Output: The UK’s clothing sector has increased its carbon footprint due to disposable “fast fashion” and a lack of sustainable materials, according to a report by government waste advisory body, Wrap. The amount of clothing going to landfill has fallen 14% from 2012 to 300,000 tonnes last year. However, 25% of clothing is still not recycled. In 2016, the volume of clothing purchased rose 200,000 tonnes to 1.13 million tonnes, causing 26 million tonnes of carbon emissions from production to disposal. Despite this, UK households are saving 700,000 tonnes of CO2 each year by washing laundry at lower temperatures.


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UK clothing sector sees increased carbon footprint
 This content has been archived.

This report examines the environmental impact of the UK clothing industry. It highlights recent achievements in the sector, explores opportunities for businesses, and shares insights on consumer attitudes and behaviour toward clothing.

Key findings Signatories of SCAP have outperformed industry – reducing carbon, water, and waste

The amount of clothing in household residual waste has reduced by 50,000 tonnes

700,000 tonnes CO2e saved through people changing their clothing care habits

Switching to sustainable fibres offers the biggest opportunities for environmental savings

Overview

'Valuing Our Clothes: the cost of UK fashion' presents the latest research on the environmental impacts of the clothing industry in the UK, and an update on the progress and achievements of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) so far.

It highlights opportunities and actions that can be taken across the sector in order to meet the SCAP targets. It also sets out opportunities for the clothing sector to reduce the resource impacts of the clothing – and gain business benefits from doing so.

Contents

Key findings

Outlines the key findings from the research. It shows that SCAP signatories have reduced carbon by 10.6%, water by 13.5%, and waste across the product life cycle by 0.8%, per tonne of clothing sold since 2012.

Section A: Setting the scene This section outlines the importance of fashion to the UK economy, highlighting how any improvements in this sector need to be part of a joined up approach to taking action.

Section B: Taking stock

How much clothing is purchased in the UK? Taking stock looks at the figures and analyses how much clothing is still in active use.

Section C: Impacts and footprints This section pinpoints the areas of opportunity and action to improve the sustainability of clothing. It looks at how and where carbon, water, and waste impacts occur in the life cycle of garments, and analyses the changes in footprints per tonne of clothing in active use in the UK, between 2012 and 2016.

Section D: The SCAP agreement

Looks at SCAP; what the agreement entails, its targets, and how it ties in with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Section E: SCAP achievements What has SCAP achieved since 2012? Section E covers the SCAP achievements in reducing carbon, water, and waste footprints since its inception.

Section F: Sustainable fibre choices

Significant actions have been taken by SCAP signatories to introduce more sustainable fibres to their clothing ranges. This is an achievable and measurable action which can make a real difference to the overall environmental impact of clothing. This section examines the opportunities for choosing more sustainable fibres.

Section G: Valuing our customers Section G provides insight into action that customers are already taking to improve the environmental impact of their clothing, and highlights opportunities where they could be supported and encouraged by businesses to do more.

Section H: Meeting SCAP targets

What should SCAP signatories focus on to ensure they meet their targets? Priority products, designing for durability, helping customers to care for clothing, and resource efficient business models all offer the opportunities for business to make a difference.

Output: The UK’s clothing sector has increased its carbon footprint due to disposable “fast fashion” and a lack of sustainable materials, according to a report by government waste advisory body, Wrap. The amount of clothing going to landfill has fallen 14% from 2012 to 300,000 tonnes last year. However, 25% of clothing is still not recycled. In 2016, the volume of clothing purchased rose 200,000 tonnes to 1.13 million tonnes, causing 26 million tonnes of carbon emissions from production to disposal. Despite this, UK households are saving 700,000 tonnes of CO2 each year by washing laundry at lower temperatures.


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Crypto-valley city Zug to use blockchain for digital identity
 Zug is being called Switzerland’s crypto-valley and rightly so: the city in the autumn will present a digital passport for its citizens based on the blockchain software.

Starting in September, the city of Zug will provide a digital identity to its citizens – the first community in the world to do so. The electronic identity will be based on an application which secures personal information with the help of the blockchain technology and linked to a crypto-address, Zug said in a statement.

Citizens will register their identity via the application, which is then being verified by the city administration.

Fintech Cluster of Zug

«We want a single electronic identity – a form of digital passport – for all sorts of purposes. And we want this digital identity not centralized with the city, but on blockchain. We only verify and confirm the identity of the person,» said Dolfi Mueller, Zug’s mayor.

Ethereum, the Zug-based startup, is the driving force behind the development of the digital identity. The Institute of Financial Services in Zug (IFZ) and the two companies Consensys-Uport and Ti&m are also part of the initiative.

Swiss Voting in for a Revolution?

The region of Zug has a high density of startup firms specializing in the development of blockchain. Ethereum and Xapo are two of those companies.

Zug will gather more experience with blockchain in the third quarter in a bid to hold a non-binding e-referendum in spring of 2018. The software has come to be seen as a potential technology to revolutionize the Swiss voting system, which today still relies on ballot papers and hand counted results.

Output: The Swiss city of Zug, known as Switzerland's crypto-valley, will offer its citizens a digital identity from September. This electronic identity, or digital passport, will be based on an application that stores personal data securely, using blockchain technology that is also linked to a crypto-address. Mayor of Zug, Dolfi Mueller, said the "single electronic identity" will "not be centralised with the city, but on blockchain". Zug start-up Ethereum is leading the way in the development of the digital identity, with the Institute of Financial Services in Zug and companies Ti&m and Consensys-Uport also on board.


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Bank of England Ripple test reinforces blockchain ambitions
 The Bank of England says that a distributed ledger technology proof-of-concept with Ripple has reinforced its intention to make a new real-time gross settlement (RTGS) platform compatible with DLT usage in the private sector.

Through its new fintech accelerator, the central bank has been working with Ripple to see how DLT can be used to model the synchronised movement of two different currencies across two different ledgers.

The BofE has already decided that DLT is not "sufficiently mature" to support its new core RTGS system, but says that the now completed Ripple PoC "was a useful exercise to develop the Bank’s understanding of synchronisation and possible technical solutions".

One issue thrown up by the work is that "cross-border payments when applied to wholesale markets present different challenges than when compared with retail and corporate transactions, which the Ripple product is designed to handle. The availability of liquidity is one such challenge, and the PoC allowed the Bank and Ripple to begin exploring these questions."

Meanwhile, a separate PoC with machine learning and AI outfit Mindbridge Ai proved successful in helping detect anomalies in datasets. A second phase will now look to test the firm's machine learning capability more fully by running it repeatedly as part of an operational process.

