The week that was: 18 Mar 08 - 25 Mar 08
At a time when procurement are holding the T&E spend purse-strings ever more tightly it’s reassuring to know that some companies are still doing everything they can to tempt executives into breaking the bank. From October, Emirates will be offering its first-class passengers the opportunity to take a hot shower in midair on their new Airbus A380’s, although if you’re squeamish, ELP suggests you look away now before we tell you how much it costs for the privilege – a whopping £9,000. It’s unlikely to do much for your own (or your company’s) carbon footprint either. According to the Sunday Times, aircraft will have to carry an extra tonne of water to feed the first class shower – incurring a carbon cost of 48,455lb for every return flight. Still, at least you’ll be clean when you touch down in the Big Apple.
Quote of the week: "I can imagine a situation of high commodity prices driving Fairtrade organisations where they lose a lot of their previous market" - Brink Lindsey, vice-president for research at Cato Institute in Washington, explains why the global economic slowdown could impact on sales of Fairtrade products.
The soaring price of rice is creating a rather unique set of problems in Thailand – the world’s number rice exporter. ELP has learnt, although thankfully not at first hand, that bandits in South East Asia are targeting paddy fields across the country, after a 30 per cent rise in the cost of Thai premium fragrant rice (a tonne of the stuff will now set you back $900). Reports have suggested that villagers to the north of Bangkok, Thailand’s main rice-producing region, have now taken matters into their own hands and are patrolling the community to protect their country’s most valuable crop, whilst some rice farmers – presumably in waterproofs - are sleeping in their paddy fields to warn off the bandits. Is nothing safe anymore?
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