For years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have been framed – sometimes derisively – as an ethical overlay on financial decision making. To critics, ESG has too often been caricatured as “virtue investing”, a well-meaning but optional add on. But the global reverberations from the Iran crisis have forced a necessary reframing. What is unfolding in the Strait of…
Lookthrough Acquires Real Estate ESG Data and Reporting Platform BuildingMinds
Real estate decision intelligence platform Lookthrough announced an agreement to acquire Schindler-owned real estate portfolio ESG data and reporting platform BuildingMinds, in a transaction described by the companies as aimed at creating an AI platform for institutional real estate, combining ESG and operational data serving institutional investors, governments and global technology companies. Launched in 2018 by elevator and escalator manufacturer…
responsAbility Raises $461 Million for Asia-Focused Climate Fund
M&G’s impact investing unit responsAbility Investments announced that it has raised $461 million in commitments at the final close of its Asia Climate Fund, aimed at deploying capital into companies positioned to benefit from Asia’s energy transition, infrastructure build-out and demand for more efficient, resilient business models. According to responsAbility, the final closing establishes the fund as the firm’s largest…
Mantel Raises $18 Million to Commercialize Carbon Capture Solution for Heavy Industry
Carbon capture startup Mantel announced that it has raised $18 million, including strategic investments from Constellation Technology Ventures (CTV) and Azimut Investments, with proceeds aimed at supporting the commercial deployment of its solution to help decarbonize heavy industry. Founded in 2022 by Cameron Halliday, Danielle Rapson and Sean Robertson as a spin out from MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering, Cambridge,…
Australia Proposes Measures to Reduce Climate Reporting Burden on Companies
The Government of Australia’s Treasury department announced the launch of a consultation on a series of new proposed “efficiency-enhancing” measures within its sustainability reporting framework aimed at reducing compliance costs for companies required to provide climate-related financial disclosures, and easing the information request burden for businesses, particularly SMEs, in their value chains. Proposed reforms in the consultation include measures to…