What's Happening in Sustainability? (Week Recap 18.04 - 24.04) 🌎

This week’s read time: 6 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. 🍀

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The week’s most important news:

🌎 President Joe Biden announced plans to increase US funding to help developing countries fight climate change and curb deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest during a meeting with leaders from the world's largest economies. Biden urged his counterparts to be ambitious in setting goals to reduce emissions and meet a target of limiting overall global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The US will contribute $1 billion to the Green Climate Fund and request $500 million over five years to contribute to the Amazon Fund. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also announced a new European Union-led initiative to develop new global targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy alongside the International Energy Agency - in time for the UN's annual summit on climate change in November.

🇪🇺 The European Union’s parliament has approved legislation to tax imports based on the greenhouse gases emitted to make them, clearing the final hurdle before the plan becomes law and enshrines climate regulation in the rules of global trade for the first time. The tax aims to push economies worldwide to put a price on CO2 emissions while shielding the EU’s manufacturers from countries that aren’t regulating emissions as strictly. The tax has raised concerns in the U.S. and drawn criticism from China and parts of the developing world, where manufacturers tend to emit more CO2 than their European competitors and rely more on coal-fired electricity.

🇺🇸 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is set to require around 7,000 companies listed on U.S. exchanges to disclose climate-related information in their regular financial filings, exposing splits among businesses. Some believe climate disclosure can boost profits, while others see it as costly and useless. The SEC is considering softening some proposed requirements, while investors want standardized, comparable reporting. The agriculture industry opposes any disclosures, while the oil, gas, and manufacturing industries are mixed, but all want protection from legal liability over information they say they can't control.

🇪🇺 The European Parliament has adopted a new law requiring companies to ensure that products sold in the EU have not contributed to deforestation and forest degradation throughout their supply chains. The law aims to fight climate change and biodiversity loss, and requires companies to issue a due diligence statement confirming that the product was not sourced from land subject to deforestation or forest degradation after 2020. The law covers a wide range of products and commodities, including palm and soya oil, and includes penalties for non-compliance of up to 4% of annual revenue in the EU of the operator or trader. The Parliament has also adopted a resolution on Sustainable Carbon Cycles, acknowledging the potential for carbon removals to limit climate change, but warning against relying too heavily on them to pursue the EU goal to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and to achieve net negative emissions after 2050.

🌎 The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the People’s Bank of China have launched the China-Singapore Green Finance Taskforce, aimed at deepening cooperation on green and transition finance and facilitating public-private collaboration to facilitate financing for Asia’s low carbon transition. While Australia will issue its first green bond in mid-2024 to fund environmental sustainability initiatives and attract more green capital to the country. The government also committed to developing a sustainable finance taxonomy and tackling greenwashing, including providing funding to expand the surveillance and enforcement functions of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. Earlier, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange also proposed new rules requiring all issuers to provide climate-related disclosures aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board's upcoming Climate Standard, effective for financial periods beginning January 1, 2024.

💡 More interesting news:

• The European Central Bank (ECB) has found that while reporting on climate and environmental risk has improved among EU banks, very few are prepared to meet regulatory disclosure requirements set to take effect this year. The ECB assessed 103 significant banks and 28 other institutions supervised by national authorities, finding that only 6% of banks provided "broadly adequate" disclosure across all categories of the review. Banks face near-term pressure to comply with sustainability-related reporting requirements under the European Banking Authority's Implementing Technical Standards on Pillar 3 ESG risks, which take effect this year, and non-compliance will constitute a breach of EU law, triggering supervisory action. 🇪🇺

• A lack of new mining activity and challenges in increasing mine output have led to concerns about a copper shortage for the energy transition. McKinsey & Co. forecasts a 6.5 million ton shortfall in copper supply by 2031, with annual demand expected to reach 36.6 million metric tons. Copper prices may need to rise to $15,000 a metric ton to attract investment in new mines. Analysts suggest that while potential new supplies could come from Congo and Zambia, the largest deposits are still in South America, where low staff levels, slowed operations, and community protests limit output growth. ⛔️

• CDP, a global environmental disclosure system, has added plastic-related reporting to its platform following a request from over 740 investors with $136tn in assets. The new module covers plastics mapping, potential impacts on the environment, business risks, and targets, and includes questions for companies with certain plastics production and use activities covering total weight, raw material content, and circularity potential. Sectors invited to disclose on plastic-related impacts include chemicals, fashion/apparel, food and beverage, fossil fuels, and packaging. ✅

• According to a survey by Honeywell, 83% of executives plan to increase spending on environmental sustainability initiatives in the next 12 months, with energy efficiency and emissions reduction being top priorities. However, this is a decrease from previous surveys due to economic and geopolitical pressure. The report also found that sustainability goals are becoming a higher priority for executives, with 75% citing it as the top priority over the next 6 months. Technology-based solutions are also increasingly being used to achieve sustainability targets. 👀

• While according to a study by IBM, over 70% of executives view ESG as a revenue enabler, and consumers increasingly focus on companies’ sustainability performance when making purchasing and employment decisions. The study found that ESG is a top priority for businesses, with 76% of respondents reporting that it is central to their business strategy and 72% approaching ESG as a revenue enabler rather than a cost center. However, data-related challenges remain a key obstacle to achieving sustainability-related goals for both executives and consumers. 💡

🧐 What are companies doing?

