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Medtronic Appoints its First Chief Sustainability Officer

Medtronic Appoints its First Chief Sustainability Officer

Medical device company Medtronic announced the appointment of Raman Venkatesh as its first Chief Sustainability Officer, with responsibilty for leading the development and execution of the company’s environmental sustainability strategy. Venkatesh joins Medtronic from Danish sustainability technology company Aquaporin, where he served as Executive Vice President, responsible for global market solutions, including commercial activities. He has also been serving for Tau…

Sustainable Battery Materials Provider Ascend Elements Raises $162 Million to Build new US Plant

Sustainable Battery Materials Provider Ascend Elements Raises $162 Million to Build new US Plant

Closed-loop battery materials solutions provider Ascend Elements announced today that it has raised $162 million in new equity investments, with proceeds aimed at supporting the building of a new 1-million square foot sustainable lithium-ion plant in Kentucky. Founded in 2015, Westborough, Massachusetts-based Ascend Elements provides closed-loop battery materials solutions, ranging from EV battery recycling to commercial-scale production of lithium-ion battery…

Rio Tinto Signs Australia’s Largest-Ever Clean Energy Deal

Rio Tinto Signs Australia’s Largest-Ever Clean Energy Deal

Global mining and metals company Rio Tinto announced today that it has signed Australia’s largest clean energy deal, agreeing to buy the majority of the electricity from a 1.4 GW wind energy project under development by renewable energy provider Windlab to power its Gladstone operations in Queensland. The deal marks the second mega-scale renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) for…

Schroders Expands Impact Investing Lineup with New SDG-Focused Global Equity Fund

Schroders Expands Impact Investing Lineup with New SDG-Focused Global Equity Fund

Global investment manager Schroders announced the launch of Schroder International Selection Fund (Schroder ISF) Global Equity Impact, a new listed global equity impact fund aimed at investing in companies with solutions and actions addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to Schroders, the launch of the new fund comes amidst growing demand from clients for public equity-focused impact strategies. Schroders…

Airbus, TotalEnergies Launch New Sustainable Aviation Fuel Partnership

Airbus, TotalEnergies Launch New Sustainable Aviation Fuel Partnership

Aerospace giant Airbus and energy company TotalEnergies announced today the launch of a new strategic partnership, aimed at advancing the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and supporting the decarbonization of aviation with the objective of achieving net carbon neutrality for the sector by 2050. Fuel accounts for the vast majority of the aviation sector’s emissions. Generally produced from sustainable…

Grantham Research Institute and LSE join forces for net-zero push

Grantham Research Institute and LSE join forces for net-zero push

Two major academic institutions have partnered to launch the Just Transition Finance Lab, which aims to push the net-zero transition and nature-positive economy through a people-centred approach. The London School of Economics and Political Science and Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment said the collaborative venture will highlight the opportunities from financing climate action, such as better…

EU Adopts New Law to Protect Consumers Against Misleading Green Claims

EU Adopts New Law to Protect Consumers Against Misleading Green Claims

The European Council announced that it has adopted a directive aimed at protecting consumers from misleading green claims and other greenwashing practices, including banning unverified generic environmental claims such as “environmentally friendly,” or “biodegradable” and those based on emissions offsetting schemes. The announcement marks the last major step towards the passage of the legislative act, with its adoption now complete,…

EV Industry Faces Misinformation Storm  

Automotive sector’s links to oil and gas lobbying come under scrutiny, as misleading reports about electric vehicles risk slowing down the low-carbon transition.   The UK tabloid press has faced mounting accusations of having an agenda against the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Stories reporting about EV batteries “exploding into fireballs”, the “crippling hidden costs” of owning an electric vehicle and…

UK Pension Providers Failing on Climate

Research demonstrates a lack of focus on the detail required for a truly robust climate strategy.  The vast majority of UK pension providers lack robust and ambitious climate strategies, according to new research.  The report, published by campaign group Make My Money Matter (MMMM) and sustainability research provider Profundo, assessed and ranked the climate strategies of the UK’s 20 largest…

Stewardship Insights: Clients are becoming more discerning in their engagement evaluations

Stewardship Insights: Clients are becoming more discerning in their engagement evaluations

In this series, ESG Clarity takes a deep dive into an investment firm’s stewardship activities, discovering their key focuses and processes, and what’s in their engagement toolkit. Here, Rachael Monteiro, stewardship and climate analyst at Wheb Asset Management, discusses the less well-known stewardship trends and how the group is focused on helping clients understand how issues are selected and prioritised. What do you…