Category: 3. Business

August 21, 2025

TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced it has received the highest rating of “platinum for the first time in the sustainability assessment conducted by EcoVadis, an international sustainability rating agency headquartered in France.

EcoVadis sustainability assessment evaluates the sustainability activities of over 150,000 companies across more than 185 countries and 250 industries, focusing on four themes: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. The platinum rating is awarded to companies that rank in the top 1% of all evaluated companies.

TDK received a gold rating in 2024, and this is the first time achieving a platinum rating. In this survey, TDK received a perfect score, with its evaluation improving from last year, particularly in the areas of environmental reporting (disclosure of quantitative indicators showing the status of initiatives) and labor and human rights implementation measures (specific action plans to realize policies and commitments). As a result, TDK was recognized as having established a high-level management system in all four themes, leading to this platinum rating.

TDK will continue to contribute to the realization of a sustainable future based on the company’s long-term vision, TDK Transformation: Accelerating transformation for a sustainable future, while aiming to solve social issues through TDK’s business based on its management philosophy.

About TDK Corporation

TDK Corporation is a world leader in electronic solutions for the smart society based in Tokyo, Japan. Built on a foundation of material sciences mastery, TDK welcomes societal transformation by resolutely remaining at the forefront of technological evolution. It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK’s comprehensive, innovation-driven portfolio features passive components such as ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, as well as magnetics, high-frequency, and piezo and protection devices. The product spectrum also includes sensors and sensor systems such as temperature and pressure, magnetic, and MEMS sensors. In addition, TDK provides power supplies and energy devices, magnetic heads, software and more. These products are marketed under the product brands TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics, and TDK-Lambda. TDK focuses on demanding markets in automotive, industrial and consumer electronics, and information and communication technology. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2025, TDK posted total sales of USD 14.4 billion and employed about 10,5000 people worldwide.

Africa faces urgent climate challenges, but it also holds huge potential to lead with climate-smart innovations that boost livelihoods and grow economies.

From solar-powered storage for smallholder farmers to cutting-edge carbon removal, African entrepreneurs are reimagining key sectors and creating real investment opportunities.

At the heart of this transformation is Catalyst Fund, an Official Nominator to The Earthshot Prize. Their venture capital fund backs early-stage climate tech startups in Africa. Through capital, tailored venture building support, and network access, Catalyst Fund empowers innovators like 2024 Earthshot Prize Winner Keep IT Cool to scale breakthrough solutions across climate adaptation, food security, waste management and more.

Catalyst Fund’s work with startup founders, coupled with data from Africa: The Big Deal have been helping The Earthshot Prize identify promising solutions and better understand the African investment landscape since 2023.

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Below, Ken Ngetha, Venture Building Engagement Lead & Maelis Carraro, Managing Partner from Catalyst Fund, share insights into Africa’s climate startup scene and the latest investment trends.

Gijs Voskuyl, Head of CVC DIF commented: “These successful exits are a testament to the strength and foresight of the investment teams, as well as our dedicated divestment team. In today’s market, achieving liquidity requires more than just waiting for favourable conditions, it demands preparation, creativity, and deep market connectivity.”

Andrew Freeman, Partner & Head of Divestments at CVC DIF, commented: “Our core focus is on delivering meaningful outcomes for our investors – that means finding and executing exit strategies that others might overlook, and this is especially important when the broader market is subdued.”

Each of the three businesses have developed well during CVC DIF’s ownership period. Boluda Maritime Terminals which owns eight operational terminals in mainland Spain and the Canary Islands, has transformed its commercial strategy, leading to significant growth. Mallorca Fire Station, an availability-based PPP project on the island of Mallorca, Spain, has embraced significant costs efficiencies and operational improvements. TTIA, a port terminal located at the Strait of Gibraltar in Algeciras, Spain, has undergone multiple upgrades to increase volumes and improve the maturity of the terminal.

These three exits follow other recent divestment activity across CVC DIF’s portfolio including the sale of a 1GW+ portfolio of Australian renewable energy projects and the exit from a 169MW portfolio of Uruguayan wind farm projects.

WH Smith has cut its financial forecasts and launched an independent review after an accounting blunder led the retailer to overstate profits by £30m.

The group discovered the mistake, which related to its North American business, while preparing its year-end results. The stationery to sweets retailer said it was “largely” because it had logged some of its income too early.

This is related to arrangements it has with suppliers, which offer rebates if the retailer hits sales targets on certain items. However, it is understood that those rebates should have been logged in accounts for the next financial year rather than for the 12 months to 31 August. The problem is believed to be contained to the North American business.