With another two PoCs (with regtech firm Enforcd and software testing outfit Experimentus) also completed, the bank's Andrew Hauser says: "We have learnt a great deal through these latest Proofs of Concept, both in terms of what FinTech can do, but in also in terms of how it can help us work, think and communicate differently."

Output: The Bank of England has said its collaboration with blockchain firm Ripple to develop a distributed ledger technology (DLT) proof-of-concept was a "useful exercise" and it will continue its efforts to create a real-time gross settlement platform using DLT in the future. Working via its fintech accelerator, the bank said the project highlighted several challenges, including cross-border payments when applied to wholesale markets compared with retail and corporate transactions.


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UAE surgeons use 3D-printed hearts to help with infant surgery
 Jul 10, 2017 | By Tess

3D printing has helped to save the lives of at least seven infants in the UAE. According to a local news source, the technology has been used by UAE doctors to prepare for congenital heart disease surgery on newborns.

Congenital heart disease, a heart disease that one is born with, affects one of every 160 babies delivered in a UAE hospital. This means that about 500 babies are born with a congenital heart defect every year in the country. If left untreated, these cases can prove fatal.

“Congenital heart disease is more prevalent in the country than other parts of the world,” commented Dr. Laszlo Kiraly, a consultant pediatric cardiac surgeon and the head of the department at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC). “Around one per cent of all newborns suffer from this disease.”

Of those born with congenital heart diseases, nearly 75% require heart surgery to survive, and 66% of those that require surgery need it within the first six months of their lives. Additionally, because of the complex nature of many congenital heart defects, patients often require multiple surgeries.

3D printing and other digital technologies such as virtual reality have enabled doctors in the UAE to better prepare for heart surgery on newborns. That is, by 3D printing accurate models of a patient’s heart, surgeons can visualize and tactilely explore the specific anatomy of the patient. The 3D models can also be used in virtual applications to experiment with various operation techniques.

In the last couple of weeks, 3D printing and modeling has helped save the lives of two babies born with congenital heart disease in Abu Dhabi. The successful surgeries, which were planned using 3D printed heart models, consisted of closing up holes in the babies’ hearts and rotating vessels for better alignment.

Dr. Kiraly describes one particularly complex case, in which a three-year-old girl required a third heart surgery. “The patient was in very bad shape,” he explained. “The multidisciplinary’s option was to not go for surgery because it was far too risky. When we created the 3D model, we saw something else, something we would not have been able to find before.”

Basically, the 3D model allowed the medical team to find an obstruction that existed in the child’s heart, which made it possible for them to operate carefully, knowing exactly where they had to go in. The surgery was successfully completed last week.

Another notable case involved a young girl who was born with a complex heart condition that made it extremely difficult—even impossible—to operate on. The patient’s heart was located on the right side of her chest, and she was lacking a connection between her lungs and her lower body.

Dr. Kiraly explained: “We came up with a solution on how to drive the connection inside the heart without being compressed. This is something we couldn’t have done without the model.”

3D printing, which was first used in the UAE for medical applications in 2015, is changing how congenital heart diseases are treated, and Dr. Kiraly believes it will continue to advance. "In the future, we will use bio-scaffolds and biodegradable materials, which means we can do more complex surgeries with less risk,” he said.

The UAE is one of a number of countries seeking to explore and advance 3D printing technologies in the medical field.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Output: Surgeons in the United Arab Emirates have used 3D printing to prepare for complex surgery on newborn babies with congenital heart disease. The country has a high incidence of the disease, with 1% of infants born with it every year, three-quarters of whom require surgery to survive. Using 3D printing allows clinicians to make models of the heart and take critical decisions on how to operate safely. "In the future, we will use bio-scaffolds and biodegradable materials, which means we can do more complex surgeries with less risk," said Dr Laszlo Kiraly, consultant paediatric cardiac surgeon at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City.


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Chinese shale gas production jumps 76%
 BEIJING — China produced more shale gas last year, as the world's biggest energy producer and consumer cleans up its coal-dominated energy mix.

Its shale gas yield increased 76.3 percent to 7.9 billion cubic meters in 2016, a record high, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLF) said Monday in a statement.

A total of 8.79 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) was spent prospecting for shale gas last year.

Breakthroughs in drilling techniques have made China one of the top shale gas suppliers in the world. Only a few countries are able to commercially produce the gas, including the United States, Canada and Argentina.

The China Geological Survey announced Friday that a shale gas reservoir had been discovered in Yichang City, central China's Hubei province. The area is estimated to have over 500 billion cubic meters of gas reserves.

China's exploitable shale gas reserves are estimated at 21.8 trillion cubic meters, with proven reserves at 544.1 billion cubic meters.

The country plans to raise its annual shale gas output to 30 billion cubic meters in 2020 and aims for 80 to 100 billion cubic meters in 2030.

The MLF statement also showed the output of coalbed methane, another unconventional natural gas, rose slightly from a year ago to 4.5 billion cubic meters. New proven reserves were 57.61 billion cubic meters.

The government plans to increase the proportion of natural gas in energy consumption to more than 10 percent from the current 5.9 percent by 2020, and to 15 percent by 2030.

Output: China's shale gas production increased by 76.3% last year, as it looked to clean up its coal-centric energy industry. The country's shale gas yield rose to a record high of 7.9 billion cubic metres in 2016, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources. China is now one of the top shale gas suppliers in the world, with only a handful of countries – including the US, Argentina and Canada – able to commercially produce the gas. Its exploitable reserves are forecast at 21.8 trillion cubic metres, with proven reserves at 544.1 billion cubic metres.


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Three British universities given £16m to develop 5G network
 Three sites in the UK will be linked up via 5G test beds for the first time thanks to £16m investment from the Government. The funding, announced by Minister for Digital Matt Hancock today, will bring three leading universities together for the development of the world's first trials of end-to-end 5G system.

Three sites in the UK will be linked up via 5G test beds for the first time thanks to £16m investment from the Government.

The funding, announced by Minister for Digital Matt Hancock today, will bring three leading universities together for the development of the world’s first trials of end-to-end 5G system.

The investment will fund leading edge technological developments at each of the three universities, linking all three sites through cutting edge design and research, and will see all three work in partnership to keep the UK at the forefront of 5G technology development.

Bristol University will deploy 5G capability in the extensive Smart City and Smart Campus test beds in the city, targeting full 5G and fibre infrastructure convergence. Bristol will also contribute to the key Software Defined Network technologies for end-to-end 5G service delivery. Public demonstrators will be the focus of delivery, targeting media, gaming and transport applications.

King’s College London is driving the vision for ultra-low latency 5G tactile internet developments with Internet of Skills applications. Through the King’s College London 5G Tactile Internet Lab, the university is also pioneering several important 5G co-design approaches with various industries, including smart cities, smart transport, performing arts and health.

