Local Scottish charities have received £13,000 from INEOS, the global chemicals and manufacturing company, to help fund causes close to the hearts of the teams at INEOS FPS, O&P UK and Petroineos.
The donation comes from the INEOS Tour de France challenge where 122 teams of employees from across INEOS took part in an ambitious cycling challenge. Riding in teams from across its sites to complete the distance of every stage of the world-famous Tour de France cycle race. This year, 2800 employees took part – and have together cycled over 1.3 million kms.
The 122 teams who have completed all 21 stages have won the right to donate the equivalent to a chosen local charity. The teams participating on behalf of INEOS FPS, O&P UK and Petroineos in Grangemouth, Scotland have chosen 13 charities to receive this donation.
Funds raised will support charities close to the team member’s hearts such as Strathcarron Hospice and Dowards House, which provides specialist hospice care and expert end of life care for the elderly.
Kiran’s Trust is another charity supported by the INEOS teams which aims to support young people, typically 7 to 17 years old, development through education and sport as well as Jamie’s Sanctuary which supports young people in the area who are struggling with mental health issues and addiction.
Other charities that have been donated to include Forth Valley First Responders, Woodland View School in Kirkintilloch, British Heart Foundation, Marion’s Still Smiling, Scottish Association for Mental Health, FDAMH, Cycling Without Age Scotland, and VIE Velo (Visually Impaired Edinburgh).
“The INEOS Tour de France Challenge is another brilliant initiative set up by INEOS to support local communities all over the world.”
This year, the Tour de France challenge saw 2,800 members of the INEOS team from 33 countries around the world cycle a total of 1.3 million km the equivalent 3 and a half trips to the moon.
The aim of the challenge was for each of the teams to complete the equivalent distance of each stage of the iconic Tour de France, each day, many of them squeezing in cycling sessions before, during and after work.
Unite members working at the INEOS refinery at Grangemouth have won a legal battle that strengthens collective bargaining rights and will prevent employers bypassing unions to impose pay deals on employees.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ordered global chemical firm, INEOS, to pay compensation to 28 Unite members employed at its Grangemouth site of £3,830 each, after it tried to impose a 2.8 per cent pay award on them in 2017. Their union, Unite, had previously rejected the offer.
This latest ruling strengthens the law on ‘unlawful inducements’ to surrender trade union rights. It builds on the ground-breaking Kostal UK Lytd v Dunkley and ors case, which Thompsons successfully won alongside Unite the Union last year.
Neil Todd, trade union specialist at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “This is a key victory not only for the Unite members involved, but for all workers in trade unions across the UK.
“The right of a recognised trade union to collectively bargain on behalf of its members is fundamental to workers’ rights and this judgment makes clear that it should be respected by employers.
“Along with the Kostal case, a spotlight is finally being thrown by the courts on trade union bargaining rights and it’s not looking good for employers who think they can ignore trade unions when they choose”
The Unite members argued that imposing the pay increase outside the collective bargaining process amounted to an unlawful inducement to give up collective bargaining rights.
Documents disclosed during the legal proceedings revealed a member of the firm’s senior leadership team had suggested the company needed to “engineer a way to get rid of Unite and replace them with a different representative body” after its members refused to vote in favour of the proposed offer.
The initial tribunal in 2018 ruled in favour of the workers, but INEOS appealed the judgment and that appeal was subsequently delayed pending the outcome of the related Kostal UK Lytd v Dunkley and ors case, which had progressed to the Supreme Court.
The Kostal case saw Unite members, again represented by Thompsons Solicitors, successfully take legal action against their Rotherham-based employer for trying to bypass union pay negotiations
. This was a ground-breaking case, billed at the time as the most important trade union rights case in over a decade – and the first case in the UK’s highest court on trade union bargaining rights.
Mr Todd said: “This victory sends a clear message to employers. One, you won’t get away with issuing statements of intent to vary an employee’s pay and deem that offer accepted if the employee continues to work.
“And two, you can’t simply declare something to be “a final offer” to suggest collective bargaining is exhausted and then bypass the recognised trade union to make direct approaches to workers.
“We are delighted to build on our ground-breaking Kostal case. Both cases make clear the central role trade unions play in the workplace and should give comfort to union members up and down the country.”
Unite says that the long-anticipated Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) judgment has huge ramifications for workers everywhere.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “This is an important legal victory for Unite and the wider trade union movement.
“Employers everywhere should take note. Unite the union will use every tool at its disposal to defend collective bargaining and will not tolerate employers like INEOS trying to bypass their obligations to negotiate.”
INEOS FPS has committed to reduce emissions from its operations to Net Zero by 2045
INEOS has already made progress, with emissions reductions of 37% since it acquired the site in 2005
The deployment of innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology will further reduce emissions from its operations, demonstrating the company’s commitment to meeting UK/ Scottish Government targets
INEOS FPS has announced plans to deploy innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven optimisation technology at its Kinneil Terminal in Grangemouth that will deliver further carbon emissions reductions from its operations.