WH Smith said headline profits from its North American division – which serves the US and Canada – were now expected to come it at £25m, down from previous market expectations of £55m.

As a result, the company said it expects the group’s pre-tax profits to be in the region of £110m. While WH Smith did not publish forecasts before the mistake was discovered, financial markets had been broadly expecting profits of £140m

“The board has instructed Deloitte to undertake an independent and comprehensive review,” WH Smith told investors on Thursday morning. “The group will provide a further update at its preliminary results announcement.”

The news comes a month after the 233-year-old British business announced it had cut the sale price of its high street business by £12m, after trading at the chain deteriorated in the lead up to the close of the sale.

WH Smith said at the end of July that it would receive gross cash proceeds of up to £40m, not the £52m expected in March when it agreed to sell the division, which had 480 high street stores, to Modella Capital, which also owns Hobbycraft.

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WH Smith’s shares plunged 30% when the stock market opened in London on Thursday morning.

The Philippines’ beloved fast-food chain Jollibee said fraudsters rigged the results of its online raffle, following complaints from customers and a brief government investigation.

Jollibee said “fraudulent third parties” placed multiple entries “despite existing safeguards” for a chance to win food items and concert tickets.

The company said it complied with the government investigation and that the situation had been corrected.

Many social media users were in disbelief when the winners’ names were posted on Jollibee’s Facebook page last week. They said names like Hobby Dynamics, Noble Beer and Alfreda Corkery could have been made up using AI.

Jollibee said it “immediately implemented corrective measures” and disqualified the “invalid major prize winners”. It also suspended succeeding draws and said a re-draw would be held.

“We want to assure everyone that we have fully addressed the issues raised and strictly complied with the investigation initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry,” Jollibee said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The names on the winners’ list baffled social media users as they are uncommon in the country. Filipino first and last names are a mix of English and Spanish inherited from its former colonisers from America and Spain.

The names also include Belle Thompson, Arielle Wintheiser and Gilda Block.

“LIKE SERIOUSLLLLLY?!?!” one Facebook user commented. “Your AI must be too lazy to come up with these kinds of names”.

“They probably thought people didn’t have time to read,” another wrote.

Some drew comparisons to a corruption controversy involving Vice-President Sara Duterte, whose office allegedly paid government funds to individuals with fictitious-sounding names.

The Department of Trade and Industry said on Wednesday that it would “continue to oversee the resumption of the Jollibee Burger Blowout Promo”, ensuring “fairness and transparency in all promotional undertakings”.

Jollibee started as an ice cream shop in the 1970s before opening its first burger restaurant in downtown Manila in the early 1980s. It has expanded its business rapidly in the last five years, acquiring US cafe chain The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Michelin-starred Hong Kong dimsum chain Tim Ho Wan.

Its founder, Tony Tan Caktiong, is the son of poor immigrants from southern China. The chain’s mascot, a perpetually smiling bee with a red jacket, is a nod to Filipinos’ hardworking nature.

Generations of Filipinos see the brand as a part of their national identity, with its signature fried chicken, burgers and spaghetti becoming a staple for family gatherings.

In 2014, a shortage of its Chickenjoy fried chicken led to the #ChickenSad trend on social media.

Jollibee has 1,600 stores in 17 countries, including the UK, the US, Spain and Singapore.

Progress on Climate, Livelihoods and Nature pillars, coupled with scaling of blockchain-powered Tracr platform, underpins new consumer propositions

De Beers Group today published its 2024 sustainability report, highlighting significant progress across its key focus areas of climate, livelihoods, nature and provenance. These areas were identified as the priorities for De Beers Group’s sustainability work as part of a mid-term review of the Group’s Building Forever sustainability framework initiated last year.

During the course of 2024, De Beers Group made meaningful progress in areas including emissions, safety and conservation. In addition, the business has substantially advanced its work on diamond provenance and traceability, with the blockchain-backed Tracr platform enhancing its effectiveness and scale.

With regards to its focus on climate, De Beers Group has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 7% since 2021. The Group focused on developing renewable energy solutions in 2024, working with Envusa Energy to complete the financing of wind and solar plants in South Africa which will meet 100% of the mine’s electricity needs in 2026. De Beers Group also continued the development of the Mmadinare solar PV project in Botswana, completed its Electrification and Alternative Fuels study at Venetia, and launched alternative fuels studies at Debswana, Namdeb and Debmarine Namibia. Moreover, De Beers Group worked with its top 100 strategic partners to develop roadmaps to reduce Scope 3 emissions. De Beers Group has had its near-term emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and has committed to reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 42%, and Scope 3 by 25% by 2030 (from a 2021 base year).

