Parliament’s Omnibus rapporteur Jörgen Warborn of the European People’s Party (EPP), announced the publication of draft amendments to the European Commission’s proposed “Omnibus” initiative to reduce the sustainability reporting and due requirements, suggesting significantly deeper cuts in the number of companies covered and the reporting obligations of the regulations. The draft will form the basis of the EPP’s position in…

The IFRS Foundation revealed today that 36 jurisdictions have adopted or otherwise used the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards), or are taking steps to introduce them into their regulatory frameworks, including 17 that have already finalized their approach to using the standards. The announcement marks continued progress towards the expansion of ISSB-based sustainability requirements over the past few months,…

Athletic apparel company lululemon athletica and Australian environmental technology startup Samsara Eco announced a new 10-year offtake agreement, providing recycled raw materials including nylon and polyester for use in Lululemon’s products. According to the companies, the new agreement could see Samsara Eco’s materials support approximately 20% of lululemon’s overall fibers portfolio. Launched in 2021, Samsara Eco uses enzymatic technology to…

From addressing global issues such as climate change and being a haven of biodiversity, to providing timber for construction, paper and packaging, forestry is an important natural global asset. According to the World Economic Forum, investing in forest conservation and restoration can benefit businesses as they become leading actors in the transition to a nature-positive, net-zero economy. Here, Paul McMahon,…

Environmental consultancy firm Reconomy has launched an initial investment of £1m into CircuLab, a sustainability research innovation hub in Bucharest, Romania, to advance its work in the circular economy. CircuLab will serve as an innovation hub for the company’s research into sustainability, environmental science, resource management and chemistry. It will focus on the development of new use cases, propositions and ways…

Andrew Parry, head of investments at JO Hambro Capital Management (JOHCM) and Regnan, has announced his retirement after over 40 years in the investment industry.  Parry took a step back from work at the end of last year due to ill health, and said treatment has been successful. However, he has decided to retire from full-time work and “embrace a…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Sarah Pritchard as deputy chief executive. The regulator said the new role has been created to reflect the its expanding remit, with the integration of the Payment Systems Regulator, regulation of stablecoin and crypto firms, as well as buy now pay later activities. In the role, Pritchard will also support the FCA’s increasingly international…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to repeal a series of regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from fossil fuel-based power plants, arguing that GHG emissions from power plants “do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution” within the scope of the underlying regulation. According to a 2022 EPA estimate, the electric power sector…

Weaker global economic growth, recent regulatory changes in Europe and a downward sentiment among investors on ESG could affect near-term issuance of green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds (GSSS) in emerging markets, despite the long-term outlook remaining robust, according to the latest research from Amundi. The global economy faces heightened levels of uncertainty, but underlying market drivers are apparent, such as…

The Sierra Club has urged institutional investors — particularly asset owners, such as pension funds — to confront climate change as a systemic financial threat to the global economy and long-term portfolio returns in its latest paper. The paper is organised in two parts: first, it explains why climate change must be treated as a system-level financial threat; then, it outlines…