In the wake of the hostile environment: migration, reproduction and the Windrush scandal

This article examines the place of reproduction in the UK migration policy popularly known as ‘the hostile environment’, introduced in 2012 by the Conservative–Lib Dem Coalition government, and the ‘Windrush scandal’ that followed. In order to think through how the reproductive sphere comes in to play in this policy and its consequences, I draw on theoretical insights from the work of Christina Sharpe and Saidiya Hartman, both of whom invite us to reflect on the ways in which the afterlife of enslavement and empire continues to impinge on the status of Black subjects, and the ways in which our notions of the maternal, reproduction, kinship and belonging are entangled in this process. I begin by examining the place of the reproductive sphere in the hostile environment policy itself, before moving on to discuss the Windrush scandal and the ways in which it can be seen as an attack on the reproductive needs of its victims. I then consider these findings further through an engagement with the work of Sharpe and Hartman, arguing that the scandal reveals ways in which we continue to live ‘in the wake’ of racialised understandings of the reproductive that mean that some people are refused the possibilities of attachment and affiliation, so that, in Hartman's words, theirs is ‘the perilous condition of existing in a world in which you have no investment’. In the final section, I respond to Sharpe's call for white people to ‘rend the fabric of the kinship narrative’ that produces these exclusionary terms of belonging and permits the repetition of such brutalities as the hostile environment.

An assessment of implementation gaps and priority recommendations on food environment policies: the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) in Japan

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate policies and actions for food environments by the Japanese Government using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI). Design: Public health experts rated the extent of implementation of food environment-related the Policy and the Infrastructure-support components, compared to international best practices. Subsequently, the experts proposed and prioritized future actions to address implementation gaps in an online workshop. Setting: Japan Participants: A total of 66 experts rated policy implementation by the Japanese Government, and 23 participated in the workshop on future actions. Results: The implementations of regulations on unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages were rated low in the domains of Food composition, Food labelling, Food promotion, Food prices, and Food retail in the Policy component. The implementations of several domains in the Infrastructure-support component were, overall, rated at a higher level, specifically for monitoring and intelligence systems. Based on the rating, reducing health inequalities by supporting people, both economically and physically, was the highest priority for future actions in both components. Conclusions: This study found that Japan has a robust system for long-term monitoring of population health but lacks regulations on unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages compared to international best practices. This study confirmed the importance of continuous accumulation of evidence through national monitoring systems. Developing comprehensive regulations to restrict food marketing, sales, and accessibility of unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages are needed to improve the health of food environments in Japan.

Nutrition Policies in Germany: A Systematic Assessment with the Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)

Objective: To systematically assess Germany’s nutrition policies, to benchmark them against international best practices, and to identify priority policy actions to improve population-level nutrition in Germany. Design: We applied the Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI), a methodological framework developed by the INFORMAS network. Qualitative content analysis of laws, directives and other documents formed the basis of a multi-staged, structured consultation process. Setting: Germany. Participants: The expert consultation process included 55 experts from academia, public administration, and civil society. Results: Germany lags behind international best practices in several key policy areas. For 18 policy indicators, the degree of implementation compared to international best practices was rated as very low, for 21 as low, for 8 as intermediate, and for none as high. In particular, indicators on food taxation, regulation of food marketing, and retail and food service sector policies were rated as very low to low. Identified priority actions included the binding implementation of nutrition standards for schools and kindergartens, a reform of the value added tax on foods and beverages, a sugar-sweetened beverage tax and stricter regulation of food marketing directed at children. Conclusions: The results show that Germany makes insufficient use of the potential of evidence-informed health-promoting nutrition policies. Adopting international best practices in key policy areas could help to reduce the burden of nutrition-related chronic disease and related inequalities in nutrition and health in Germany. Implementation of relevant policies requires political leadership, a broad societal dialogue, and evidence-informed advocacy by civil society, including the scientific community.

