In an age of ‘greenhushing‘, conviction has become a quiet mark of leadership. Across global markets, a growing number of investors have been diluting their commitments to sustainability, fearful of being caught in the political crossfire. Yet for those investing across decades, particularly in long-dated real assets, staying the course on sustainability is not a statement of ideology, but of investment discipline. Sustainable finance is not in retreat. It is…
Nestlé, Mars Warn that Delaying EU Deforestation Law Would Create Uncertainty, Disengagement
A group of major companies* including Nestlé, Mars Wrigley and Ferrero, among several others, issued a new letter calling on European lawmakers not to implement potential new delays and changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a new law aimed at ensuring that products imported to or exported from EU markets no longer contribute to deforestation and forest degradation globally….
SEC to Allow Companies to Block Shareholder Proposals
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it will not express opinions to requests from companies asking to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy voting materials during the 2025-2026 proxy season, effectively allowing companies to avoid voting on issues proposed by investors such as climate, sustainability and diversity at annual meetings. In a statement released by the SEC, the…
Deutsche Bank Targets Net Zero Transition Finance Opportunities in Hard-to-Abate Sectors
Deutsche Bank announced a series of new updates to its sustainability strategy, including expanding its sustainable finance strategy to target opportunities for funding net zero transitions in hard to abate sectors, with the release of a new framework outlining its rules and parameters for transition finance transactions, and a new €900 billion by 2030 sustainable finance, ESG investment and transition…
Sam Altman-Backed Exowatt Raises $50 Million to Power Data Centers with Round-the-Clock Clean Energy
Renewable energy technology startup Exowatt announced that it has raised $50 million, with proceeds to be used to help deploy its round-the-clock renewable energy technology near AI data centers and industrial sites across the U.S. The new funding brings Exowatt’s capital raised to date to $140 million in under two years, including a $70 million Series A round earlier this…
Guest Post: What the EU’s Signal Shift on Sustainability Reporting Means for You
By Mark Vaessen, Chair of the KPMG Global Corporate & Sustainability Reporting Topic Team The European Union’s ambitious drive towards a more sustainable economy has been a defining characteristic of its regulatory landscape in recent years. This year, the focus of the EU has shifted more towards competitiveness of the economy with a number of measures to reduce the administrative…
GRI Launches New Tool to Align Climate Reporting with UN Net Zero Guidance
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced the launch of the Integrity Matters Checklist, a new resource aimed at helping companies reporting using the GRI standards to align their climate commitments, transition plans and disclosures with the UN’s net zero guidance. The new tool provides a mapping between the UN Integrity Matters report – which includes a series of recommendations for…
Amazon Launches New Projects to Restore Over 2 Billion Liters of Water per Year
Amazon announced the launch of a series of new global replenishment projects across the U.S., UK and Mexico, expected to restore over 2 billion liters of water annually through nature-based solutions that will also improve habitats and ecosystems. Amazon has set a series of water stewardship goals, including a target to be water positive in AWS, returning more water to…
TotalEnergies Doubles Electricity Production Capacity with $5.9 Billion Acquisition
French energy giant TotalEnergies announced today the acquisition of 50% of Czech Republic-based multi-utility company EPH’s flexible power generation platform, including gas-fired and biomass power plants and battery storage sites across Western Europe, in a €5.1 billion (USD$5.9 billion) all-stock transaction valuing the assets at a €10.6 billion enterprise value. The portfolio’s 14 GW of flexible generation in operation or under…