Thierry Philipponnat, Chief Economist at Finance Watch, warns that economic modelling must evolve to prompt policymakers to take action on climate. Almost seven years since the Paris Agreement was signed at COP21, any number of initiatives have been launched with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limiting global warming to 1.5°C. But a severe disconnect between climate…
Southwest Signs Deal to Purchase up to 680 Million Gallons Of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Made from Wood Waste
Southwest Airlines announced an offtake agreement today with renewable fuel developer USA BioEnergy to purchase up to 680 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over 20 years, beginning as soon as 2028. According to Southwest, the new agreement will avoid 30 million tons of CO2 emissions over the life of the contract. The deal is the latest in a…
Merck to Purchase Renewable Energy for 100% of Electricity Use in Europe from 2025
Healthcare, life science and electronics company Merck has announced today that it will cover 100% of its current electricity purchases in the European Union (EU) and Switzerland with renewable energy from 2025. The company has signed 10-year (VPPAs) for a total of around 300 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year with Matrix Renewables and Renantis. This corresponds to…
Energy-saving Motor Startup Infinitum Raises $185 Million to Drive Industrial Decarbonization
Sustainable motor company Infinitum today announced today that it has raised $185 million in a Series E funding round, with proceeds aimed at expanding production to meet demand, and to drive industrial sector decarbonization. The round was led by Just Climate with participation from Galvanize Climate Solutions and NGP. Existing investors including Alliance Resource Partners, Rockwell Automation, Riverstone Holdings, Chevron…
Blackstone, Vista, Acquire Energy Transition Software Provider Energy Exemplar
Private quity investors Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners announced an agreement to acquire energy market simulation software provider Energy Exemplar, with the investment aimed at accelerating the company’s growth and innovation to support grid reliability and the energy transition.. Founded in 1999, Australia-based Energy Exemplar provides optimization-based energy market simulation solutions enabling users to model and understand the increasingly complex…
Over 80% of Companies to Increase Budgets for Environmental Sustainability Goals Over Next Year: Honeywell Survey
Well over four out of five companies plan to increase spending on environmental sustainability initiatives over the next 12 months, as the achievement of sustainability goals extends its lead as a top corporate priority, and executives become more confident in meeting those goals, according to a new survey released by industrial products, solutions and technologies company Honeywell. The results were…
CFA Institute, PRI, GSIA Issue Harmonized Definitions for Sustainable Investing
CFA Institute, responsible investing organization Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) announced today the release of Definitions for Responsible Investment Approaches, a new guideline aimed at harmonizing sustainable investment terminology for more effective investment industry communication and to reduce greenwashing risk. According to the organizations, the new resource follows significant growth in recent years…
AI-Based ESG Data Collection Startup ESG Flo Raises $5.25 Million
AI-powered data infrastructure platform ESG Flo announced today that it has secured $5.25 million in seed capital. Launched in 2022 from within Bain & Company’s Founder’s Studio , ESG Flo helps industrial, manufacturing and infrastructure sector businesses to create robust, auditable ESG data infrastructure. The technology leverages AI automation and deep learning to gather data across the organization to create…