Dozens of firms risk losing B Corp status after standards overhaul

Dozens of companies may be at risk of losing their coveted B Corp ethical status after the organisation behind the corporate kite-marking system raised the standards required to qualify.B Lab, which oversees B Corp certification, launched the biggest overhaul in its 19-year history earlier this month, scrapping a system under which companies must gather enough points across multiple categories to qualify.Previously, businesses that performed poorly in one of five areas, such as their environmental record, could make up for it by scoring highly in another category, such as corporate governance or their treatment of staff.The criteria required for B Corp status came under the spotlight in 2022, when the Scottish brewer BrewDog lost its certification after high-profile allegations about a “toxic” workplace culture.The organisation has also faced criticism for certifying the coffee company Nespresso, in an open letter from the Oregon-based non-profit Fair World Project, sent the same year

Thousands of small UK firms’ energy bills set to more than double due to Iran war

Thousands of independent businesses across the UK are braced for their energy bills to more than double owing to the sharp rise in heating oil costs as the war in Iran pushed Europe’s fuel market prices to fresh record highs.About 7% of all small and medium-sized companies warm their properties and provide hot water using heating oil, which in some cases has more than doubled in recent weeks.Companies in rural areas are often not connected to the gas grid, meaning they have an even greater reliance on heating oil, which is a form of kerosene linked to the cost of jet fuel. It is used by about 17% of rural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).The trade association has heard from members who have already begun rationing their fuel use to cope with the sharp rise in prices over recent weeks

UK’s leading AI research institute told to make ‘significant’ changes

The UK’s leading AI research institute has been told to make “significant” changes by its main source of taxpayer funding.The Guardian revealed last week that the board of the Alan Turing Institute was reminded of its legal duties by the charity watchdog after a whistleblower complaint.The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) body, which awarded the ATI a five-year, £100m funding package in 2024 and is its largest single source of funds, said it had conducted a review of the institute and found it underperforming in terms of strategy and delivering value for money.“The review concluded that overall strategic alignment and value for money are not yet satisfactory,” the UKRI said.Last summer, the government made clear that it expected a strategic overhaul at the nominally independent organisation and indicated the need for management changes, adding that its funding could be reviewed

Google to tap into gas plant for AI datacenter in sharp turn from climate goals

Google’s plan for a partnership with a natural gas power plant that could provide energy for one of its datacenters in Texas was unearthed by new research and confirmed by the company. The move is part of an ongoing about-face for the tech giant, which once pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030 and has long been seen as a pioneer in clean energy.The gas power plant is slated to be built in Armstrong county, a sparsely populated area in the Texas panhandle. According to a report by the research organization Cleanview, the project is being led by Crusoe Energy, which partnered with Google to develop the datacenter campus known as “Goodnight”, named after a nearby town.Crusoe filed for a permit in January to build the 933-megawatt power plant on the site of the Goodnight campus, which showed the facility would operate off the grid and provide energy to at least two buildings on the campus, according to Cleanview

Sir Craig Reedie, key London 2012 Olympics figure and former BOA chair, dies aged 84

Sir Craig Reedie, a giant of the Olympic movement, who served as chair of the British Olympic Association for more than a decade and was instrumental in bringing the Games to London in 2012, has died at the age of 84.Tributes have poured in for the Scots-born Reedie, who was also president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) when Russia was found guilty of state-sponsored doping across “a vast majority” of winter and summer sports, including at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. During this tumultuous period, Reedie and Wada recommended that Russia be banned from the 2016 Rio Games – a call that was ultimately rejected by the International Olympic Committee.Reedie was vice-president of the IOC during part of his Wada tenure and a former badminton competitor who led the campaign for its Olympic inclusion starting at Barcelona ‘92.Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, who led the organising committee for the London Games on whose board Reedie sat, said: “I am devastated for his family

County cricket: Sussex beat Leicestershire, Yorkshire draw against Glamorgan – as it happened

Four lots of last-gasp ditch-digging brought the first round of County Championship games to a tense finish.Northamptonshire’s last pair defied Lancashire for an hour to earn a draw at Wantage Road, strung together by an unbeaten 197-ball 95 from George Bartlett. The game looked done when James Anderson and the new ball reduced Northants to 181 for nine, but Ben Sanderson gave brave support and Bartlett straight-batted the final over from Tom Hartley despite a warren of close fielders.Derbyshire gnashed their teeth at the County Ground, as Matthew Waite and Ethan Brookes masterminded a Worcestershire rearguard action, brushing off an attack including Mohammad Abbas and Shoaib Bashir.Tawanda Muyeye’s unbeaten 109 off just 121 balls for Kent kept out Durham at Chester-le-Street and a rollercoaster match at Sophia Gardens was enlivened by a brave declaration from Glamorgan’s captain, Kiran Carlson