The European Commission announced that it has sent letters to 17 EU member states, opening infringement procedures over the states’ failure to communicate that they have transposed new anti-greenwashing legislation, the “Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition,” (ECGT) into their national laws. Adopted by European lawmakers in 2024, the ECGT was designed to protect consumers from misleading green…

Netherlands-based cooperative bank Rabobank announced the appointment of Dries Lagerberg as its new Chief Sustainability Officer. Lagerberg takes on the new role after more than 20 years at Rabobank, including serving for the past three year as Head Group Sustainability Regulations & Commitments, and as a member of Rabobank’s Group Sustainability Management Team, helping to shape and advance the bank’s…

Climate-focused VC investor Gigascale Capital announced the launch of Gigascale Capital Fund I, a new $250 million fund targeting early-stage companies that are “rebuilding the physical economy for climate impact.” Founded in 2023 by former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer, Gigascale invests in companies developing technologies enabling energy, materials, and infrastructure systems to scale, be cheaper, more productive and cleaner, with…

France-based investment firm Eurazeo announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Denmark-based T1A Group through its impact buyout fund Eurazeo Planetary Boundaries Fund (EPBF), aimed at supporting the company’s expansion and accelerating the growth of its circular economy-focused IT refurbishment platform. Founded in 2001, Denmark-based T1A IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) provider built on a circular economy logic, providing…

Global mining and metals company Rio Tinto announced the start of commissioning of a $1.5 billion expansion project at its Complexe Arvida facility in Quebec, aimed at increasing the company’s production of low-carbon aluminum for use by customers across the transportation, construction, electrical applications and consumer goods sectors. The expansion project utilizes Rio Tinto’s proprietary AP60 smelting technology, which, when…

UBS has appointed as Alexander Seidler as Head Sustainability and Climate Risk, with responsibility for implementing the bank’s sustainability and climate risk (SCR) framework. Seidler initially joined UBS in 2006, holding a variety of environmental and social risk-related positions in Zurich, London and Singapore, and departing in 2022 to join Credit Suisse as Head of Sustainability Risk. He rejoined UBS…

Spanish multinational energy company Iberdrola’s U.S. subsidiary Avangrid announced that it has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Microsoft, to provide the tch giant with electricity from its new 140 MW solar project in Washington. The agreement marks the fourth U.S. renewable energy project under contract between Avangrid and Microsoft, which also include PPAs in Ohio and California, which…