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Loading ...The Most Sustainable Bank in Emerging Markets?
Saturday, June 6th, 2009When the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced the winners of their annual Sustainable Banking Awards two days ago, guess who won among the emerging markets, beating out competitors from 37 countries? Brazil’s Itaú Unibanco. Last year the winner also was a Brazilian bank, Banco Real (now part of Grupo Santander Brasil). […]
Mato Grosso Requires Cell Phone Take-Back
Sunday, May 17th, 2009It’s a very brief law — two articles, a total of four lines. But it may have a significant impact on the Brazilian market for cell phones and their accessories if other states follow Mato Grosso’s (MT) lead. When MT passed its e-waste law last year, the list of items covered did not include cell […]
More Argentine WEEE Proposals
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009And the momentum for regulating e-waste keeps on building in Argentina… This week saw two bills proposed in Argentina on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or “e-waste” or “e-scrap”) this week, one at the provincial level and the other at the federal. At the federal level, a bill was introduced in the national congress […]
Justice Ministry to Service Firms: Improve Customer Service, or Else
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009Regulated service sectors are not complying with Brazil’s new rules on customer service, despite being given a (brief) grace period in order to bring their operations into line. So declared the Justice Ministry’s (MJ) Department of Protection of Consumer Rights (DPDC), which is now handing out fines, naming names, scrutinizing practices and issuing warnings. The […]
An E-Waste/RoHS Bill For Uruguay
Monday, September 29th, 2008Earlier this month a bill was introduced in the Uruguayan legislature to “create a management system for waste from electrical and electronic apparatuses.” Uruguay, it seems, is joining Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica among the Latin American nations finally moving to tackle the WEEE issue. The bill is relatively short (2 pages) and simple, […]
An E-Waste Bill for Santa Catarina / Projeto de Lei Sobre E-Lixo para Santa Catarina
Thursday, September 18th, 2008Earlier this month a bill was introduced in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (SC) to impose extended producer responsibility (EPR) for end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment — WEEE, e-waste or “technological trash” (lixo tecnológico) as Brazilians like to call it. SC is not the first state to attempt legislation on this subject. Mato […]
Cell Phone Recycling in Brazil Weak?
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008Last month Nokia publicized the results of a survey it commissioned of 6,500 consumers in 13 nations, among them Brazil (the only LAC nation included). By now you know the drill — this is The Temas Blog, so we care mostly about the LAC nation involved and very little about the other 12! [Besides, I […]
Puerto Rico to Regulate E-waste?
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008A Temas Note: As you know, The Temas Blog is first and foremost about Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Is Puerto Rico (PR) part of LAC? Many don’t include it in their classification of LAC because of its ties to the US. Others do, citing its geographic location and its sociocultural ties to Spanish-speaking […]
Cell Phone Recycling in Mexico
Monday, June 9th, 2008Synopsis in English: One of the downsides of being so long away from regular blogging is the tremendous backlog of things I wish to cover. This is one — the good news that as of end-April, Nokia and Movistar have taken their cell phone recycling efforts to Mexico. Movistar is a subsidiary of Spain’s Grupo […]
Ecomoto Comes to Colombia
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Synopsis in English: Motorola’s take-back program for cell phones (and two-way communicators) and their batteries and accessories (chargers, cords, earphones, etc.), ECOMOTO, has now expanded in Latin America from Brazil to Colombia. Designated collection points established in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Pereira will accept used cell phones, two-way radios, their batteries and accessories […]