The decision follows the announcement of INEOS’ commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations in Grangemouth by more than 60% by 2030 as it targets Net Zero by 2045.
As part of its road map, the business is already making significant investments in emissions reduction projects at Grangemouth and deploying AI technology at Kinneil is another tool that will enable it to achieve the next phase of the transition to Net Zero.
Working with data analytics experts, OPEX Group, INEOS FPS will deploy the firm’s emissions.AI software, which optimises complex industrial facilities to deliver lower carbon emissions.
A real benefit emissions.AI will bring to INEOS’ systems is the way the tool calculates lowest achievable emissions; learning from the information received from hundreds of data points across our processes and always looking for what can be done better.
We believe that once the new software is fully integrated there is the potential to identify up to a 10% reduction in existing emissions – with further opportunities thereafter.
Opex Group’s emissions.AI software is leading edge technology. It will continuously monitor energy use across the Kinneil Terminal to pinpoint opportunities to minimise fuel and power consumption and further optimise plant operations. As well as having access to real time emissions data in greater detail the software will allow INEOS FPS’ operational teams to know when and where to optimise processes and plant for lower emissions.
Andrew Gardner, Chief Executive at INEOS FPS commented; “The installation of the emissions.AI software takes energy management to a new level, that will lead to significant CO2 savings.
“We are committed to delivering our roadmap to net zero and see technology as a key enabler to achieving our decarbonisation goals. Across our organisation we are embedding a culture of carbon awareness, including as part of daily operations. AI will assist our teams in unlocking immediate operational emissions savings by making emissions data instantly available to them.”
Chris Ayres, Chief Customer Officer at OPEX said: “We are delighted to support INEOS in their drive to reduce carbon emissions. Turning existing operational data into actionable emissions intelligence will give INEOS FPS’ teams access to the information they need to drive faster and better informed operational decisions, and get after day-to-day emissions savings opportunities.
“Data holds the key to empowering operations teams to contribute to decarbonisation targets. To gain a much deeper understanding of the emissions profile of their assets and identify the actions they can take to make a difference, today.”
· INEOS, Europe’s biggest operator of electrolysis needed to produce clean, low carbon hydrogen, has doubled down on more than €2 billion investment in green hydrogen with the launch of a hydrogen campaign.
· The campaign kicked off with the publication of a cornerstone editorial in the Sunday Telegraph on the hydrogen economy written by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS’s founder and Chairman.
· Today sees this followed by a national multi-media campaign that includes substantial billboard and digital advertising as well as a hydrogen innovation bus tour and presence in Glasgow at COP26.
· Sir Jim says: “Hydrogen is the dream fuel. You can heat your home with it. You can drive your car on it. Burn it and all it produces is energy and the only by product is water. We can all live with that. The world has committed to hugely reducing its carbon emissions and hydrogen is unquestionably going to play a large part in accomplishing this goal.”
· INEOS Automotive is also exploring new opportunities in the hydrogen economy, with a hydrogen fuel cell demonstrator of its Grenadier 4×4 now in development
Hydrogen is a fabulous, clean source of energy that can be used as both a raw material for industry and as a power source for transport and the home. It has a massive role to play in lowering the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and INEOS is committed to playing a leading role in the hydrogen revolution.
INEOS through its subsidiary INOVYN is Europe’s largest existing operator of electrolysis, the critical technology which uses renewable energy to produce hydrogen for power generation, transportation & industrial use.
INEOS already produces and uses 400,000 tonnes of low carbon hydrogen every year, the equivalent of replacing up to 2 billion litres of diesel. It knows how to make, transport, store and use hydrogen.
Being a user and producer of hydrogen puts INEOS in a unique position at the heart of green hydrogen development. And the company has announced that it intends to invest more than €2 billion in new production of green hydrogen across Europe.
It is also launching a major hydrogen advocacy campaign to draw attention to both the benefits and applications of hydrogen. The campaign will include significant billboard and digital advertising in London and Glasgow, a UK hydrogen bus tour and the exhibiting of a hydrogen powered car at COP 26.
Sir Jim says: “Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes etc. have many demonstration hydrogen engines happily driving around. We will have a hydrogen INEOS Grenadier on test next year (alongside an electric version). This piece of the jigsaw is the most advanced.”
The company’s INEOS Automotive division is backing hydrogen fuel cells as the clean powertrain solution for future versions of its upcoming 4X4 vehicle. Thanks to a partnership agreement signed in November 2020, the Grenadier hydrogen fuel cell concept will use fuel cell technology from Hyundai Motor Company, with testing to begin by the end of 2022.
