This week in ESG news: EU lawmakers reach deal to cut sustainability reporting and due diligence laws; Brookfield raises record $20 billion for clean energy fund; ISO launches new biodiversity standard; Mars, Cargill sign deals to build over 100 renewable energy projects; Novata acquires sustainability reporting solutions provider Atlas Metrics; EU to delay sustainability reporting standards for non-EU companies; Google…

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) announced that it has led a $60 million growth capital fundraise for maritime sector-focused low-carbon Energy Storage Systems (ESS) solutions provider Corvus Energy. MSIM’s investment was made through 1GT, the firm’s private climate equity strategy targeting the elimination of 1 gigaton of CO2 emissions by 2050. Additional investors participating in the round included Just Climate…

Austin-based energy provider Base Power announced that it has raised US$1 billion in a Series C funding round, with proceeds aimed at expanding its network of home-based energy storage across the U.S. Founded in 2023 by CEO Zach Dell and COO Justin Lopas, Base Power provides solutions aimed at strengthening the grid and enabling the electrification of the economy, with…

Sustainability data and analytics solutions provider Worldly announced today the acquisition of textile and apparel sector-focused environmental data platform GoBlu, in a move aimed at advancing the unification of systems for tracking social and environmental performance across consumer goods supply chains. Founded in 2015, GoBlu provides digital sustainability-focused tools including brand-level, supply chain-level, and communications services for the textile and…

Google announced the rollout of Carbon Footprint for Google Ads, its new service aimed at enabling advertisers to measure and manage the carbon emissions related to their advertising activities. Google initially unveiled the service earlier this year, with the early availability limited to select large advertisers. With the new rollout, the service is now available to all advertisers. According to Google,…

Biomethane platform Verdalia Bioenergy announced that it has closed €671 million (USD$780 million) in a new corporate financing deal, with proceeds aimed at supporting its development of a portfolio of projects across Spain and Italy. Biomethane, or renewable natural gas (RNG), is expected to play a critical role in the transition to cleaner energy sources, particularly for sectors in which…

Global private capital investment firm Carlyle’s private equity business unit Carlyle AlpInvest announced the launch of a new co-investment partnership with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), one of the largest public pension funds in the U.S., targeting joint investments in climate solutions. According to CalSTRS, the new partnership is aimed at expanding its ability to invest alongside private…

Lawmakers in the European Parliament have reached an agreement on a proposed Parliamentary negotiating position on the EU Commission’s Omnibus I initiative which would see more significant reductions in the EU’s sustainability reporting and due diligence regulations than those proposed by the Commission. The deal would see particularly significant cuts to the number of companies covered by the Corporate Sustainability…

Climate technology start-up Vycarb announced that it has raised $5 million in seed funding to scale its low-cost, water-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) system. Founded in 2022, Brooklyn-based Vycarb is developing a new method to capture CO2 convert it into dissolved bicarbonate within natural waters using ocean-based chemistry and real-time sensor technology. The process uses readily available minerals and…