Lawmakers in the European Parliament voted 467-65 to approve a series of rules aimed at protecting consumers from greenwashing, or misleading environmental claims by companies, including requiring companies to submit product marketing claims such as “biodegradable” or “less polluting” for verification before being allowed to use them. The vote establishes Parliament’s adopted position on the European Commission’s proposed “Directive on…
International asset manager Robeco announced a new sustainable engagement partnership with the Swiss Association for Responsible Investments (SVVK-ASIR). Founded in 2015, SVVK-ASIR is a responsible investment-focused alliance of major Swiss pension and social security funds. The coalition has grown to include 11 institutional investors representing total assets under management of more than CHF300 billion (USD$342 billion). The group monitors its…
Tech giant IBM announced a new commitment to invest $45 million in its social impact program, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, as part of a new initiative aimed at boosting city resiliency through technology-focused climate adaptation solutions. Founded in 2022, IBM’s Sustainability Accelerator applies IBM technology and expertise to scale non-profit and government initiatives to develop solutions aimed at helping vulnerable…
Solar and storage project developer and operator Primergy announced today that it has raised $588 million in debt financing commitments aimed at funding its 408 MW Texas-based Ash Creek solar project. The company also announced the signing of a long-term power purchase agreement with Microsoft, covering the full capacity of the new solar plant. Ty Daul, CEO of Primergy, said:…
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced a series of new sustainable finance goals and initiatives, including the establishment of a new “decarbonization finance” category within its Sustainable Finance Framework, aimed at increasing clarity for clients on the eligibility of decarbonization activities, and to help accelerate capital deployment to emissions reduction efforts in high-emitting, hard-to-abate sectors. According to RBC, the launch…
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the allocation of $425 million in funding for small and medium businesses to support clean energy manufacturing and industrial decarbonization projects in former coal communities. The new investments, which will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), passed by the Biden administration in 2021, and forms the second round of the Advanced…
Global professional services firm EY and tech giant IBM announced the launch of a new sustainability reporting Managed Services solution, aimed at enabling companies to address growing and evolving ESG disclosure requirements, including capturing, analyzing and managing sustainability data, and providing assurance-ready reporting. According to the companies, the new solution brings together EY’s assurance expertise and IBM’s Envizi sustainability software…
Investors are overwhelmingly supportive of new sustainability-related reporting regulations such as the EU’s CSRD and U.S. SEC’s new climate reporting rules, with the vast majority believing high quality ESG data will enable better investment decisions, according to a new survey released by business data and reporting solutions provider Workiva. While investors are strongly in favor of the new ESG reporting…