New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced that he has recommended that the city’s pension funds drop a $42 billion investment mandates with BlackRock, as well as those with Fidelity and PanAgora, over the asset managers’ failure to submit decarbonization plans that were aligned with the pension system’s net zero investment goals. The Comptroller’s new recommendation focused largely on the…
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s conduct regulator for financial services firms and financial markets, announced the publication of new proposed transparency, governance and conflict of interest management requirements for ESG ratings providers. The launch of the proposals follows the finalization of new legislation in October by the UK government to regulate ESG ratings providers, under the supervision of the…
Private markets investment manager CVC’s infrastructure strategy CVC DIF announced the acquisition of a majority controlling stake in European renewable energy company Low Carbon, in a deal securing more than $1.4 billion in capital for Low Carbon aimed at creating a leading, pan-European Independent Power Producer (IPP). Founded in 2011, London-based Low Carbon develops, builds, and operates utility-scale solar, onshore…
EU Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho announced that she has found a series of shortcomings in the European Commission’s process to launch its “Omnibus” initiative to simplify and reduce corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, alongside other legislative proposals, amounting to “maladministration” by the Commission. The Ombudsman’s findings follow an inquiry into the Omnibus proposal, launched by the Ombudsman in May,…
Global property consultancy firm Knight Frank announced that it has signed a three-year renewable energy supply contract with French energy giant TotalEnergies valued at more than £180 million (USD$238 million). Under the new agreement, TotalEnergies will supply renewable energy which will cover the commercial properties managed by Knight Frank across the UK, as well as the firm’s own offices and…
ESG ratings, data, and research provider Morningstar Sustainalytics announced the appointment of Jodie Tapscott as head of climate and nature solutions, with responsibility for leading the company’s climate and nature product strategy, development and delivery. Prior to joining Morningstar Sustainalytics, Tapscott worked for nearly five years at investment manager, most recently serving as Director of Responsible Investing Strategy & Portfolio…
The LEGO Group announced an update in its progress on its initiative to transition from single-use plastic to paper-based for its LEGO sets, indicating that more than half of its packaging lines have now completed the change, nearly doubling from the prior year. The update follows an announcement by the company in 2023 that it would begin phasing out single-use…
Clean energy aggregator and financing platform Powertrust announced a new agreement with Microsoft, with the companies collaborating to support the deployment of 270 MW of distributed solar projects across Mexico and Brazil over the next four years. Founded in 2020, Vancouver-based Powertrust supports companies’ clean energy procurement and helps to finance distributed solar development in fast growing markets, by aggregating…