This week in ESG news: EU Commission adopts finalized CSRD and voluntary sustainability reporting standards; Google, McKinsey, Tencent sign large-scale nature-based carbon removal deals; 3M’s new Chief Sustainability Officer; EU lawmakers vote to expand CBAM carbon import tax; Canada looks to include oil and gas-related investment in sustainable finance taxonomy; Starbucks says it is “reassessing” its 2030 climate target; ECB…

Private equity and venture capital investor EQT Group announced the acquisition of U.S. power and AI infrastructure development platform Copia Power from private capital investment firm The Carlyle Group. Carlyle launched Copia in 2021, with the acquisition of a 6 GW U.S. solar and storage development pipeline from energy developer and operator Tenaska, with a focus on using the platform…

Sustainability and business risk software company ESG Playbook announced the launch of Essential Worksheets and Premium Modules, two new sustainability reporting product tiers targeted at small and mid-sized businesses. According to ESG Playbook, the new solutions come as smaller businesses are looking for practical ways to begin reporting, with stakeholders ranging from investors and lenders to insurers, and customers increasingly…

Brazil-based meat giant JBS Foods, the largest global producer of beef and poultry, revealed that it has retired its goal to achieve net zero emissions across its value chain by 2040, and replaced it with goals that no longer include Scope 3 emissions, which account for the vast majority of its greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. In a post accompanying the…

Circular fashion marketplace startup Fleek announced that it has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round, with proceeds to be used to develop AI-powered technology enabling the second-hand fashion industry scale to meet growing demand. Founded in 2021 by Abhi Arora and Sanket Agarwal, London-based Fleek operates a B2B secondhand fashion marketplace and develops AI tools designed to…

Canadian climate-focused investor initiative Business Future Pathways (BFP) announced the release of a new draft of the methodology underlying the development of Canada’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, its upcoming categorization system aimed at helping investors to identify sustainable investments, and to drive capital into business and projects that reduce emissions in line with Canada’s net zero goals. While including the “green”…

Sustainable finance-focused ratings and research provider EthiFinance and sustainability data and technology company ESG Book announced a merger transaction aimed at creating one of Europe’s largest, independent credit and sustainability rating agencies. The companies said that the new entity will provide a European rating “champion,” offering an alternative to U.S.-based incumbents, and fill a sustainable data gap in private markets,…

Aerospace giant Airbus and aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines announced the launch of a new joint venture focused on the development and commercialization of the first hydrogen-based fuel cell propulsion system for commercial aircraft. The aviation industry accounts for approximately 2-3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with that figure potentially rising dramatically over the coming decades if no…

French energy giant TotalEnergies announced today that it has divested its distributed solar generation activities in Europe, selling all of its distributed solar assets in 7 countries to renewable energy companies Amarenco and AMPYR Distributed Energy. In a statement announcing the sale, TotalEnergies said that the transactions will enable it to refocus its renewable development on large utility-scale solar and…

Guest post by: Bridget Wise, Sustainability Analyst, Secaro Although the SBTi’s V2.0 standard is more complicated than its predecessor, it is this complexity,  the guardrails of  integrity criteria – which allow for a more practical and flexible approach. And, as many companies struggled to meet goals under the V.1 standard despite best efforts, it was critical for the SBTi to…