The University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) will lead the project and develop 5G radio technologies and a fully virtualised mobile core network at 3.5GHz and 700 MHz frequency bands for enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC).

Minister for Digital Matt Hancock said:

“We want to be at the head of the field in 5G. This funding will support the pioneering research needed to ensure we can harness the potential of this technology to spark innovation, create new jobs and boost the economy.

“We know 5G has the potential to bring more reliable, ultrafast mobile connectivity, with quicker reaction times and larger data capabilities, and I’m thrilled to announce King’s College London and the universities of Surrey and Bristol have agreed to collaborate on this project.”

The 5G Hub will be integrated at the system level and connected across the three university sites. It will build sufficient capability and capacity for further nationwide test and trials of 5G technologies and advanced applications.

The initial end-to-end testing will be carried out early next year across the three Universities’ sites. It will be ready for connection of external test beds and applications across the UK. An important aspect of the 5G Hub will be the test bed, which will develop innovative solutions for the operation and management of 5G networks with new levels of efficiency and resilience.

Professor Dimitra Simeonidou, Director of the Smart Internet Lab at the University of Bristol and Chief Scientific Officer for Bristol Is Open, said: “University of Bristol has an international reputation for research on telecommunications and has recently demonstrated pioneering research on 5G technologies and networks. This exciting new partnership and investment will leverage the University’s plans for investment in Smart City infrastructure and the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, which aims to create more opportunities for the region’s businesses and citizens.”

Professor Mischa Dohler, Head of the Centre for Telecommunications Research at King’s, said: “King’s is a university within an international community that serves the world and through this alliance we will continue to research to inform and innovate as we carry out world-leading and outward-looking research focused on meeting societal need.

“We’re delighted to be part of this unique partnership, which allows us to make substantial contributions to the UK and global 5G innovation ecosystem which otherwise would not have been possible. This activity is part of a major expansion of our engineering and business activities on our Strand Campus, enabled by the acquisition of Bush House, the former headquarters of the BBC World Service.”

Professor Rahim Tafazolli, Director of the 5GIC at the University of Surrey, said: “As the Hub leader from 5GIC at the University of Surrey, it is really exciting to be collaborating with our colleagues to develop this national asset that can mobilise intense testing and trials for mobile broadband as well as other applications such as connected and autonomous cars, new games, connected health and many more applications. We already have a proven track record of developing, trialling and testing 5G technology here at the 5GIC, and this will see us grow that across the country to further develop and realise the end-to-end 5G.

“The test bed will benefit the UK’s 5G ecosystem by enabling trials of secure, interoperable technology and services, hardened against cyber-attack.”

The 5G Hub will be the foundation to create and support projects in multiple areas, such as connected cars and autonomous driving, Industry 4.0, Health and many others, addressing major socio-economic and productivity challenges.

The 5G Hub will use collaborative partnership of working between the three Universities to develop the described 5G capabilities, but ready for expansion to include other organisations from next year onwards.

Output: Three English universities will trial 5G networks, thanks to £16m in government funding. Bristol University, King's College London and the University of Surrey will work together on the development of the world's first tests of an end-to-end 5G system. Digital minister Matt Hancock said that 5G technology has the potential to offer more reliable and ultrafast mobile connectivity, and could help create new jobs and boost the economy.


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AXA Affin telematics insurance launches in Malaysia
 KUALA LUMPUR: AXA Affin General Insurance Bhd has become the first insurance company to take advantage of the detariffed auto insurance environment by launching its AXA FlexiDrive, Malaysia’s first telematics-based motor insurance.

The technology would help drivers better understand their driving behaviour through the installation of a special tracking device and the use of the AXA FlexiDrive mobile app in an insured vehicle.

Output: AXA Affin has introduced Malaysia's first telematics motor insurance, AXA FlexiDrive. The service helps drivers gain insights into their driving behaviour through a mobile app and tracking device installed in an insured vehicle. Safer drivers will then be rewarded with up to 20% off their premiums on renewal of their insurance policy. The company stressed that drivers who do not drive so well will not be penalised by higher premiums.


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Einride's autonomous truck prototype has no windows or seats
 swedish company einride has recently unveiled the first full-scale prototype of its futuristic autonomous electric truck ‘T-pod’. the electric, self-driving vehicle can be remotely controlled by drivers and can carry 15 pallets of goods 124 miles while producing zero emissions. in contrast to other autonomous driving technology, the model offers a number of capabilities which have not been presented before.

each pod stands at a height of 23 feet (7 meters) in length and is able to travel 124 miles on a single charge. at present einride is developing compatible charging stations to power the vehicles. the model removes unnecessary features such as windows and seating, and in its place presents a simple box form.

the launch marks a global transition from heavy, noisy trucks with monstrous emissions and bad working conditions to emission-free, noise reduced trucks that allow workers to operate on a standard schedule closer to home. the einride system doesn’t only benefit the environment but also improves road safety, creates new jobs and provides more cost-efficient transports for purchasers. a ‘T-pod’ is the height of efficiency; personnel don’t have to stand by as it charges or spend an excess of time away from family and friends, and overall client logistics will be more flexible.

the einride t-pods will start running between the cities of gothenburg and helsingborg, sweden and the first active system will cover a capacity of 2,000,000 pallets per year. that corresponds to 400,000 passenger cars on the same route. even better, all of this will run with few to no emissions.

‘einride is transforming the existing transport chain from the ground up. the big companies behind long haul trucks keep building bigger trucks to increase efficiency, which ultimately means even more emissions. we are changing that by creating a secure solution that is, not only cost effective, but dramatically minimizes the negative environmental impact of the transportation industry.’

filip lilja, coo at einride

Output: Gothenburg-based trucking company einride has launched a full-scale prototype of its self-driving electric vehicle, the T-pod, which is said will "improve road safety, create jobs and provide cost-efficient transports." The 23-metre-long T-pod has a range of 124 miles, can carry 15 pallets and will begin operating a route between Gothenburg and Helsingborg, in Sweden, carrying an estimated two million pallets annually.


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Advertisers face years in limbo after EU Google ads investigation
 On 27th June, Google was fined £2.1bn by the European Commission for breaching antitrust rules by promoting Google Shopping's comparison service at the top of the SERP. With only 90 days to comply with the ruling, what’s in store for advertisers?

What happened?

The European Commission has ruled that Google abused its dominant position in the search engine market and gave an illegal advantage to another Google product, its own comparison shopping service. Initially launched as Froogle as a beta in late 2002, it was later renamed Google Product Search and then finally Google Shopping as we know it in 2012 with the move from free to paid product listings. The average consumer doesn’t picture Google as a comparison shopping engine, but since May 2016 there has been a real push to ensure GTINs are correctly linked to products in shopping feeds. This paved the way for some shopping ads to list the same product from a choice of manufacturers with a direct price comparison.

