News

Citation

Heap, J. (2015), "News", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 64 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-05-2015-0071

News

Article Type: News From: International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Volume 64, Issue 6.

The ships are OK … already

CE Delft has released yet another study on the environmental performance of ships, this time showing that new ships are already meeting 2020 design standard set by International Maritime Organization (IMO). It is accompanied by a call for greater ambition at IMO and follows an earlier report that drew the ire of the International Chamber of Shipping and others in the industry.

The study, commissioned by Brussels-based NGOs Seas at Risk and Transport & Environment, calculated the Estimated Index Values (EIVs) of new ships built between 2009 and 2014 and concluded that the majority of container and general cargo ships built in recent years already meet the IMO’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) standards set for 2020.

Take a bow, Washington

Many cities are trying to improve their environmental performance. In the USA, there are now more than 25,000 commercial buildings across the country that have earned Energy Star certification – a strict energy performance standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On average such buildings use 35 per cent less energy and are responsible for 35 per cent fewer emissions than typical buildings.

Of course, some cities have more efficient buildings than others and every year the agency ranks the US metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star buildings in the past year.

Los Angeles topped the list for six consecutive years after the programme launched in 2009, but has now lost its crown to Washington.

The nation’s capital boasts 480 Energy Star certified buildings, edging out the City of Angels’ still-impressive 475. All told, District of Columbia’s Energy Star buildings have saved $127.1 million in utility bills and the equivalent electricity use of 73,500 homes.

The USA needs to Do something

From 1947 through 2005, the average growth of labour productivity in the USA was 2.4 per cent per year. But since 2005, average annual productivity growth has slowed to 1.4 per cent. Last year it fell to zero, despite the fact that productivity growth usually accelerates during economic expansions. And the trend is worsening despite the collapse in energy prices, which would be expected to boost productivity rather than hamper it.

Cross my palm

Solidaridad, a non-profit organisation that supports the sustainable development of farmers and production systems in west Africa, has organised an outreach programme explaining to farmers about its Sustainable West Africa oil Palm Programme (SWAPP), aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of small to medium enterprises, farms and mills in the oil palm sector.

Korsi Yankey, Consultant at Solidaridad said it has also introduced a SWAPP incubator with the aim of providing incubation support to help grow businesses and accelerate the development of a larger and more productive oil palm sector in west Africa.

She said the incubator would also help create opportunities for innovation, and develop and sustain an enabling environment with greater impact for oil palm sector.

Heat loss

Worker productivity lost due to heat stress cost Australia some US$6.2 billion (AUS$7.92 billion) in 2013/2014, says a study that also warns of worse to come as the planet warms.

Three-quarters of respondents to a productivity questionnaire said they were affected by heat at the workplace over a 12-month period, according to findings published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Monday.

In all, 70 per cent said heat had made them less productive on at least one day in the previous 12 months, and 7 per cent said they had been absent from work at least one day.

Based on data obtained from the representative group of 1,726 working Australians aged 18-65, a team of international researchers calculated the annual cost of absenteeism and impaired performance due to heat at US$655 per person.

“This represents an annual economic burden of around US$6.2 billion for the Australian workforce”, the team wrote. “This amounts to 0.33 to 0.47% of Australia’s GDP”.

The study was done in a particularly hot period in Australian history – 2013 was the warmest year on record and 2014 the third warmest.

Will women save Japan?

Economic growth comes from a combination of rising labour productivity combined with a growing workforce.

This is a problem for a country like Japan where the population – about 127 million – has been in decline since 2010, due to low birth rates and Japan’s traditional ambivalence about immigration.

In addition to the governments aggressive economic policies there are signs of a growing participation in the workforce by Japanese women.

“This is simply bigger than anything else Japan could have done”, said Adam Posen, President of the Peteresen Institution for International Economics at a conference on growth in the Asia Pacific region. Posen, a long-time student of the Japanese economy, argues that the addition of more Japanese women to the labour force actually is a double whammy. First off, it boosts the size of the labour force. But it also increases labour force productivity given the high levels of education of Japanese women. “There’s been parity in education, but not parity in employment, so bringing women into the workforce raises the average skill level of the workforce”, Posen said.