London-based assurance services provider LRQA announced the acquisition of responsible business advisory organization Partner Africa, aimed at strengthening its responsible sourcing capabilities and expanding its initiatives across Africa. Founded in 2011, UK-based Partner Africa is a non-governmental organization focused on improving working conditions and livelihoods across Africa through audits, training and advisory services. The transaction is LRQA’s first in the…
U.S.-based energy storage and battery materials provider Redwood Materials and electric vehicle maker Rivian announced the launch of a new partnership aimed at deploying energy storage systems using second-life battery packs at Rivian’s manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois. Under the agreement, Rivian will supply EV battery packs to Redwood, which will integrate them into a Redwood Energy system supported by…
Investor services and proxy advisory company Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) announced that it has filed a lawsuit in a federal U.S. court aimed at challenging a new Indiana law – that has been replicated in several states – that would require proxy advisers to provide what it called “a regime of state-law mandated warnings” when recommending voting against company management. The…
Global consumer brands and industrial products company Henkel announced a broad set of new sustainability targets, aimed at accelerating progress on climate action, circular economy, employee equity and supply chain standards through 2030. The company said the updated mid-term goals reflect a strategic push to scale impact across its operations and value chain. Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel said: “In today’s…
Logistics giant DHL and International Airlines Group’s (IAG) cargo handling business IAG Cargo announced today a new five-year agreement, to increase the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), aimed at reducing lifecycle emissions from air freight operations. Under the new agreement, DHL Express will receive the Scope 3 emissions reductions from approximately 40 million liters of neat SAF per year….
The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) announced the appointment of Kerstin Lopatta as its new EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board Chair. Lopatta will assume the role for a term of three years, beginning in May. EFRAG’s mission is to serve the European public interest in both financial and sustainability reporting by developing and promoting European views in the field of…
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced the release of ISO 14001:2026, the new edition of its flagship environmental management standard, aimed at enabling organizations to design and implement environmental management systems to improve environmental performance, minimize impact, and comply with laws and regulations. According to ISO, the new standard is being launched as organizations come under increasing pressure to…
Neil Doherty, executive director at IFM Investors Renewable energy and battery storage can potentially provide a strategic hedge against volatility in fossil fuel prices as their operations are not directly linked to movements in global commodity prices. The price of natural gas has tended to shift materially due to difficult-to-control factors, including cold weather freezing well-heads (impacting domestic production) at…