Search for “canon eos 700d” and you’ll see:

Similarly, a search for the latest “fitbit alta hr” will show you:

While this provides a useful format for very specific searches for brands with identifiable makes and models, the majority of broader searches returning shopping ads are instead a showcase from manufacturers or resellers advertising products related to the query. This is more of a window-shopping, catalogue-browsing experience and is in no way, shape or form price comparison shopping.

It wasn’t the comparison ad formats in particular but rather the whole Google Shopping offering which has sparked this ruling and left many of us scratching our heads. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: “What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate. And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation."

You can read the full press release here.

Google now has 90 days to stop this illegal conduct and comply with “giving equal treatment to rival comparison shopping services”. If they do not comply, Google will be liable for payments of up to 5% of Alphabet’s average daily turnover. Ouch.

What does this mean for us as advertisers?

Across all our clients running both search and shopping activity last month, 59% of clicks came from shopping campaigns. Shopping is a staple of performance marketing strategies and often sees stronger return on investment compared to search campaigns for the same queries due to the nature of the ad format. It’s easy to see what you’re buying, where from and for how much without having to click on all the search ads on the page and make your decision from each advertiser’s landing page instead.

There has been no official word from Google AdWords yet, but it’s clear there will be no easy or quick fix. As an advertiser, there are a number of things you can do to get yourself in the best position should any changes come about in the near future.

Get your shopping campaigns and Merchant Center feed in tip top condition. Set up custom labels to push key performing products, and ensure your campaign priorities are surfacing the products most valuable to you. If the number of shopping ad slots is reduced or we start to see fewer queries triggering this ad format, it’s going to get very competitive.

Ensure you have search campaign coverage for all of your shopping products. Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) can plug the gaps in your keyword coverage, especially if you have a large catalogue of products on site, and you can use DSAs with business data feeds to guarantee coverage of all your product pages.

If you’re using DoubleClick Search (DS), now is the time to set up inventory management on your search campaigns. This can be used to build search campaigns using the contents of your shopping feed, update your search ad copy with availability and pricing, and pause/enable ad groups based on stock levels. If you don’t have access to DS, AdWords scripts can be a big help here to take care of some of these tasks for you instead.

The only real options for Google from here are:

Add links to competing price comparison services to the SERP;

Reduce the current features and the types of search queries which trigger shopping ads (for example, removing the ad formats which compare one product from multiple advertisers);

Pull Google Shopping from Europe completely.

Or, most likely, Google will appeal the decision. This would be a long and painful process which would leave Google Shopping in limbo for years to come, whilst ongoing investigations into other services continue where Google is also considered to hold the dominant position. These include:

The Android operating system, where “the Commission considers that Google is dominant in the markets for general internet search services, licensable smart mobile operating systems and app stores for the Android mobile operating system”, and

Adsense, where Google is accused of preventing “existing and potential competitors, including other search providers and online advertising platforms, from entering and growing in this commercially important area”.

Any move to comply with the European Commission’s ruling will cut into revenue for Google and advertisers alike. If that’s not bad enough, the ruling has also paved the way for rival comparison shopping services to bring their own lawsuits.

We also have to ask, what else could Google be targeted for holding a dominant position over. Maps, for example? And who might be next on the European Commission’s list for investigation beyond the search engines?

Jocelyn Le Conte is group head of search at Merkle | Periscopix

Output: Advertisers have been faced with years in limbo thanks to the EU Google ads probe, according to an op-ed in The Drum by Jocelyn LeConte, group head of search at Merkle | Periscopix. Last month, Google was fined £2.1bn ($2.7bn) by the European Commission for breaching antitrust rules by pushing its own comparison shopping service at the top of search engine results. It was given 90 days to comply with giving equal treatment to rival services or face large fines. Google is likely to appeal the ruling, which would leave its shopping service in question for years to come.


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Mazda makes full page screen-takeover ad for Facebook
 Japanese auto company Mazda is experimenting with an immersive ad format on Facebook that sees an out-of-control car skeet across the newsfeed.

Mazda Distracted Driving

The ‘Distracted Driving’ campaign from BBR Saatchi & Saatchi is looking to inform Facebook users that fiddling with your phone while driving opens up a substantial risk of danger for those in – and outside – the car.

Output: Japanese carmaker Mazda has made a full-page screen-takeover ad for Facebook in a road safety campaign. BBR Saatchi & Saatchi's Distracted Driving campaign sees an out-of-control car slide across the Facebook newsfeed and seemingly crack the screen, in a bid to highlight the dangers of using one's phone while driving.


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Bond investments gain acceptance among Gulf State insurers
 Debt instruments have slowly been gaining acceptance in the Middle East insurance sector which has traditionally been underweight in debt since a significant portion of the investment portfolio consists of high-risk high-growth assets such as real estate and equities.

Output: The Middle East's insurance sector has gradually welcomed the introduction of debt instruments as high-grade investments become more widely available, according to an article in Gulf News by Adil Abid, a partner of financial services practice at KPMG Lower Gulf. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have all issued sovereign bonds recently, following the declining oil price. In the past nine months, Saudi Arabia alone has raised $26bn through the international sale of both conventional bonds and sukuk.


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Intuition Robotics raises $14m to build Elliq care companion
 Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.

Israeli robotics startup Intuition Robotics has raised $14 million in a series A round of funding led by Toyota Research Institute (TRI), with participation from existing investors including OurCrowd, iRobot, Maniv Mobility, Terra Venture Partners, and Bloomberg Beta.

Founded out of Tel Aviv in 2015, Intuition Robotics emerged from stealth back in January, touting itself as a company “developing social companion technology to positively impact the lives of millions of older adults.” By way of example, its first product is Elliq, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotic companion that resembles a piece of furniture or a lamp that sits on a table conversing with its owner.

Elliq uses “natural” communication methods — including “body language” — to display emotion. And it uses sounds and light, in addition to voice, to express itself. It also promises to improve over time through machine learning that helps it adapt to the owner’s needs.

Prior to now, Intuition Robotics had raised around $7 million in funding, and with its latest cash injection the company will be able to expedite the development and testing of Elliq.

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The involvement of Toyota’s research arm, TRI, is a major coup for the fledgling robotics startup. TRI’s previously stated mission is to use AI to “improve the quality of human life,” both through its core automotive business and by “expanding the benefit of mobility technology beyond automobiles” into areas such as in-home support of older people and those with special needs.

This investment markets TRI’s first outside investment in robotic technology for adult adults, a spokesperson told VentureBeat.

