What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (Week Recap 12.11 - 18.11) 🌎

This week’s read time: 9 minutes

Welcome to this edition of Green Digest, where you will get updated about everything happening in the Sustainability & ESG space in less than 10 minutes. 🌎

We go through tons of articles and data from the most reliable sources, filter & simplify them, and serve them to you in bite-sized chunks every week. 🍀

In this edition, we’ll cover:

• What has been announced at COP29 so far? 🌎

• The EU Parliament voted to weaken the EUDR, delaying it to December 2025 and adding a “no risk” category with lighter controls for some countries 🇪🇺

• ISSB releases guide to streamline global sustainability disclosures as adoption grows across 30 jurisdictions 📑

• IAASB released the ISSA 5000, a global framework for sustainability assurance engagements 📑

• JPMorgan revealed that it provided $1.29 in financing for green energy for every dollar backing high-carbon energy in 2023 ⚡️

• and other news 🌍

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS

Regulatory Oversight & Industry Insights

🌎 The first week of the COP29 summit in Baku concluded with frustration over the lack of progress on financing the energy transition and climate adaptation in developing countries. However, several deals and announcements were still made:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced an ambitious new climate target, committing to reduce UK GHG emissions by 81% by 2035, based on 1990 levels. The new target will form the UK’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. Brazil also set a target to cut emissions by 59%-67% by 2035 (compared to 2005).

• A coalition of development banks pledged $120 billion in funding for developing countries to address climate change by 2030, representing a 60% increase from 2023.

• The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and CDP announced a cooperation agreement to align their sustainability reporting standards and platforms, simplifying corporate reporting and enhancing access to environmental impact data. The partnership includes aligning CDP’s questionnaire with GRI’s standards on climate, energy, biodiversity, and water, supported by a joint mapping exercise. Both organizations aim to reduce reporting burdens, provide actionable data, and accelerate global climate action through streamlined and interoperable disclosure frameworks.

• CDP and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) also announced progress in aligning CDP’s global environmental disclosure platform with the EU’s ESRS. This collaboration aims to reduce the reporting burden for companies required to disclose under multiple frameworks, including the EU’s CSRD. The organizations said that their joint mapping efforts revealed substantial commonality between CDP’s questionnaire and the ESRS climate standard (ESRS E1), enabling companies to streamline their reporting processes. Both organizations plan to release comprehensive mapping in 2025 and continue to strengthen interoperability.

• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) launched the ISO ESG Implementation Principles, a global guidance framework to enhance ESG integration, performance, measurement, and reporting. Aimed at addressing inconsistencies in sustainability reporting across jurisdictions and sectors, the principles offer a standardized structure for organizations of all sizes, including businesses, consultants, NGOs, and academia. The guidance focuses on improving ESG management, ensuring reliable and comparable reporting, aligning with existing standards like the EU’s CSRD and ISSB’s IFRS, and establishing KPIs to assess ESG maturity.

TOGETHER WITH KYNDRYL

2024 Global Sustainability Barometer Study

Kyndryl, the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider, has released its second Global Sustainability Barometer study, commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by Ecosystm. The study shows that while 84% of organizations prioritize sustainability, only 21% use technology to reduce their environmental impact. Since last year, 38% of organizations have increased their sustainability efforts, reflecting a gradual shift towards a greener future. Faith Taylor, Kyndryl’s Chief Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability Officer, stresses that incorporating sustainability into business strategies and processes can help drive meaningful change. Other key findings reveal:

• Only 21% of organizations use technology to reduce their carbon footprint.

• 19% fully utilize data for strategic decisions.

• AI is often limited to analyzing historical data, although 55% believe it has future potential.

MORE INTERESTING NEWS

Latest developments, reports, insights, and trends

🇪🇺 The EU Parliament voted to weaken the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), proposing a one-year delay until December 2025 and introducing a new "no risk" category with lighter controls for certain countries. This decision, driven by the center-right European People's Party and supported by far-right lawmakers, diverges from the Commission's stance to maintain the law's substance. Environmental groups criticized the move, calling it "green protectionism" that risks undermining global climate efforts and angering producer nations. The EUDR, originally hailed as a landmark regulation, aims to prevent products linked to deforestation, like beef, soy, and palm oil, from entering the EU market but faces opposition from some countries and companies.

