Of the 2,000 global companies identified as having the greatest potential to transform systems and influence progress toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), less than a third have verified emissions reduction targets, according to a report. The companies, known as the SDG2000, are identified by the World Benchmarking Alliance at the start of every year, and in 2024 includes…
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), one of Canada’s largest investors, announced the release of its 2024 Proxy Voting Guidelines, with strengthened expectations for company boards on climate oversight. One of the key changes to OTPP’s proxy voting guidelines this year includes the expectations for board audit committees, specifically related to climate change. According to OTPP, audit committees are coming under…
The U.S. Department of Energy announced $104 million of investments in net zero-focused energy conservation and clean energy projects at 31 Federal facilities, including initiatives to boost building electrification, add on-site solar, and install heat pumps. The new investments form the first of three disbursements from a $250 million funding program launched last year by the Biden administration, aimed at…
Global energy developer Ørsted announced that it has signed a long-term, 15-year renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with business and financial markets information service provider Bloomberg. Under the new agreement, Ørsted will provide Bloomberg with 80MW of energy generated by its Texas-based Mockingbird Solar Center project, currently under construction. Bloomberg has committed to source 100% of its electricity from…
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has launched the Global Environmental Transition Equity fund to invest across five themes for sustainability. The Article 8 fund will focus on extraction, power generation, manufacturing, transportation, and consumption industries. GSAM says it will look for companies that currently have a ‘heavy’ environmental footprint and are looking to improve by reducing their environmental impact, and…
Decarbonized steel startup H2 Green Steel announced today a series of new funding arrangements, totaling €4.75 billion (USD$5.2 billion), with proceeds to be used to finance the construction of the world’s first large-scale green steel plant, capable of producing steel with 95% lower emissions than traditional blast furnace technology. The new funding announcements include project debt financing of €4.2 billion,…
Climate advocacy organization Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) announced that it is starting a climate lawsuit against Amsterdam-based global bank ING, demanding the bank cut emissions, including those from its financing activities, in half by 2030, and that ING stop “contributing to dangerous climate change in the future,” by requiring climate transition plans from large clients and ending financing…
With some scientists suggesting the world has entered into its sixth mass extinction cycle, a recent Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) webinar – Nature Nurture: Can Investors Seek To Protect Nature And Still Deliver Returns – offered insights into the complexities and opportunities in investing in biodiversity and natural capital. As investment commentators flagged in ESG Clarity’s recent outlook…