“We are honored that TRI believes in our approach to help older adults stay connected and engaged through our first product, ElliQ, the active ageing companion,” noted Dor Skuler, CEO and cofounder of Intuition Robotics. “This strategic investment illustrates our joint beliefs in the potential of social robotics in keeping older adults connected and engaged and in overcoming the digital divide using cognitive computing and natural communications.”

Intuition Robotics is one of a number of “companion robots” companies to emerge in recent times — earlier this year AvataMind launched its iPal Companion Robot, which is designed as an educational and entertaining friend for children and elderly people. Elsewhere, RoboCare Lab launched a campaign to place robots in nursing homes and schools across France, while Japanese tech titan SoftBank has created the “emotionally intelligent” Pepper, a robot capable of analyzing human gestures and expressions.

Elliq, by contrast, doesn’t take a humanoid appearance — and this could make it more appealing to older users.

Elliq was the result of a collaboration with Yves Béhar, a Swiss designer who had been chief creative officer at recently defunct Jawbone. “The idea of having a robot companion is quite dystopian, especially for older generations,” Béhar previously explained. “Through years of research, we were able to develop a design language and user experience that feels natural, with subtle expressions to develop a unique bond between Elliq and its owner. Elliq could never replace human interaction, but it can be an important motivating factor in keeping older adults healthy and active when living alone.”

Output: Israel-based Intuition Robotics has raised $14m in a series A funding round that will enable it to develop its social companion robot for the elderly, called Elliq. The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven device resembles a desk lamp and uses sound, lights and movement to express emotions. "We were able to develop a design language and user experience that feels natural, with subtle expressions to develop a unique bond between Elliq and its owner," said designer Yves Béhar.


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Coffee drinking may reduce risk of heart disease and strokes
 People who drink coffee have a lower risk of dying from a host of causes, including heart disease, stroke and liver disease, research suggests – but experts say it’s unclear whether the health boost is down to the brew itself.

The connection, revealed in two large studies, was found to hold regardless of whether the coffee was caffeinated or not, with the effect higher among those who drank more cups of coffee a day.

But scientists say that the link might just be down to coffee-drinkers having healthier behaviours.

“It is plausible that there is something else behind this that is causing this relationship,” said Marc Gunter, a co-author of one of the studies, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

But, he added, based on the consistency of the results he would be surprised if coffee itself didn’t play a role in reducing the risk of death.

About 2.25bn cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day. While previous studies have suggested coffee might have health benefits, the latest research involves large and diverse cohorts of participants.

The first study looked at coffee consumption among more than 185,000 white and non-white participants, recruited in the early 1990s and followed up for an average of over 16 years. The results revealed that drinking one cup of coffee a day was linked to a 12% lower risk of death at any age, from any cause while those drinking two or three cups a day had an 18% lower risk, with the association not linked to ethnicity.

“We found that coffee drinkers had a reduced risk of death from heart disease, from cancer, from stroke, respiratory disease, diabetes and kidney disease,” said Veronica Setiawan, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California and a co-author of the research.

The second study – the largest of its kind – involved more than 450,000 participants, recruited between 1992 and 2000 across ten European countries, who were again followed for just over 16 years on average. “We felt this analysis would capture some of [the] variation in coffee preparation methods and drinking habits,” said Gunter.

After a range of factors including age, smoking status, physical activity and education were taken into account, those who drank three or more cups a day were found to have a 18% lower risk of death for men, and a 8% lower risk of death for women at any age, compared with those who didn’t drink the brew. The benefits were found to hold regardless of the country, although coffee drinking was not linked to a lower risk of death for all types of cancer.

The study also looked at a subset of 14,800 participants, finding that coffee-drinkers had better results on many biological markers including liver enzymes and glucose control. “We know many of these biological factors are related to different health outcomes, so it is another piece of the puzzle,” said Gunter.

But experts warn that the two studies, both published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, do not show that drinking coffee was behind the overall lower risk, pointing out that it could be that coffee drinkers are healthier in various ways or that those who are unwell drink less coffee.

In addition, levels of coffee-drinking were self-reported, some participants consumed both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and the European study only looked at coffee consumption levels at one point in time – all factors which could have affected the results.

“It is not necessarily the coffee drinking per se, it is that fact that there are other things about your lifestyle or the lack of ill-health that might be causing the association,” said Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, pointing out that while coffee might have beneficial effects, it would take randomised trials to be sure.

Authors of both studies also agreed more work is needed, and said that it was unclear which of the many biologically active components within the coffee might potentially be driving the health benefits. “This is an observational study,” said Setiawan. “We cannot say, OK, [if] you drink coffee it is going to prolong your life.”

Gunter agreed. “I wouldn’t recommend people start rushing out drinking lots of coffee, but I think what it does suggests is drinking coffee certainly does you no harm,” he said. “It can be part of a healthy diet.”

Sattar also urged caution. “If people enjoy their coffee they can relax and enjoy their coffee,” he said, adding that people should not imagine that drinking extra coffee would militate against “other bad health behaviours”.

Output: Drinking coffee has been associated with significant health benefits, which include lowering the probability of dying from a variety of causes such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease and liver disease, according to the latest research. A large multinational study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found men that drink three or more cups a day have an 18% reduced risk of death, and women an 8% lower risk, when compared with those who don't drink coffee. However, experts have advised caution in interpreting the results, highlighting that other lifestyle factors, beyond coffee consumption, need to be better accounted for.


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Volvo owner Geely to acquire flying car start-up
 Zhejiang Geely says it has agreed to buy Terrafugia, adding to its portfolio of car brands that included Volvo, Lotus and Proton

Output: China’s Zhejiang Geely, owner of Volvo and Lotus, said it will buy US flying car start-up Terrafugia. The company, founded by a group of MIT graduates in 2006, is taking $10,000 deposits for its first model, the Transition, with the expectation it will deliver its first vehicle in three years’ time for about $279,000 each. Boston-based Terrafugia said the “roadable aircraft” has a range of 400 miles and a top speed of 100 mph. it has raised $5.82 million in five funding rounds led by Boston-based angel investor Semyon Dukach and venture capital firm Transcendent Holdings.


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Virgin Mobile makes social media exempt from data usage
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Virgin Mobile customers can now tweet, message and browse on Twitter data-free, without eating into their data allowance.

This follows the mobile phone company offering data-free use of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger as part of its 4G plans.

The data-free use of Twitter applies to all features on the app, apart from live video content, and doesn’t cost any extra beyond the data needed for downloading the application.

Twitter is one of the world’s largest social media platforms with 328m monthly active users globally and over 82% of users accessing the social messaging site on a mobile device.

