Clare Francis

Nov 29, 2024 | pinsentmasons.com | Clare Francis

The requirement for large businesses to report on their payment terms and practices first came into force in April 2017. Companies and partnerships within the scope of the regulations have to report twice a year on metrics including the average time taken to pay supplier invoices. The rules have been amended recently. The changes came into force in April 2024, and will apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025.

Dec 14, 2023 | foreignpolicy.com | Clare Francis

Whether out of belief or opportunism, governments and civil society in the global north have embraced an incremental approach to climate action. According to this narrative, individual policies and small-scale cooperation are, together, more than the sum of their parts. Climate action will be achieved through the gradual accumulation of policy upon policy, rather than a silver bullet in the form of a binding global treaty.

Nov 28, 2023 | pinsentmasons.com | Clare Francis |Natalie Thompson

Unveiled in the chancellor’s autumn statement, the new Procurement Policy Note 10/23 (PPN) will require bidders to demonstrate that they are paying 95% of invoices within 60 days – and all their invoices within an average of 55 days – for relevant procurements advertised on or after 1 April 2024. The chancellor also outlined the intention for further tightening to an average of 45 days in April 2025, and to 30 days in the coming years.

Oct 15, 2023 | lowyinstitute.org | Clare Francis

On a bright afternoon in Midtown Manhattan last month, activists, experts, and officials gathered to celebrate the launch of a new movement to support the climate leadership of Indigenous women. While relegated to the sidelines of the 2023 United Nations General Assembly session underway at UN headquarters, Global South activists coming from Latin America to the Pacific Islands made it clear their voices would be central to any climate solution.

Jul 10, 2023 | pinsentmasons.com | Clare Francis

While tools such as Chat GPT have shot to prominence in the past year, use of it and other generative AI tools in the world of business to-date has been more cautious. Most businesses acknowledge the technology’s potential, but few have managed to really embrace its everyday use in operations. That is changing, though, as people explore the technology and better understand how it might be used in the business context.