In the longer term, hydrogen’s other massive contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases will be in the home heating space where natural gas can be replaced by hydrogen which could cut greenhouses gases by up to a third on its own.
Wherever possible, INEOS will continue to prioritise the production of green hydrogen which is made from water using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, but it is also investing in the production of blue hydrogen when the carbon produced can be safely captured and stored underground.
Sir Jim, also has a message for Government: “The infrastructure, clearly critical, needs government push on legislation and investment. The German government is well advanced with nine billion Euros committed and over 200 filling stations operational.
“The UK government has yet to get out of the blocks but hopefully soon will. The UK has only a handful of hydrogen pumps today.”
● Every school in Scotland is invited to bring the nation together on 18th June to take part in “Scotland Does The Daily Mile.”
● The Daily Mile Foundation is also very excited to announce Olympic athlete and teacher Eilidh Doyle as the first ambassador for Scotland Does The Daily Mile Campaign and The Daily Mile #TravelTo Tokyo.
● Elaine Wyllie, Founder of The Daily Mile says, “Getting our children active is more important than ever, and it is very encouraging to see so many schools already signed up to Scotland Does The Daily Mile. The past year has been challenging for everyone and we want to get that sense of community and comradery back. I hope you can all join us for our six week challenge which finishes with Scotland Does The Daily Mile event on the 18th June!”
● The Daily Mile currently has over 3 million children running a mile every day across 12,000 schools in 80 countries.
The Daily Mile Foundation supported by Scottish Athletics, INEOS and SAMH is to host its first national event across Scottish schools on 18th June.
Over 40% of schools in Scotland are already signed up to The Daily Mile and many more are expected to join across the country in coming weeks. The event aims to encourage children to be more active, to improve their physical, mental, social health and wellbeing.
The Daily Mile is a transformative initiative where children run, jog, wheel or walk for fifteen minutes every day. The initiative has enjoyed phenomenal success since it was started by Elaine Wyllie eight years ago when she was headteacher at a primary school in Stirling.
The Daily Mile Foundation is also pleased to announce Eilidh Doyle, Olympic medallist and Scotland’s most decorated track and field athlete is encouraging schools across Scotland to get involved. Eilidh has been nominated as the ambassador for “Scotland does the Daily Mile”. Her love for running alongside combined with expertise as a teacher is inspiring for children up and down the country.
Eilidh said, “I’m delighted to be the Ambassador for The Daily Mile in Scotland and support this project as I think it is a really positive initiative to get young people more active. As a former teacher I approve!”
“It’s fantastic to see so many schools signed up so far and I’d urge as many schools as possible to get involved. I’m excited to be endorsing this programme because I feel passionately that youngsters should be given the opportunity to be active and that hopefully starts out at primary school. Exercising with friends is so much fun and being active from a young age has many benefits.”
Robert Nesbitt, Head of Physical Activity and Sport at SAMH said: “Over recent months children and young people have faced unprecedented challenges; with disruption to their routines, changes in their education and time away from their family and friends, which we know has affected their wellbeing and mental health.
“Now that schools have returned, physical activity is a brilliant way for children and young people to get involved and feel connected again, which is why SAMH is delighted to support The Daily Mile initiative, which encourages young people to come together to get active and in turn develop vital connections with their peers and teachers.”
The Daily Mile currently has over 3 million children running a daily mile across 12,000 schools in 80 countries but this is the first national event in Scotland of its kind. The hope is to capture the camaraderie that children have missed while schools have been closed, providing young people the opportunity to be active, have fun with their friends in this health and wellbeing initiative.
Elaine Wyllie, Founder of The Daily Mile says: “Getting our children active is more important than ever, and it is very encouraging to see so many schools already signed up to The Daily Mile in Scotland.
“The past year has been challenging for everyone and we want to get that sense of community and fun back in our schools. I hope you can all still join us for our Travel To Tokyo challenge which finishes with Scotland Does The Daily Mile event on the 18th June! There’s still plenty of time to get involved!”
“Scotland Does The Daily Mile” will also mark the finale of a six week challenge The Daily Mile #TravelToTokyo, which began on the 10th May encouraging teams of children to run, jog, or wheel the equivalent distance of Scotland to Tokyo, learning about different countries along the way, in a celebration for the upcoming events this summer.
‘Extinction Rebellion claim they want to save the planet but you have to ask what planet they are on when they are intent on causing so much disruption to the lives of hard-working people’ – Gary Smith, GMB Scotland.
XR Scotland are taking action today against Ineos, Scotland’s biggest climate polluter as part of their Make the Connections campaign highlighting the collusion between government, fossil fuels and finance on maintaining business as usual in the face of catastrophic climate breakdown
Small affinity groups of no more than 6 individuals have locked themselves together at the gates and aim to remain there all day
Two boats are being used to block the entrances to the refinery and the headquarters.