🇺🇸 US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy and a staunch fossil fuel advocate, to lead the Department of Energy (DOE). Wright, known for opposing climate activism and promoting oil and gas production, aligns with Trump’s plan to maximize fossil fuel output. He will oversee energy diplomacy, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, grant programs, and the US nuclear weapons complex, marking a sharp departure from outgoing Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s clean energy focus. With rising US energy demand from AI, EVs, and cryptocurrencies, Wright is expected to prioritize fossil fuels, nuclear power, and infrastructure permitting while opposing global climate efforts. Trump also nominated former Congressman Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), signaling rollbacks on carbon and vehicle emissions regulations, rescinding California’s emissions authority, and promoting deregulation. Zeldin’s 14% environmental voting record and criticism of green policies drew praise from Trump but concern from environmental advocates urging scrutiny during his confirmation.

📑 The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 (ISSA 5000), a global framework for sustainability assurance engagements. The standard addresses growing regulatory requirements for external assurance, such as those under the EU’s CSRD and the IFRS climate and sustainability standards. Designed as a global baseline, ISSA 5000 supports both limited and reasonable assurance engagements, accommodates traditional and double materiality perspectives, and is compatible with multiple reporting frameworks, including GRI and ISO.

📑 The IFRS’ International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) released a comprehensive guide to support the global implementation of its standards, focusing on helping companies identify and disclose material sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could impact cash flows, access to finance, or cost of capital. The guide explains the integration of sustainability into financial disclosures, emphasizing the interconnectedness of a company’s dependencies and impacts across its value chain, as outlined in IFRS S1. It aligns with existing financial materiality processes, particularly benefiting companies already using IFRS Accounting Standards, while also providing guidance for integrating ISSB Standards with frameworks like ESRS and GRI. The IFRS Foundation’s new progress report also highlights that over 30 jurisdictions, representing 57% of global GDP, 40% of global market capitalization, and over half of global GHG emissions, are adopting or progressing toward ISSB’s sustainability disclosure standards. The ISSB standards align with TCFD recommendations, which have seen growing corporate adoption, with 82% of companies reporting at least one disclosure in 2023, up from 73% in 2022.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

Corporate sustainability, new tools and services & companies in the news

🛩️ Air Canada partnered with Neste to purchase 77.6 million liters (20.5 million gallons) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), marking the airline’s first commercial import of SAF into Canada. Neste's SAF, produced from renewable waste materials, can reduce GHG emissions by up to 80% over its lifecycle compared to fossil jet fuel. Deliveries will begin in December at Vancouver Airport and continue through 2025.

⚡️ IBM launched IBM Maximo Renewables, a solution designed to enhance the management and efficiency of renewable energy assets. The platform provides tools to monitor performance, identify efficiency losses, recommend corrective actions, and plan maintenance work, addressing challenges such as asset complexity, high inspection costs, and operational inefficiencies. Leveraging AI, IoT, and analytics, Maximo Renewables offers features like a portfolio-wide Map View, custom dashboards, and automated workflows to optimize asset performance and maximize ROI.

📑 A US judge dismissed a lawsuit against Danone, the maker of Evian water, challenging its "carbon neutral" claims on bottles. Consumers alleged the claim was misleading because Evian's manufacturing process emitted CO₂. Initially, the judge allowed the case to proceed, finding the "carbon neutral" label ambiguous. However, upon reconsideration, the judge ruled that ‘reasonable’ consumers would look beyond the front label and access additional information provided on the back label and Evian's website, which clarified the claim. The decision follows another recent dismissal of a lawsuit accusing Danone of misleading consumers by labeling Evian as "natural" despite microplastics in the bottles.

🟢 INGKA Group, the largest IKEA retailer, is investing €1.5 billion to phase out fossil fuels for its stores, aiming to achieve 100% renewable heating and cooling by 2030. The initiative supports the company’s goal to reduce its operational climate footprint by 85% by 2030 and addresses heating and cooling, the largest contributors to its Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The investment will accelerate retrofitting 150 existing properties and ensure all new units incorporate renewable systems.