Since launching 4G at the end of 2016, Virgin Mobile claims its customers are taking advantage of faster speeds and using more data, with 87,000 Virgin Mobile customers accessing Twitter on a daily basis, and 800,000 accessing Twitter each month.

Says Jeff Dodds, Managing Director of Mobile at Virgin Media:

“Our customers want more than extra texts and minutes – they want innovative new services that really make a difference to them. That’s why we’ve expanded our data-free social offering to include Twitter.”

Adds Twitter’s UK MD Dara Nasr:

“This deal’s great news for Virgin Mobile customers who want to make sure they never miss the very best Tweets from across the globe. If it’s happening, it’s happening on Twitter.”

Customers on Virgin Mobile’s 4G plans can now enjoy data-free social with Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger as part of their service.

To make sure no leftover data goes to waste Virgin Mobile also offers ‘Data Rollover’ as part of its plans. This means that any mobile data remaining at the end of a month is transferred into the next month’s data allowance.

To keep tabs on all of this data, customers will receive a text when data is being rolled over and another text when all the leftover data has been used.

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Output: Virgin Mobile has made data used on Twitter exempt from customers' monthly data allowance. Virgin customers can browse all Twitter features from their mobile for free, with the exception of the site's live video content. The move follows the mobile network's introduction of data-free usage of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger as part of its 4G plans.


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Facebook considers paid subscriptions for articles
 Facebook is moving ahead on plans to let people subscribe to publications through Instant Articles. Nothing’s final, but the current thinking is that it will support publications with metered paywalls and freemium models, said a source familiar with the briefings. These options would seem to accommodate metered publications including Facebook skeptic The New York Times; and The Wall Street Journal and The Economist, which make a certain selection of articles free and put the rest behind a paywall.

Facebook seems to have made other concessions to publishers. They’ll have access to all subscriber data, according to the source, which publishers want so they can understand their audience better. A controversial proposal to let people buy bundles of publications from different companies is now off the table. Publishers also are expected to have full control over pricing.

The paywall limit as it stands now may not satisfy publishers with stricter limits such as The Washington Post, which lowered the free monthly article limit to three from five earlier this year as it tinkers with its paywall to drive new subscriptions. It speaks to Facebook’s dilemma, though. Each publisher has a slightly different model, and each publisher will want to replicate its own model on Facebook. Facebook also believes in creating a uniform user experience, though.

Several details of the subscription feature are still undecided. They include how payments will be handled and if Facebook will take a cut of subscription sales. Payments are complicated because when they go through smartphones’ app stores, the stores take a 30 percent cut. One publisher said Facebook is leaning toward letting them be handled through the mobile web, which would eliminate a layer of complexity and the app stores’ cut and would let publishers have more control over pricing and data. It’s also unclear if publishers would get data on users’ reading history, as they can on their own site and which can help them tailor offers.

In the end, the question for publishers like the Times and Journal that have been cool on Instant Articles is whether there’s an advantage to Facebook’s proposal of letting them sell subs through Instant Articles instead of posting to Facebook the old-fashioned away and letting people subscribe by traveling to the publisher’s own site. Facebook would argue that Instant Articles have a higher click-through rate than articles posted the old-fashioned way. But selling subs that way will require publishers to give up more control over customer data and the meter level than they’d like.

“We’ve been briefed and are continuing to evaluate if we’re going to participate,” said a senior executive at The New York Times. “So far, we don’t see any great upside.”

Still, the platform’s efforts have won it appreciation, albeit grudging, from even longtime detractors like Journal parent News Corp. “They’re trying to create a [system] that keeps everyone happy, which is a pretty tough brief,” said Karl Wells, gm of WSJ Membership at The Wall Street Journal, in an interview last month.

Facebook’s time frame to roll out subscription tools is also getting more concrete. Facebook aims to test them with a small group of publishers at the end of the year and expand them to others in 2018. The idea is to have a diverse mix in the test group, representing U.S. and international and big and small titles. Facebook has already briefed The New York Times, Tronc, Hearst, The Economist, Germany’s Bild and the U.K.’s Telegraph one-on-one and plans to have group meetings with more media executives in New York and Paris the week of July 10.

The movement on subscription sales comes as Facebook has been trying harder to win over publishers that are getting increasingly frustrated over their lack of ability to monetize their content on the platform and are also getting in some cases what they feel is better treatment from other platform giants, Google and Apple News. The newspaper trade association News Media Alliance is leading an effort that seeks to let members negotiate collectively with Facebook and Google.

As part of its charm offensive, Facebook in January launched the Facebook Journalism Project, which has involved working with publishers to understand what they want to get from the app. Publishers have been seeking ways to sell subscriptions since Facebook rolled out Instant Articles in 2015 and have been been clamoring for more ability to monetize their content on the platform through advertising as Google and Facebook have swallowed up more and more of the digital ad pie.

“We are in early talks with several news publishers about how we might better support subscription business models on Facebook,” Campbell Brown, head of news partnerships, said via a Facebook spokesperson. “As part of the Facebook Journalism Project, we are taking the time to work closely together with our partners and understand their needs.”

Output: Facebook has been proceeding with plans to offer paid subscriptions to publications using Instant Articles as a possible way to support publishers with freemium content and metered paywalls, with testing starting at the end of the year, according to an inside source. The feature would also grant publishers total control of pricing and measurements. Critics have argued newspapers' varying pricing models make it impossible to offer a uniform price structure. "We’ve been briefed and are continuing to evaluate if we’re going to participate. So far, we don’t see any great upside," said a senior executive at the New York Times.


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Facebook and Google tax could fund journalism, says Australian MP
 National Labor MP Sam Dastyari has warned that public interest journalism is at a “do or die” point where unless a new solution to funding is found, journalism could die in Australia.

Dastyari, the head of a Senate inquiry into public interest journalism, told ABC's Media Watch last night that government intervention might be needed to prevent public interest journalism from becoming casualties of Google and Facebook as advertising budgets shift to the digital duopoly.

“This is a serious problem. We have got to the point of no return,” Dastyari said. “If we want to have a proper journalistic industry here in Australia then we have to actually start taking steps to protect it.

“I personally believe the best way of getting that balance is about having some kind of a tax incentive structure scheme that is available to media companies that is paid for by the big aggregators like Google.”

Check out Media Watch's special: State of play: news media versus the digital giants

Job cuts and plummeting revenue over the past five years paint a bleak picture of an industry in chronic decline.

Since 2011, media organisations have axed 2,500 jobs, gutting out newsrooms and scaling back vital civic journalism rounds such as local council and court reporting.

In the past year alone, Fairfax has axed 125 jobs, News Corp has cut 100 with fears of 300 more on the way and Seven West Media has culled 60 journalists at West Australia Newspapers.

