ESG Today: Week in Review

This week in ESG news: EU cuts greenhouse gas emissions by more than 8% in a year; Morgan Stanley softens climate targets; CFOs see greenwashing risk from ESG reporting due to data problems, EY survey finds; new climate reporting standard for public sector released; 500 companies commit to report on nature, biodiversity; EU regulator prioritizes compliance with new sustainability reporting rules for enforcement actions; Microsoft builds datacenters with wood to cut emissions; Bain Capital acquires green datacenter developer; Southwest Airlines removes 1.5 million pounds of plastic from flights; KKR, ECP to invest $50 billion in datacenter capacity and power generation; law firms ramp up ESG training for lawyers; capital raises for sustainable heating, industrial decarbonization, energy sector emissions solutions, and more.

See below for the highlights of the past week, and get all your ESG news at ESG Today:

Sustainability Goals, Initiatives and Achievements

EU Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions by More than 8% in 2023

Microsoft Replacing Steel, Concrete in New Datacenters with Wood to Cut Carbon Emissions

Maersk Signs Long-Term Green Methanol Deal with LONGi to Reduce Fleet Emissions

GSK, Kering, Holcim First Companies to Set Validated Nature Goals Targeting Freshwater, Land Sustainability

Rio Tinto Transitions U.S. Copper Mine Operations to Renewable Diesel

Southwest Airlines Eliminates 1.5 Million Pounds of Single-Use Plastic from Flights

Guest Post – Avoided Emissions: Unlikely Heroes

ESG Reporting

IPSASB Releases Proposed Climate-Related Reporting Standard for Public Sector

Guest Post – Materiality Assessments: Expectations and Best Practices

Over 500 Companies Commit to Report on Nature, Biodiversity Risk Using TNFD Framework

Government & Regulators

ESMA to Focus Enforcement Actions on CSRD’s Double Materiality, Sustainability Statement Compliance

ESG Services and Tools

Nuveen, Leon Capital Invest in Real Estate Sustainability Consultancy Longevity Partners

Bureau Veritas Acquires Aligned Incentives to Bolster Scope 3, Product Carbon Footprint Capabilities

LRQA Acquires Human Rights Advisory Ergon Associates to Strengthen ESG Capabilities

IntegrityNext Launches New Supply Chain Sustainability Compliance and Visibility Solutions

Sustainable Finance

Germany Hires Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank for Update of Green Bond Framework

Morgan Stanley Softens Climate Targets

Private Equity & Venture Capital

Andium Raises $22 Million for IoT Platform to Cut Energy Sector Emissions

Verdane Raises €700 Million for Decarbonization-Focused Growth Fund

Brookfield Acquires $2.3 Billion Stake in UK Offshore Wind Farms from Ørsted

Bain Capital Acquires Majority Stake in Green Data Center Developer AQ Compute

KKR, ECP Launch $50 Billion Data Center and Power Generation Investment Partnership

Sustainable Heating Startup Vamo Raises €7 Million

RIFT Raises €11 Million for Decarbonized Industrial Heat Solution

Sustainable Investing

M&G, responsAbility Launch SDG-Focused Article 9 Sustainable Bond Fund

Reports, Studies & Surveys

Law Firms, Legal Departments Upskilling Lawyers to Meet Growing Demand for ESG Expertise: Wolters Kluwer Survey

Over Half of CFOs Fear Greenwashing Risk as Sustainability Data Problems Persist: EY Survey