🐄 Syngenta is collaborating with McDonald’s and one of its meat suppliers to introduce Enogen corn, a genetically modified crop designed to reduce cattle GHG emissions. The corn contains an enzyme that converts starch into sugars more efficiently, helping cattle reach market weight faster and reducing emissions during their lifetime. Syngenta estimates that feeding Enogen corn to a herd of 1,000 cattle could cut CO₂ emissions by 196 tons, equivalent to removing 35 cars from the road annually.

EVERYTHING FINANCE

Sustainable finance, funding rounds, acquisitions & private equity deals

⚡️ JPMorgan revealed that it provided $1.29 in financing for green energy for every dollar backing high-carbon energy in 2023. The ratio includes loans, debt underwriting, and green bonds, categorized based on forward-looking data such as clients' capital expenditures. The ratio reflects both a strategic focus on low-carbon energy and reduced demand for external financing from cash-rich oil companies.

🚙 Rivian secured a $5.8 billion investment from Volkswagen as part of a joint venture, Rivian and VW Group Technology LLC, focused on integrating advanced electrical systems and software into future EVs. The funding provides critical support as Rivian grapples with widening losses, high cash burn, and challenges scaling production, particularly following a $1.45 billion loss in Q1 2024. The partnership positions Rivian to address capital concerns, reduce costs, and prepare for the launch of its budget-friendly R2 SUV, targeting cost-conscious consumers. Despite steep competition, declining market value, and uncertainty under Trump’s presidency, analysts see potential in the Rivian-VW alliance to challenge Tesla’s dominance in the Western EV market.

🟢 Vaulted Deep, which sequesters carbon by burying organic waste like biosolids and manure deep underground using oil industry technology, raised $32 million in venture capital to expand operations. The company, just a year old, uses injection wells to quickly process large amounts of waste and has already delivered over 5,000 tonnes of carbon removal. Customers include Frontier, a coalition of major firms like Alphabet, Meta, and Shopify, which has purchased over 150,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits at around $400 per ton.

📊 Accelsius, a leader in next-generation data center cooling, raised $24 million in a Series A funding round, enabling the company to expand its proprietary NeuCool two-phase, direct-to-chip liquid cooling system. NeuCool offers a 50% reduction in energy consumption, zero water use, and a 10x increase in rack power density, addressing the rising energy demands of data centers driven by AI growth.

🌾 Klim, a regenerative agriculture platform provider, raised $22 million in a Series A funding round to support its global expansion and enhance its offerings. Klim’s digital platform guides farmers in implementing sustainability practices, reducing carbon impacts, and supports food companies in mitigating Scope 3 emissions and improving supply chain resilience. Currently, over 3,500 farmers managing 700,000 hectares of land—5% of German farmland—use Klim's platform, with clients including Nestlé, Kaufland, and Aryzta.

⚡️ Sympower, an Amsterdam-based energy management and virtual power plant technology provider, raised €21.3 million in a Series B1 financing round. Founded in 2015, Sympower enables grid flexibility by adjusting electric assets' power through automated demand response, helping grid operators and energy stakeholders balance supply and demand, reduce power generation, and lower carbon footprints. The company manages over 2GW of distributed resources across Europe, with active markets including the Nordics and Greece.

🟢 California-based General Galactic raised $8 million in seed funding, bringing its total investment to $10 million. The company is developing a modular hardware platform, Genesis, that captures CO₂ and converts it into 100% renewable synthetic hydrocarbon fuel, compatible with existing energy infrastructure. The funding will accelerate the commercialization of Genesis, which transforms industrial CO₂ waste streams into fossil-free natural gas.

🌾 Agricultural sustainability startup NitroVolt raised €3.5 million in seed funding to commercialize its "green ammonia" production system, Nitrolyzer, which creates ammonia at the farm level with minimal carbon impact. NitroVolt's system synthesizes ammonia using air, water, and renewable electricity in an electrocatalytic process, eliminating fossil fuels and producing carbon-free ammonia competitively priced with conventional methods.

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