Schwartz Media, publishers of The Saturday Paper and the Monthly, summed up the problem in their submission to the Senate enquiry: Newspaper advertising revenue has dropped 40% in just five years to $2.4 billion as “the economic model that has supported quality journalism is in mid-collapse”.

Australia is not an isolated case. Reuters Institute Digital News Report's Nic Newman told Media Watch that print advertising revenues have had “double digit falls” in many countries due to sharp declines in print advertising, while most of the growth in digital advertising, estimated at around 85% to 90%, is going to Google and Facebook in most countries.

“The problem is vanishing revenue,” host Paul Barry explains. “Newspaper sales have plummeted and dollars from print advertising have turned into cents from digital ads.”

Seven out of 10 young Australians tell Media Watch they would never pay for online news, a problem media companies created in the early days of the internet when they gave away news content online for free.

Just as concerning is that young Australians do not discern news sources, several consumers Media Watch approached said they got their news from Facebook even though the social media network doesn't produce content, it merely monetises the content created by others.

How to solve the problem?

Steven Waldman, author of FCC 2011 Report on the State of the US Media, told Media Watch Facebook and Google can solve the problem by writing one cheque each.

Ed Greenspon, the former editor of Globe and Mail in Canada, believes a digital advertising levy should be set up with the proceeds funding original public interest journalism though tax breaks.

Australian Senate powerbroker Nick Xenophon has previously called for a Google and Facebook tax to save Australian media companies.

Dastyari and the senate committee are exploring a similar solution that provides tax incentives and believes taxing the digital duopoly could work political will is there.

Given that Google and Facebook already avoid tens of millions of dollars in tax by booking sales in low tax jurisdictions abroad, AdNews is not confident the government will be willing or able to impose a further levy.

At today's senate hearing public interest journalism, Trinity P3 founder Darren Woolley also points out that any additional taxes on the digital giants are likely to be passed onto advertisers, which will be met with resistance.

Even if the government is able to raise additional funding for journalism through tax, who gets the spoils?

Dastyari told Media Watch this is a major challenge. “When we’re talking about public interest journalism the real question, the challenge is how do you define that? When does something start being a piece of journalism in the public good and when is it just someone blogging about their dog on Facebook?.”

Or, some might argue, when tabloids publish agenda-fuelled pieces that written to a specific narrative or ideology rather than investigate an issue objectively for the public good.

Today, industry experts, including Woolley and GroupM director of technical operations Timothy Whitfield share their views at the senate hearing.

You can follow the findings of the Senate hearing on AdNews.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au

Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.

Output: An Australian Labor MP has suggested that a tax on Facebook and Google could be used to fund journalism, which he said was at a "do or die point". Sam Dastyari, who is heading a Senate inquiry into public interest journalism, said government intervention may be needed to protect the country's journalism industry as advertising budgets increasingly shift to aggregators such as Facebook and Google. However, Trinity P3 founder Darren Woolley told the hearing that any extra taxes on the digital duopoly would likely be passed on to advertisers, a move that would be met with resistance.


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Faraday scraps plans to build $1bn electric car factory in Nevada
 Faraday Future, the troubled California startup that aimed to unseat Tesla as king of electric cars, is scrapping plans to build a $1 billion, 1-million-square-foot factory in Nevada — a casualty of the sprawling cash problems of its billionaire Chinese financier.

It was just five months ago that FF was claiming that it was finally restarting construction of its proposed factory in North Las Vegas, almost 11 months after construction was first halted amid the company’s ongoing financial woes. Now it looks like that factory will never be built, as FF is reportedly looking into pursuing less ambitious (re: cheaper) options.

The news, first reported by The Nevada Independent, broke less than a week after it was reported that a Chinese court froze $182 million in assets of Jia Yueting, founder of tech conglomerate LeEco and a major investor in FF. At the time, FF claimed that Jia’s money woes wouldn’t affect production of the FF91, the startup’s first production model slated for a 2018 release.

“We have decided to put a hold on our factory at the Apex site in North Las Vegas. We remain committed to the Apex site in Las Vegas for long-term vehicle manufacturing,” Stefan Krause, who’s been Faraday Future’s chief financial officer for the past four months, said in a statement to the Independent. “We at Faraday Future are significantly shifting our business strategy to position the company as the leader in user-ship personal mobility — a vehicle usage model that reimagines the way users access mobility. As a result of this shift in direction, we are in the final stages of confirming a new manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options.”

“There are a lot of talented people basically doing nothing right now.”

But other sources paint a darker picture of the company’s future. Senior-level sources told Business Insider that FF is in a “precarious situation,” and that operations in its Los Angeles-based headquarters were also being scaled back. One former FF executive also told The Verge that the company is in danger of missing its payroll, which could lead to a mass exodus of employees. “There are a lot of talented people basically doing nothing right now,” the source said.

What’s clear is that while Faraday Future has managed to stay out of the headlines these past few months, the company clearly has yet to recover from the setbacks it suffered leading up to and immediately proceeding CES in January 2017. Mounting debts, unpaid bills, supplier lawsuits, and financial mismanagement have all served to chip away at Faraday Future’s foundation. The FF91’s embarrassing onstage malfunction made it the laughing stock of this year’s CES. The company lost several top executives, including its “global CEO” associated with LeEco (currently undergoing its own financial crisis).

Mounting debts, unpaid bills, supplier lawsuits, and financial mismanagement

Meanwhile, the company has tried to put on a smiling face, recently completing the Pikes Peak uphill race in record time. But sources tell The Verge that these projects — in addition to Jia’s two other car projects — are distracting from the overall goal of manufacturing and delivering a stellar electric car.

Output: California start-up Faraday Future has halted plans to build a $1bn electric vehicle factory in Nevada due to the financial troubles of its billionaire Chinese investor, Jia Yueting, who is also the founder of tech conglomerate LeEco. This follows last week's news that a Chinese court had frozen the assets of Jia Yueting, though at the time it was said that this setback would not derail the implementation of Faraday Future's Nevada plans.


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Art investing thrives in China as other assets lose their appeal
 Chinese entrepreneurs splash out on art investments. [CGTN]

China is famed for its intricate traditional artwork, but art is taking on a new meaning in the country for investors – its the latest booming asset class. The country became the world's largest market for art auctions last year, with sales totaling 6.33 billion U.S. dollars.

Sluggish stock, property and precious metal markets meant some of the best investment channels in China lost their allure, drawing investors to a new avenue for their capital.

Art collection as an alternative asset has thrived recently. Using art mortgages for financing is also on the rise. In the last 15 years, plenty of first-tier Chinese entrepreneurs have joined the art collection industry.

China's art market is booming – along with the operation of asset allocation and wealth management in art.

