This week in ESG news: Danske Bank divests over 85% of oil and gas companies over transition plans; less than 40% of employees say companies are doing enough on climate change; Republican states warn SBTi, financial firms over setting net zero goals; Watershed and Stanford take over supply chain emissions database dropped by U.S.’ EPA; Amazon’s AWS signs renewable energy…
Supply chain sustainability management solutions provider Assent announced the launch of its new EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) solution, aimed at enabling manufacturers to comply with the due diligence requirements of the EU’s new law ensuring that products no longer contribute to deforestation and forest degradation globally. The EUDR was initially introduced by the EU Commission in November 2021, with measures aimed…
The sustainability-linked loan (SLL) market has made progress towards addressing some of its key integrity and credibility issues, according to a new review by UK financial services regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), marking “important steps in the development of a credible transition finance ecosystem,” according to the regulator. The observations by the FCA follow a 2023 review of the…
Singapore-based food tech start-up Prefer announced that it has raised $4.2 million in a Pre-Series A funding round, and has commercially launched its new soluble coffee and cocoa powders, aimed at replicating coffee and cocoa at a fraction of the carbon footprint and at lower cost. Founded in 2022 by Jake Berber and Ding Jie Tan, Prefer provides climate-resilient alternatives…
A group of 23 U.S. State Attorneys General*, led by Iowa AG Brenna Bird, published a letter sent to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), demanding information about the organization and its members, citing concerns about potential violations of antitrust, consumer protection and other laws from participation in the net zero group. The AGs’ letter included a particular focus on…
Netherlands-based insurance and financial services company Achmea’s investment unit, Achmea Investment Management announced the launch of “Achmea IM PE Partnership Fund – Healthy People & Planet 2025,” a new private equity fund aimed at investing in key impact themes including climate, biodiversity, healthy nutrition and good health. Targeted at Dutch pension funds and other institutional investors, Achmea said that the…
By: Scott Lane, Founder & CEO of Speeki Everyone working in sustainability wants an immediate end to oil and gas consumption – and so regulators and climate initiatives demand that fossil fuel giants immediately halt their production. This is a naive knee-jerk reaction to a complex, intractable problem. Regulators and climate initiatives need to get more tactical. My case in point:…
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to provide nearly $1 billion in funding to bolster the production and supply of U.S.-based critical minerals and materials, with more than half to be channeled towards battery materials processing, manufacturing and recycling. According to the DOE, the new planned funding programs align with President Trump’s Executive Order, “Unleashing American Energy,” issued…