This week in ESG news: European Commission proposes finalized sustainability reporting standards; SEC takes first steps to scrap corporate climate reporting rules; Morgan Stanley survey finds growing interest in sustainable investing despite political pushback; EU lawmakers to push for tougher ESG fund labelling rules; Trump administration sues New York Times over DEI policies; IBM launches carbon accounting solution for spreadsheet…

Renewable energy producer (EDPR) EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) and Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp owner Meta announced a new long‑term power purchase agreement (PPA) for a new 250‑megawatt (MW) solar energy project, Cypress Knee Solar, to be built in Arkansas. The new agreement marks Meta’s third with EDPR NA, and nearly doubles the total energy procured between the companies to 545…

Renewable energy investor Octopus Energy Generation announced a €584 million (USD$687 million) investment to expand onshore wind energy capacity across Europe, acquiring 321 MW of onshore wind farms across 17 sites in France, Germany and Poland. According to Octopus Energy Generation CEO Zoisa North-Bond, the new investments come as countries are now turning to clean energy, with renewables offering decentralized…

Electricity supplier and trader Reel announced today that it has raised €15 million (USD$17.6 million) in a Series A financing round, with proceeds aimed at expanding the company’s offerings and reach new markets to help companies and renewable energy producers improve the economics of the energy transition. Founded in 2020, Denmark-based Reel provides renewable electricity procurement and energy management solutions…

Madrid-based energy company Moeve and global professional services firm Accenture announced the launch of a new partnership aimed at supporting industrial companies to accelerate decarbonization efforts across their value chains. Under the agreement, Moeve will support customers in advancing their decarbonization roadmaps through its portfolio of energy solutions, including renewable electricity, biomethane and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), while also helping…

Swiss generic and biosimilar medicine pharmaceutical company Sandoz announced a series of new interim climate goals targeting its operations and supply chain, with the company noting that the new targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The company’s new SBTi-validate targets include goals to reduce emissions from its own operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 42%…

Food and beverage giant PepsiCo and agricultural and industrial chemicals company Fertiberia announced the signing of a multi-year agreement aimed at scaling the use of low-carbon, green hydrogen-based fertilizers across PepsiCo’s European agricultural supply chain. Globally, fertilizers account for approximately 2% of greenhouse gas emissions. PepsiCo said that fertilizer production and use currently represents around half of the average potato…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is beginning the process of rescinding the climate disclosure rules introduced by the Commission during the Biden administration, according to a filing submitted to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and confirmed by an SEC spokesperson in a statement provided to ESG Today. In the statement, the spokesperson said: “At the Chairman’s direction,…

The European Commission announced the publication of new drafts of its proposed revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and Sustainability Reporting Standards for Voluntary Use, opening a consultation to finalize the adoption of its simplified sustainability reporting standards for large and small companies. While the new draft ESRS include modifications from the recently published technical advice by EFRAG, the proposed…

Climate and nature analytics firm Risilience announced today the appointment of Angela Brown as its new Chief Executive Officer, succeeding the company’s founder, Andrew Coburn, who will transition to the role of Chairman. Launched in 2021 as a spinout of the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, Risilience provides solutions and services aimed at helping…