This morning, Extinction Rebellion Scotland activists blocked the entrances to Ineos in Grangemouth. Groups of no more than six have locked themselves together and they have parked ‘Amal Gous’,the iconic purple boat named after the activist and tea seller killed by Sudanese troops in 2019 and is painted with the words ‘Act Now: The future you fear is already here‘ at the Bo’ness Rd gate.
Another boat is parked at the Ineos office on Inchyra Road, with more activists locked on, painted with the words “Just Transition”.
This boat has been named ‘Ogoni Nine’ in honour of the activists who opposed Shell’s land grab of the Niger Delta for decades and were eventually executed in 1995 for their efforts. The UK and its fossil fuel driven economy continues to profit from the suffering of others. XR Scotland demands that any just transition away from fossil fuels also redresses injustices both internationally and historically.
A further demonstration took place outside the Ineos office in London from 8am – 10am.
Covid-19 safety precautions are being taken, including face masks, social distancing, use of hand sanitiser, and participating activists are using a track and trace app.
The five oil, chemical and power plants owned by the company at Grangemouth spewed 3.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the air during 2019, while Ineos’ owner Jim Ratcliffe, 75th richest man in the world, has recently moved to Monaco to escape paying tax.
Yet it is pure hypocrisy to be profiting from the suffering of some of the poorest communities in the States, who are experiencing the horrific and unjust effects of living in a place where fracking happens – terrorised by earthquakes, contaminated water supplies and flaring.
Ineos is also attempting to resurrect plans to drill for underground gas in central Scotland, intensely lobbying our representatives for their own gain.
Today’s action has been taken in the spirit of this: Extinction Rebellion Scotland aims to actively cut emissions with our actions today by shutting down the Ineos plant.
Mark, 46, a care worker from Glasgow, said: “I’m here today as an everyday citizen with Extinction Rebellion Scotland to highlight the fact that Ineos are Scotland’s single biggest polluter driving climate change.
“Controversial fracked gas is imported from the U.S. to be turned into plastics here at Grangemouth, and Ineos recently requested a £550 million bailout of tax-payers money due to losses they claim Covid restrictions caused, all while Jim Ratcliffe the majority owner and CEO of Ineos, the richest (or 3rd richest, depending on source) man in the U.K. has been accused of tax evasion as he recently changed his status to being domiciled in Monaco, a tax haven”.
Annie Lane, 26 from Glasgow said: “Ineos Grangemouth is Scotland’s largest climate polluter. It is Scotland’s only crude oil refinery. It also stores fracked gas from the States. Given the widely assumed ‘ban’ on fracking in Scotland, for fracked gas which harms communities worldwide to still be processed here is outrageously hypocritical.
“We are here to expose the climate destruction that Ineos is causing. We are running out of time, with the climate crisis affecting so many in the global south already. If Scotland really wants to be the “Climate Leaders” they claim to be, we need to see a just transition to a greener and fairer society, led by ordinary people and not corrupt billionaires like Jim Ratcliffe.”
Meg Peyton Jones from Edinburgh said: “We’re ten years on from Scotland’s first Climate Act, and yet plants such as Grangemouth are still being expanded.
“We cannot trust big oil corporations to prioritise the planet and the long term wellbeing of either their workers or the general population above squeezing every last drop of oil and gas out of the North Sea, no matter how much they try to distract us with greenwash about renewables.
“The government, big oil and big finance companies have outwardly promised for decades to reduce our destruction of the climate, whilst continuing to profit from it. We cannot continue to believe they will solve this crisis they created for their own gain: we need a people-led, worker-led solution, made for the people, by the people – not for profit by the profiteers.”
The campaigners’ actions have been criticised by the GMB Scotland trade union.
Responding to today’s blockade of the Grangemouth petrochemical site by Extinction Rebellion, GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said:“Extinction Rebellion look detached from the reality and struggles of working people across Scotland today. We are in the middle of a public health crisis and we are about to be hit by the biggest jobs crisis in a generation.
“This comes in the same week where Scotland has been caught again exporting the jobs of the future in offshore wind manufacturing, while our workhorse industries like energy and aviation are facing decimation. Our economy is in dire straits and no one in Scottish politics has a credible plan for jobs to aid our post-COVID recovery, but they seem willing to indulge Extinction Rebellion.
“Extinction Rebellion claim they want to save the planet but you have to ask what planet they are on when they are intent on causing so much disruption to the lives of hard-working people. They are looking and acting like part of the problem, not the solution.”
Workplaces encouraged to sign up for the Daily Mile
Scotland’s children have inspired one of the biggest energy firms in the UK to help make their staff healthier, happier and more productive. ScottishPower has become the first company to sign up to “The Daily Mile”™ – the free initiative credited with making primary school pupils fitter, more resilient and more focused in lessons.Continue reading Scotland takes another step towards becoming the world’s first Daily Mile nation
