World Bank Group member the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and global investment firm Schroders’ impact investment management arm BlueOrchard announced a new partnership, aimed at channeling long-term institutional capital into underserved emerging economies, with the launch of a new private debt investment vehicle targeting up to $2 billion in commitments. According to the companies, emerging market debt fundamentals have strengthened…

This week in ESG news: Over 80% of investors expect climate risk to impact asset prices – survey; SEC drops investigation into BlackRock, State Street with warning to investors over climate groups; HSBC launches loans with rates tied to ESG scores for smaller businesses; 78% of companies increased sustainability investments in the past year – Deloitte survey; Google signs 20-year…

The Institute of Sustainability & Environmental Professionals (ISEP) announced the launch of a new multi-tier Register of Carbon Accountants and Auditors (RCAA), aimed at providing a professional benchmark for communicating the qualifications and expertise of carbon accounting professionals. According to ISEP, the new register comes as demand for robust carbon data grows and reporting requirements become more widespread, as organizations…

Sustainable packaging technology company Pulpex announced that it has opened its first commercial-scale fiber bottle manufacturing plant near Glasgow, Scotland, aimed at scaling production of its paper-based alternatives to conventional plastic and glass packaging. Launched in 2020, UK-based Pulpex was established as a collaboration between Pilot Lite and Diageo together with a group of leading global CPG companies including Unilever,…

Distributed energy resource (DER) technology company Voltus announced that it has raised $225 million in a Series D financing round, with proceeds aimed at expanding the company’s platform to help add flexibility to electricity grids to enable address growing capacity shortages and enable a more resilient, affordable, and cleaner grid. Founded in 2016, San Francisco-based Voltus operates a distributed energy…

Global professional services firm EY announced the launch of its new EY Climate Resilience Center of Excellence (CoE) EY Climate Resilience Center of Excellence (CoE) based in Singapore, focused on supporting organizations with assets, operations, supply chains, communities and investment decisions exposed to climate, energy or nature-related risks. Led by EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) Partners Sunil Yadav and Amandeep…

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) revealed that Kerstin Lopatta has stepped down as EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board Chair, only 5 months into her 3-year term. While EFRAG did not respond to a request for comment around the circumstances of Lopatta’s departure, media reports indicated disagreements over governance as a key factor. Georg Lanfermann, President of the Accounting Standards Committee…

The Government of South Korea announced the launch of its new Korean Green Transformation (K-GX) Strategy, including plans to mobilize 1,000 trillion won (USD$747 billion) over the next ten years towards the achievement of its climate goals, with a focus on key areas including industrial decarbonization, renewable energy, and clean mobility. According to the government, the key objective of the…

Tech giants Amazon and Microsoft announced a new water replenishment project in Hesse, Germany, aimed at restoring natural wetland conditions and replenishing local groundwater resources, expected to return more than 750 million liters of water annually to the local groundwater supply. The announcement comes as tech companies are coming under increasing pressure to ease concerns about the local water and…

Deutsche Telekom announced the appointment of Robert Metzke as Chief Sustainability Officer, a newly created position at the company. In the new role, Metzke will focus on the integration of sustainability more closely into Deutsche Telekom’s corporate strategy and the core business. The new CSO position will now also report directly to the company’s CEO, Tim Höttges. In a post…