From a livelihoods perspective, De Beers Group made a total tax and economic contribution of $2.9bn in 2024, highlighting the socioeconomic value that responsibly sourced natural diamonds deliver. The Group also achieved its best ever safety performance, with a total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR) of 1.2.

Several high-impact programmes continued to drive meaningful change in host countries. Through the EntrepenHER programme, delivered in partnership with UN Women, around 500 more women were supported and the programme expanded to reach 1,500 more female entrepreneurs over the next three years, bringing the total number of women reached to more than 3,100. The Stanford SEED programme, run in collaboration with the Stanford Graduate School of Business, continued to support entrepreneurs across southern Africa and has helped create 3,400 jobs since its launch in 2018. Meanwhile, the GirlEng programme continued in partnership with WomEng and has now supported over 6,500 girls with a focus on STEM subjects since 2019.

In addition, De Beers Group developed a new 10-year Diamonds for Development Fund as part of its engagements with the Government of the Republic of Botswana for a new Debswana Sales Agreement and Mining Licences.

With respect to nature, De Beers Group managed over 375,000 acres of land for conservation purposes in 2024, ensuring the maintenance of the habitat for a range of endangered, vulnerable and threatened species. The Group relocated 10 white rhino from Botswana to South Africa as part of a rewilding project, and through the Namdeb- Debmarine Foundation partnered with conservation stakeholders to design a seabird rescue facility in Luderitz, Namibia to help prevent the extinction of the African Penguin. Furthermore, De Beers Group continued to partner with National Geographic to protect the source waters of the Okavango Delta through the Okavango Eternal programme.

Alongside the progress made with the sustainability pillars of climate, livelihoods and nature, De Beers Group delivered transformational progress with its work on provenance, advancing and scaling the Tracr blockchain platform in 2024. Nearly three million individual diamonds have been registered on the platform since 2022, with leading producers and suppliers joining the platform, including ODC and Mountain Province, thereby increasing the volume of diamonds on the platform being registered at source. Tracr has also begun providing country of origin information for all De Beers Group-sourced rough diamonds over one carat registered on the platform. In addition, Tracr is undertaking both rough-to-rough and rough-to-polished objective verification of diamonds on the platform, enhancing the levels of assurance it provides throughout the value chain.

Building on the progress delivered with sustainability and provenance, De Beers Group continues to develop consumer propositions that enable people to buy natural diamonds with assurance on their country of origin and impact on the people and places where they are discovered. This includes the launch of a new polished diamond programme called ORIGIN – De Beers Group. In recognition of the growing consumer interest in where a product has come from and the impact it has had along its journey, ORIGIN – De Beers Group enables participating retailers to access polished diamonds that have been sourced by De Beers Group, tracked through the value chain by the Tracr blockchain platform, and accompanied with rich information about each diamond’s unique journey and the meaningful impact it has delivered.

Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of Brands & Diamond Desirability at De Beers Group, said: “At De Beers, we believe a diamond’s journey should be as meaningful as its beauty. That’s why sustainability is embedded in everything we do – from developing renewable energy in our partner countries to advancing gender equity and supporting long-term national development. We’re not just powering our operations sustainably; we’re helping build infrastructure that benefits communities. We’re not just creating opportunities for women within our business; we’re unlocking potential for female students and entrepreneurs across our host nations. And through our enduring partnership with Botswana, we’re securing the future of our supply while investing in the country’s economic development and diversification. Thanks to our provenance platforms like Tracr and the consumer-facing experiences we’re building, we can share these stories with confidence. When someone chooses a De Beers natural diamond, they’re not only celebrating a personal milestone – they are helping shape a brighter future for the people and places behind it.”

The full De Beers Group 2024 sustainability report can be found at: https://www.debeersgroup.com/sustainability/reports-data-and-policies

 

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Contact

 

De Beers Group Press Office                                    

[email protected]

 

About DeBeers Group

 

Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining, marketing and retailing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of De Beers Group’s strategy as it develops a portfolio of offers that span the diamond value chain, including its jewellery houses, De Beers London and Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions such as diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives Tracr and GemFair. De Beers Group also provides leading services and technology to the diamond industry in the form of education and laboratory services and a wide range of diamond sorting, detection and classification technology services. De Beers Group is committed to ‘Building Forever,’ a holistic and integrated approach to sustainability that underpins our efforts to create meaningful impact for the people and places where our diamonds are discovered. Building Forever focuses on three key areas where, through collaborations and partnerships around the globe, we have an enhanced ability to drive positive impact; Livelihoods, Climate and Nature. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit www.debeersgroup.com.