Artwork is said to be the only asset allocation with long-term, stable and continuous appreciation. The wealthy now consider art as an important option of asset allocation.

The market is flooded with short-term speculative capital for the purpose of financial revenue.

But prospective buyers should be warned that only repeatedly trading artworks can reap major windfalls. The Veblen effect, which dictates that demand is proportional to the price of goods, is thought to provoke "show-off consumption" and drive up auction sales in the name of bragging rights.

Differing from financial assets, the scarcity, aesthetic attributes and irreplaceability of artworks make the price formation mechanism irregular. Meanwhile, the unique nature of art means a unified standard of value is impossible, and the risk of counterfeits is high.

Output: Artwork is increasingly being seen as the only asset allocation with long-term, stable and continuous appreciation in China, leading wealthy Chinese individuals to invest in the asset class, as stocks, precious metals and property markets lose their shine. China became the world's biggest market for art auctions in 2016 with sales totalling about $6.33bn. The use of art mortgages to finance purchases is also increasing.


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Verizon promotes Oath platform after Yahoo and AOL acquisitions
 by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, July 10, 2017

The campaign may have begun internally to mark the transition of Yahoo and various companies into Verizon Communications new business unit Oath. But it quickly blossomed into a full-blown campaign to announce the integration of AOL, AOL One, BrightRoll, Tumblr, Yahoo and others to agency partners and their brand clients.

The acquisition of Yahoo unites more than 50 brands under the Verizon umbrella.

Internally, employees have been asked to think about their "oath" to the company and to clients. They are asked to name three words that describe their "oath," meant to symbolize the employee's commitment and what they bring to the team.

The campaign—Make Your Oath—began at Cannes Lions. It has continued to pick up steam with brands as some tweet their "oath" to @oath on Twitter.

Expect to see a range of services and "innovations" added to Oath's search business in the future, according to a company spokesperson.

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"We believe deeply in search as an area of growth and continued investment for Oath," a spokesperson for the company told Search Marketing Daily. "We’re focused on delivering relevant results and ads within the search experience, leveraging both our own search engine and partners in a way that allows consumers to find the answers they care about and take action immediately."

Yahoo Insights will become Oath Insights, but there is no word yet on the renaming or integration of Yahoo Gemini for Search or Yahoo Gemini for native ads, spanning across mobile, video and programmatic services.

Output: Verizon has launched a campaign to promote its new business unit Oath, which unites more than 50 brands including AOL, Yahoo and Tumblr. The Make Your Oath campaign was launched at Cannes Lions and highlights the company's focus on delivering relevant results and ads within the search experience. A range of services will be added to Oath's search business in the future, a spokesman said.


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Coca-Cola promises to use 50% recycled plastic in bottles by 2020
 Coca-Cola is to increase the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles to 50% amid pressure from environmentalists over runaway use of the containers.

The world’s biggest drinks brand says it will hit its new UK recycling target - up from a previous goal of 40% - by 2020.

The company described the proposal as ambitious but environmentalists said they did not go far enough.

John Sauven, head of Greenpeace UK, said smaller drinks companies were already going much further. “Other companies are already at 50% and are aiming to be at 100% by 2020. Coca Cola is huge in scale and this is not an ambitious target.”

Coca-Cola’s UK and Europe arm currently has a target to increase the amount of recycled plastic or RPET in its bottles to 40% by 2020.

It has already performed a U-turn over bottle deposit schemes following pressure from Greenpeace. In evidence to MPs before the UK election was called, the company said it now supported a deposit scheme. It had previously said it was opposed to such an idea.

Figures obtained by the Guardian this month revealed that across the globe one million plastic bottles are bought by consumers every minute – roughly 20,000 a second.

The number will jump another 20% by 2021, with annual sales rising to more than half a trillion a year, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change.

More than 480bn plastic drinking bottles were sold across the world in 2016, up from about 300bn a decade ago. By 2021 this will increase to 583.3bn, according to the most up-to-date estimates from Euromonitor International’s global packaging trends report.

A Coca-Cola bottle on the coast of Scotland, found during an expedition by Greenpeace. Photograph: Will Rose/Greenpeace

Coca-Cola said it would hit its 50% target by investing millions of pounds in “Europe’s largest and most advanced plastic bottle recycling facility” based in Lincolnshire.

Jon Woods, general manager of Coca Cola Britain said today’s announcement was the start of an effort to ensure all of its packaging was “recovered and recycled.”

“Doubling the amount of recycled material in all of our plastic bottles is a significant investment and sends a clear signal we want to play a positive role in supporting the circular economy here in Great Britain.”

Sources within the recycling industry said Coca-Cola was competing with other brands to be first to announce that it was making dramatic changes to its packaging to use more recycled plastic and recycle more of its bottles.

One source said: “This is because of a combination of consumer pressure and pressure from environmental groups. There is a feeling that no one wants to be the brand which is littering beaches with plastic and there is something of a race among brands to get their green message out first.”

Louise Edge, senior oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “People expect companies like Coca-Cola to make their bottles out of 100% recycled content, not virgin plastic. But the bigger question is how Coca-Cola will reduce the sheer scale of plastic it’s pumping out.

“Producing over 100 billion single-use plastic bottles every year, Coke’s plastic footprint has been stomped into our planet’s environment. What’s their plan to stop all that plastic ending up in our oceans, streets and beaches?”

There has been growing concern about the impact of plastics pollution in oceans around the world. Last month scientists found nearly 18 tonnes of plastic on one of the world’s most remote islands, an uninhabited coral atoll in the South Pacific.

Globally Coca-Cola has repeatedly refused to release data to Greenpeace about its global plastic usage. The environmental campaign group estimates that Coca-Cola produces more than 100bn plastic bottles every year – or 3,400 a second.

The top six drinks companies in the world use a combined average of just 6.6% of recycled plastic (PET) in their products, according to Greenpeace. A third have no targets to increase their use of recycled plastic and none are aiming to use 100% across their global production.

Plastic drinking bottles could be made out of 100% recycled plastic, known as RPET – and campaigners are pressing big drinks companies to radically increase the amount of recycled plastic in their bottles. But brands have been hostile to using more RPET for cosmetic reasons. But the recycling source told the Guardian: “Consumer pressure and the image of plastic littering our beaches is making them think again.”

Output: Coca-Cola, the world’s largest drinks brand, is to use 50% recycled plastic in its UK bottles, according to The Guardian. The company claims it will achieve its new UK recycling goal, up from a previous target of 40%, by 2020. Greenpeace argued that other companies had already achieved this target and were aiming to use 100% recycled plastic by 2020. In February, Coca-Cola also came out in favour of a deposit scheme in the UK, reversing its previous stance. One million plastic bottles are purchased globally each minute. This number is set to increase 20% by 2021.