A selection of this week’s major stories impacting ESG investors, in five easy pieces. Nature-focused investor engagement took a big step forward this week, with the unveiling of targets and expectations. Analysis this – How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, but the light bulb really has to want to change. How many investors…
$24 Trillion Investor Group Launches Campaign Targeting 100 Companies to Address Biodiversity, Nature Loss
Nature Action 100, an investor engagement initiative with 190 institutional investors representing nearly $24 trillion in assets announced its list of 100 companies to be targeted in a campaign aimed at driving corporate action to address nature loss and biodiversity decline. Companies targeted by the campaign include Amazon, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Walmart and Glencore. According to Nature Action 100, companies were…
ESRS, CSRD Demand Disability Focus
Businesses under pressure to provide increased transparency across the full scope of social and human rights. Corporates subject to new and incoming sustainability disclosure rules must be prepared to report on their practices for the inclusion of persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups. “Companies need to account for all social and human rights factors, and that includes…
France-UK Biodiversity Credits Group Announces Members; First Report due at COP28
Updates from International Advisory Panel for Biodiversity Credits come as new report reveals devasting loss of UK nature. From the UK county of Somerset to the island of Borneo, indigenous stewards of the natural environment will be “essential” to the development of high-quality biodiversity credits, Dame Amelia Fawcett, Co-Chair of the International Advisory Panel for Biodiversity Credits has said this…
Nucor, Helion to Build Fusion Power Plant to Decarbonize Steelmaking
Steel manufacturer Nucor and clean energy startup Helion announced an agreement to develop a 500 MW fusion power plant at a U.S.-based Nucor steel manufacturing facility, providing the facility with zero-carbon electricity. According to the companies, the collaboration marks the first fusion energy agreement of this scale, and a significant milestone towards industrial decarbonization. Nucor also announced a $35 million…
Republican ERISA Reform Bills Stand “No Chance”
Anti-ESG legislators’ interpretation of US DOL rule “inconsistent” with its historical guidance. Proposed Republican legislation seeing to reinstate the Trump administration’s ‘pecuniary/non-pecuniary’ rules related to the incorporation of ESG factors in pension fund investments and proxy voting will not pass the Senate, experts told ESG Investor. Earlier this month, the House Committee on Education and Workforce introduced four bills –…
LyondellBasell Launches Line of Low Carbon Materials to Help Businesses Meet Emissions Reduction Goals
Chemical company LyondellBasell today announced the launch of its +LC (Low Carbon) solutions, a new range of chemicals produced using recycled and renewable feedstock that manufacturers can use to make their products more sustainable and help them meet emissions goals. LyondellBasell is among the world’s largest producers of polymers including propylene oxide and its derivatives including propylene glycol, propylene glycol…
EcoVadis Launches Product Carbon Emissions Tracking Solution
Business sustainability ratings provider EcoVadis announced today the launch of the the EcoVadis Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Data Exchange, a new feature in its Carbon Action Module solution, aimed at enabling companies to more precisely track product-level greenhouse gas emissions. According to EcoVadis, the new feature aims to address one of the key barriers to companies’ carbon reduction strategies, enabling…
France Announces Plan to Cut Emissions 55% by 2030
French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled the country’s “ecological plan” to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, in line with the EU’s interim climate goals. According to the President’s presentation of the plan, reaching the 2030 goal will require a major acceleration in the country’s GHG emissions reduction progress, ramping to 5% per year…
CBRE Signs Deal to Collect Emissions Data from Supply Chain
CBRE Group, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firms, has announced a strategic partnership with carbon accounting software provider Emitwise, aimed at enabling CBRE to collect greenhouse gas emissions data from its supply chain, and to provide its suppliers with carbon accounting capabilities. CBRE said that it will also make a strategic investment in Emitwise…