A U.S. federal judge has denied motions to dismiss most of the claims in a multistate lawsuit accusing asset managers BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street of violating antitrust laws and conspiring to use sustainable investment initiatives to manipulate coal markets, allowing the case to proceed. In statements received by ESG Today from the asset managers, Vanguard said that it was…
Snacking, food, and pet care products provider Mars announced the launch of the Mars Protect the Peanut Plan, a new multi-million dollar agri-science initiative aimed at safeguarding peanut crops against the impact of climate change. According to Mars, the new initiative comes as peanuts face increasing pressures that threaten the reliability of global supply, including extreme droughts and flooding, pests…
Elston Portfolio Management have launched a range of model portfolios that invest entirely in UK SDR complaint funds. The Elston Sustainable range, which comprises of five risk-rated portfolios, aims to deliver a multi-asset portfolio strategy, with each allocating 100% of their assets in SDR-compliant funds. While there are many ESG labelled portfolios available, Elston claims this is the first Sustainable…
UK asset manager Rebalance Earth has announced Ruston Smith has been appointed chair of its board. Smith (pictured) has more than four decades experience in the pensions and investment industry and has chaired or sat on the board of pensions funds, asset managers and private market companies including JP Morgan Asset Management, Tesco Pension Fund and Smart Pension. Rob Gardner,…
The European Commission announced the launch of a new consultation and call for evidence for its upcoming Circular Economy Act, kicking off the process towards launching new regulations aimed at accelerating the transition to a more circular economy, and targeting goals to double the EU’s circularity rate, and establish the EU as “the world leader on the circular economy by…
India’s securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has proposed a major regulatory shift aimed at attracting public pension funds, sovereign investors, and insurance institutions to participate more actively in the country’s growing REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust) markets. Under the draft rules released on 1 August 2025, a wider class of…
The development and deployment of safe and responsible AI is one of the defining challenges of our time. These technologies offer transformative potential but also come with serious risks, which is why ethical AI has been one of our top stewardship priorities since 2022. From algorithmic bias and misinformation to cybercrime and loss of privacy, the implications for individuals, societies…
This week in ESG news: Barclays reports £500 million sustainable finance revenue, then drops out of Net Zero Banking Alliance; new voluntary sustainability reporting standard for small companies adopted in EU; 21 states warn asset managers against considering sustainability and climate change as long-term risk factors; Deutsche Bank’s new Global Head of Sustainable Finance; new draft simplified CSRD sustainability reporting…
Barclays announced that it has decided to exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), marking the second UK-based bank to withdraw from the UN-backed coalition dedicated to advancing global net zero goals through their financing activities, after the departure last month of HSBC. The departures of Barclays and HSBC follow the exit of all major Wall Street banks, as well as…