• PwC plans to launch a Centre for Nature Positive Business, double its team of nature specialists, and upskill all 328,000 employees to better understand nature impacts and work with clients on nature-positive outcomes. The new centre will bring together biodiversity, water, regenerative agriculture and forestry capabilities and offer bespoke online learning through its global Sustainability Academy. PwC also released a report indicating that 55% of global GDP, equivalent to approximately $58tn, is moderately or highly dependent on nature and exposed to material nature risk, up from $44tn in 2020. ✅

• Deloitte has launched three new solutions on the Workiva platform to assist organizations with ESG reporting, including a Scope 3 emissions calculator, continuous control monitoring support, and a sustainability reporting tool. The new solutions are designed to provide connectivity between organizations' ESG reporting and governance, risk, and compliance functions. The new solutions aim to help clients enhance their use of the Workiva platform to put what is good and equitable for people and the planet at the core of business decisions. 💡

• Amundi, a leading European asset manager, has launched a suite of passively and actively managed funds across various asset classes called Net Zero Ambition strategies. The suite includes equities, fixed income, real estate, multi-asset, emerging markets, and ETFs, all aimed at helping investors align their portfolios with a net zero trajectory. The suite supports Amundi's ESG Plan 2025 and its parent company Crédit Agricole Group's Societal Project, focused on climate, social cohesion, and agricultural and agri-food transitions. 📈

• Holcim has launched ECOCycle®, a circular technology platform that recycles 100% of construction demolition materials into new building solutions, from decarbonized raw materials in low-carbon cement formulation to aggregates in concrete and fillers in road construction. The technology enables concrete, cement and aggregates to contain from 10 to 100% ECOCycle® recycled construction demolition materials inside with no compromise in performance, while reducing their environmental footprint. Holcim is deploying ECOCycle® across its range of material solutions to scale up circular construction and reduce its use of natural resources. 🍀

• Starbucks has certified over 3,500 locations as "Greener Stores" through its framework assessing environmental impact indicators, with the goal of reaching 10,000 globally by 2025. The stores must meet 25 required standards across eight environmental impact areas and be verified by an outside auditor. The program has saved the company nearly $60 million in annual operating costs and contributed to its sustainability goals. Starbucks plans to expand the program to Latin America and the Caribbean by 2023 by building all new stores under the framework. ⭐️

• Lululemon aims to replace the majority of oil-based nylon with plant-based versions by 2030 and make all of its products with sustainable materials by the end of the decade. Its first products out this month are two shirts containing at least 50% nylon made from plant-based sugars instead of oil. Biomaterials, made from plants that capture carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, hold the promise of helping consumer-facing companies slash emissions embedded in their products. 💡

• Schneider Electric has launched Zeigo, a suite of software solutions aimed at enabling companies to simplify and accelerate climate action. The ecosystem includes existing digital solutions and Zeigo Activate, aimed specifically at SMEs, to help track and reduce their climate impact. The ecosystem also includes tools to connect corporates to educational resources and cleantech projects through Schneider Electric’s NEO Network, and to purchase clean energy through Zeigo Power, a renewable energy platform acquired by the company last year. ✅

👀 Where is cash flowing?

🌎 Ocean-based CO2 removal company Ebb Carbon has raised $20 million to develop and deploy its electrochemical approach to enhance the ocean's ability to capture and store CO2 from the atmosphere. The financing marks the largest investment to date in ocean-based carbon removal technology and potentially presents one of the lowest-cost pathways to carbon removal. Ebb Carbon's technology accelerates the natural ocean alkalinization process, reducing higher acidity levels caused by higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere while drawing down CO2 and converting it to bicarbonate for safe and stable storage, capable of sequestering CO2 for at least 10,000 years.

🍀 H2 Green Steel has secured a supply agreement worth over €250 million with BILSTEIN GROUP for low carbon footprint steel, with deliveries beginning in 2026 from H2 Green Steel's fossil-free steel plant in Boden, Sweden. Steelmaking is a major emitter of CO2, and H2 Green Steel aims to produce 5 million tons of fossil-free steel by 2030 using green hydrogen and renewable energy. The companies will also work together to develop steel grades and share best practices on carbon footprint reduction and recycling.

💡 San Francisco-based startup SPAN has raised $96 million to accelerate R&D and expand its reach into new categories, including major home appliances and smart home devices. The company's products enable residential electrification and clean energy adoption, with revenue increasing by almost 600% in 2022. The funding round was led by Wellington Management and included participation from investors, including Amazon's Alexa Fund, Capricorn Investment Group, and Qualcomm Ventures.

💡 Carbon management and accounting platform nZero has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Fifth Wall and a national US energy company. The platform provides real-time carbon management and accounting, analyzing and managing carbon emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 based on first-party data. The funding will enable nZero to grow as a data authority and deepen its work with Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, government agencies, and NGOs.

⭐️ Impact verification startup BlueMark has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by S&P Global. BlueMark provides independent impact verification services for investors and companies and plans to use the funding to expand its presence across industries and geographies, with a focus on Asia.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for making it to the end, your attention span is absolutely impressive 💪.

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