By: Jessica Lobo, Sustainability Advisor, and Kosmas Papadopoulos, Head of Sustainability Advisory, Americas, ISS-Corporate Materiality Assessments Evolve as Key Tool for Corporate Sustainability Management Over the past decade, the business world has made significant strides in establishing standardized and methodical approaches for corporates developing their sustainability strategies and relevant disclosures. Today, a materiality assessment for identifying and prioritizing key issues…
A majority of company finance leaders globally say that they are concerned about perceived greenwashing risks from sustainability reporting in their industries, and most do not believe that their organizations will hit their major sustainability ambitions, as nearly all report problems with the integrity of their nonfinancial data, according to a new survey released by global professional services firm EY….
Sustainable heating startup Vamo announced that it has raised €7 million in new capital, expanding its seed round to over €10 million (USD $10.8), after having raised €3 million in 2023, with proceeds aimed at advancing its solution enabling households to deploy heat pumps. Heat pumps are rapidly emerging as an energy efficient and climate-friendly alternative to furnaces and air…
London-based assurance services provider LRQA announced that it has acquired Ergon Associates, which provides organizations with consulting services on ensuring compliance with issues surrounding labor standards, human rights and gender equality, in a move described by LRQA as enabling the delivery of “industry-leading expertise, enabling businesses to better integrate ESG factors into their decision-making processes.” Operating for the past 18…
Netherlands-based cleantech startup RIFT announced that it had raised €11 million (USD $11.9 million) in Series A funding aimed at advancing its technology to decarbonize industrial heat. Industrial heating uses high amounts of energy, often from fossil fuel-based sources, in order to transform materials into products such as metals and plastics. While solutions to replace fossil-based energy sources have emerged, including…
Southwest Airlines announced today the introduction of new items to replace single-use plastic from its flights, including a new bamboo cup for inflight cold beverages and a wood stir stick. According to the airline, the new items are anticipated to reduce its inflight single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds annually. The introduction of the new items follows the…
France-based testing, inspection and certification services provider Bureau Veritas announced the acquisition of AI-powered sustainability planning solutions provider Aligned Incentives, with the move aimed at enhancing its sustainability metrics capabilities in areas including Scope 3 emissions analysis and product life cycle assessment (LCA). Founded by CEO Yann Risz and COO Craig Cammarata in 2015, Massachusetts-based Aligned Incentives offers an AI-powered…
EU markets regulator the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced the release of its annual European Common Enforcement Priorities (ECEP) Statement for corporate reporting, setting out key issues relating to the EU’s new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) as areas for close scrutiny over the next year for ESMA and national European enforcers. Specific sustainability reporting-related issues highlighted as…