Quantifying CO emission rates of industrial point sources from TROPOMI observations

This work demonstrates for the first time the capability of Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) routine operations to quantify CO emission rates down to industrial point sources. We have quantified CO emission rates of four industrial point sources in Asia (i.e., Qianlishan industrial park (39.9°N, 106.9°E), Jiuyuan industrial park (40.7°N, 109.7°E) and Botian industrial park (42.2°N, 125.2°E) in China, and Jindal Factory (15.2°N, 76.7°E) in India) with TROPOMI CO observations from 2017 to 2020. The Qianlishan industrial park is a missing source in emission inventory and we quantify it to be ~14.0 kg/s. Our estimates for other three sources vary over 14.4 to 34.3 kg/s, which are within 37–69% of the inventory values. The plume inversion methods are presented in a manner that can be easily used to other fine-scale emission plumes observed from space. Though only a small number of CO plumes per year for any given industrial point source can be observed in conditions suitable for emission rates estimation, there are many industrial point sources can be captured by a good TROPOMI footprint. This work affirms that a constellation of future CO satellites could monitor individual CO point source emissions to support environment policy.

Implementation of Sustainable Finance and Environment

This study aims to determine management's perception of strategy in implementing sustainable finance and environment in related companies. This study uses primary data with phenomenological research methods obtained through interviews, documentation, and analysis of the content of sustainability reports to obtain more detailed information. The subject of this research is the management of a construction company in Indonesia. The result of this research is the implementation to achieve sustainable finance is by budgeting for investment by considering environmental, social, and governance factors. Implementation of sustainable finance as a component of green finance that aims to support balanced economic growth. The implementation of a sustainable environment along with the company's social aspects is summarized in the K3L (Health, Occupational Safety, and Environment) policy.

Communicating sustainable environment and pro-poor policy in tourism in Indonesia: A discourse network analysis

The development of tourism to increase the regional economy sometimes becomes a source of environmental damages. The problem that is addressed in this paper is: how can tourism development support the sustainable environment policy and at the same time increase the economy. This study aims to analyze how the values of sustainable environment and economic development are represented and discussed in the tourism policy of Geopark Karangsambung-Karangbolong (GKK), Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia. This study employs a quantitative approach with Discourse Network Analysis as the main technique. The data is taken from the news stories published on the geopark.kebumenkab.go.id before the Covid-19 pandemic (January 2019 – March 15, 2020) and during the pandemic (March 16, 2020 – June 30, 2021). The unit of analysis is words or phrases in the news story which represent: (1) discourses on preserving the healthy environment; (2) discourses on improving the economic welfare and reducing poverty; and (3) network of actors related to the discourse. This study finds that the communication of GKK sustainable environment policy contains discourses on sustainable tourism, affirmative actions to poverty reduction in the region, and the involvement of the pentahelix elements.

Benchmarking for accountability on obesity prevention: evaluation of the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) in Australia (2016 – 2020)

Objective: Despite broad agreement on the need for comprehensive policy action to improve the healthiness of food environments, implementation of recommended policies has been slow and fragmented. Benchmarking is increasingly being used to strengthen accountability for action. However, there have been few evaluations of benchmarking and accountability initiatives to understand their contribution to policy change. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) Australia initiative (2016-2020) that assessed Australian governments on their progress in implementing recommended policies for improving food environments. Design: A convergent mixed methods approach was employed incorporating data from online surveys (conducted in 2017 and 2020) and in-depth semi-structured interviews (conducted in 2020). Data were analysed against a pre-defined logic model. Setting: Australia. Participants: Interviews: 20 stakeholders (16 government, 4 non-government). Online surveys: 53 non-government stakeholders (52% response rate) in 2017; 34 non-government stakeholders (36% response rate) in 2020. Results: The Food-EPI process involved extensive engagement with government officials and the broader public health community across Australia. Food-EPI Australia was found to support policy processes, including as a tool to increase knowledge of good practice, as a process for collaboration, and as an authoritative reference to support policy decisions and advocacy strategies. Conclusions: Key stakeholders involved in the Food-EPI Australia process viewed it as a valuable initiative that should be repeated to maximise its value as an accountability mechanism. The highly collaborative nature of the initiative was seen as a key strength that could inform design of other benchmarking processes.