Gender equality in funding and entrepreneurship is a goal everyone should fight for, says Alex Smith, Co-founder of FuturePlus. This year’s International Women’s Day falls under a long shadow that illustrates quite how much more work there is to be done to achieve true equity and inclusion for women in business. “Competent white men must be in charge if you…
PropTech Startup Telescope Raises $4 Million to Help Real Estate Owners Manage Climate Risks
Norwegian proptech startup Telescope announced that it has raised €3.7 million (USD$4 million) in a seed round, with proceeds aimed at scaling its platform that helps real-estate owners assess and manage sustainability and climate risks. Founded in 2022 by Gustav Haaland, Marit Bjerkreim, and Mathias Wahl, Oslo-based Telescope provides tools aimed at helping real estate companies to identify sustainability risks,…
Delta Partners with JetZero to Develop 50% More Fuel-Efficient Blended-Wing Aircraft
Delta Air Lines and sustainable aircraft developer JetZero announced the launch of a new partnership to design new blended-wing aircraft that are up to 50% more fuel efficient than current commercial jets. Founded in 2021, California-based JetZero is designing a plane that integrates the wings and fuselage into a single smooth shape, reducing aerodynamic drag, and leading to lower fuel…
Areim Raises Over $970 Million for Sustainable Data Center Fund
Fund manager and property owner Areim announced it has a €450 million (USD$485 million) capital raise for its Areim DC Fund to support the development of sustainable data centers in Nordic countries, bringing the fund’s total raised capital to €900 million (USD $971 million). The capital will be used to expand its subsidiary, EcoDataCenter, which designs, builds and operates data…
Morningstar Sustainalytics Appoints David Pagliaro to Lead Global Product Strategy
ESG ratings, data, and research provider Morningstar Sustainalytics announced the appointment of David Pagliaro as Chief Strategy & Product Officer. In his new role, Pagliaro will be responsible for leading Sustainalytics’ global product strategy, including overseeing development, execution and, go-to-market plans. Pagliaro will report to Ron Bundy, CEO of Morningstar Indexes and Morningstar Sustainalytics, and join the Executive Leadership Team…
Microsoft Signs 30-Year Carbon Removal Afforestation Deal in India
Microsoft, carbon markets solutions provider Climate Impact Partners, and climate-focused project finance business Terra Natural Capital announced today a new finance and carbon removal purchase agreement, aimed at supporting the development of a large-scale afforestation project in India. As part of the agreement, Microsoft will will purchase 1.5 million tonnes of verified carbon removal credits over 30 years, representing 50%…
Japan Releases Inaugural IFRS-Aligned Sustainability Reporting Standards
The Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) announced the release of its finalized sustainability disclosure standards, based on the standards developed by the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and anticipated to form the basis of mandatory reporting for listed Japanese companies of sustainability and climate-related information. The release forms a significant step towards internationally-aligned sustainability reporting requirements for companies…
Assent Launches Platform to Help Suppliers Manage Sustainability Data Requests
Supply chain sustainability management solutions provider Assent announced the launch of the Assent Sustainability Platform (ASP), a new toolset aimed at enabling suppliers to manage high volumes of sustainability data request, in order to help streamline compliance reporting and declarations for across company value chains. Ottawa-based Assent provides systems to help manufacturers collect and manage the supply chain data needed…