What's Happening in Sustainability? (Week Recap 04.04 - 10.04) 🌎

This week’s read time: 5 minutes

Welcome to this edition of Green Digest, where you will get updated about everything happening in the sustainability & ESG space in less than 5 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. 🍀

Subscribe to receive the issue every Tuesday and stay updated:

The week’s most important news:

🇺🇸 President Biden's administration is set to propose the toughest-ever US curbs on car pollution, which will govern tailpipe emissions of CO2, NO2, and other pollution from vehicles manufactured for model years 2027 through 2032. The plan is part of a strategy to clamp down on planet-warming pollution from transportation and electricity and is key to helping the US meet its Paris Agreement commitment to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% from 2005 levels by the end of the decade. The proposal will not include an electric-vehicle mandate or ban on gas-powered models but will tighten limits on smog-forming vehicle pollution, potentially forcing automakers to adopt exhaust controls already used on cars sold in Europe, China, and other markets.

🌎 A Refinitiv analysis has identified at least 10,000 non-EU companies that will be subject to the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will require sustainability reporting and independent verification of disclosures. About a third of these companies are American, 13% are Canadian, and 11% are British. The CSRD's first standards will be published in June, and the rules will apply to foreign companies with EU stock listings, annual EU revenue of over €150m, or an EU subsidiary that meets certain criteria. The rules will go into effect in 2025 for some companies and in 2027 for others.

✅ The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) of the IFRS Foundation has announced that companies reporting under the new climate disclosure standards will have an additional year to provide disclosure on some sustainability-related risks in order to first focus on climate-related reporting. The new standards will be effective as of January 2024, with companies beginning to issue disclosures against the standards in 2025. The ISSB also decided to give an extra year to companies reporting on climate-related risks and opportunities to provide comparative information about their sustainability-related risks and opportunities beyond climate.

🇺🇸 The Biden-Harris Administration has proposed to strengthen and update the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, achieving important hazardous air pollutant emissions reductions and ensuring standards reflect the latest advancements in pollution control technologies. The proposed rule would reduce emissions of mercury and non-mercury metal pollution, such as nickel, arsenic, and lead, and result in cleaner air for surrounding communities. EPA is requesting public comment on all aspects of this proposed rule, including the evaluation of the costs and efficacy of control option assumptions.

What else is happening? 🧐

• The U.S. Department of Energy has also announced up to $450 million to advance clean energy demonstration projects on current and former mine lands. The funding aims to strengthen rural economies, create new jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The projects are estimated to generate up to 90 GW of clean energy, enough to power nearly 30 million American homes. The Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land will establish how mine lands can be successfully leveraged for clean energy and will pave the way for the broad replication of these projects across the nation. 🇺🇸

• JPMorgan Chase facilitated $197 billion in sustainable finance in 2022, a 30% decline from the previous year, according to its Annual Report. The bank is slightly behind pace towards its 10-year sustainability targets, which include financing and facilitating over $2.5 trillion to advance sustainable development, with $482 billion and $176 billion achieved towards the goals to date. The corporate and investment bank accounted for the bulk of the activity, facilitating $164 billion of transactions towards the goal, primarily through ESG-related bond issuances, derivative hedging, and advising on M&A deals. 📈

• Walmart plans to build its own EV fast-charging network at thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club locations across the US by 2030, in addition to the 1,300 EV fast-charging stations it already has. With a store or club located within 10 miles of approximately 90% of Americans, Walmart declared that it is uniquely positioned to deliver a convenient charging option that will help make EV ownership possible for people in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Walmart aims to offer Every Day Low Price charging and sees its commitment as a natural extension of its work to help customers and members live better, easier, and more sustainable lives. 💡

• The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) has announced that major corporations are purchasing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) certificates for nearly 850,000 gallons of high-integrity SAF produced by World Energy and helping fuel JetBlue flights, reducing an estimated 8,500 tons of CO2 on a lifecycle basis. Companies including Bank of America, Boom Supersonic, Boston Consulting Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Meta, and clean energy nonprofit RMI are joining together through SABA to purchase SAF certificates at scale, providing a demand signal for fuel producers to make more high-integrity SAF and influencing SAF cost competitiveness with conventional jet fuel. 🛩️

Where is cash flowing? 👀

• Everstream Analytics, a supply chain insights and risk analytics company, has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management's 1GT private equity platform and StepStone Group. The funding will be used to drive innovation in operational risk and ESG performance to accelerate supply chain sustainability. Everstream applies AI and predictive analytics to procurement, logistics, and business continuity platforms to help businesses achieve more autonomous and sustainable supply chains. The company's solutions can help businesses demonstrate compliance with supply chain due diligence regulations and drive emissions reduction through intelligent logistics recommendations. 💡

• Swedish electric boat builder X Shore has raised €26.5m in a funding round led by SEB Investment Management AB. The Stockholm-based start-up will use the funds to scale production and accelerate growth in the US, where it has enjoyed success. X Shore's boats use sustainable materials and smart design to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and the company aims to lead the transition to electric vessels in the boating industry. 🛥️

• Munich-based smart thermostat maker Tado has raised an additional €12m to add to the €43m it secured in January 2023. The company's thermostats can be controlled via customers' smartphones, enabling them to reduce energy consumption by responding to temperature changes in their homes. The new funding will be used to scale the business as it aims for profitability in 2023. The latest investment was provided by S2G Ventures. 🌡️

More interesting news💡:

• Japan plans to increase its annual hydrogen supply to 12 million metric tons by 2040, up from the current 2 million tons, according to the industry ministry. The country aims to lead the setting of global standards for the cleaner fuel and will revise its hydrogen strategy by the end of May, with plans to invest 15 trillion yen ($113 billion) over 15 years in the public and private sectors. Hydrogen has been touted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels and has a major role in helping Japan to meet its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. 🍀

• Apple has announced that its manufacturing partners now support over 13 gigawatts of renewable electricity around the world, a nearly 30% increase in the last year. More than 250 suppliers operating across 28 countries are committed to using renewable energy for all Apple production by 2030. Apple also supports about 1.5 gigawatts of renewable electricity around the world to power all corporate offices, data centers, and retail stores spanning 44 countries. The company has also invested directly in nearly 500 megawatts of solar and wind in China and Japan to address upstream supply chain emissions. 💡

• A new study by EY has found that despite over 80% of FTSE 100 companies committing to net zero by 2050, only 5% have published "credible" or sufficiently detailed decarbonization plans. The study assessed the net zero transition material published publicly by FTSE 100 businesses as of January 31, 2023, and found the weakest element for the companies was the "Implementation Strategy" stage, with only 11% publishing some of the required elements. The UK government has pledged to require large listed companies to disclose decarbonization plans this year, but a final date has not been disclosed. ⛔️

• Google has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with energy provider Ørsted for renewable energy generated from the Helena Wind Farm in Texas. The deal, which is Google's first agreement with Ørsted in the US and second globally, will contribute to Google's commitment to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. The wind farm is part of Ørsted's Helena Energy Center and is powered by 66 turbines, providing enough energy to power an estimated 90,000 homes. 💡

• Mastercard has announced that it will remove first-use PVC plastics from its payment cards and require all newly-produced cards to be made from more sustainable materials by 2028. The company will also support its global issuing partners in the transition away from first-use plastics. Mastercard will certify the composition and sustainability claims of all newly made cards on the network, with the certification validated by an independent third-party auditor. ✅

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

If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, don’t forget to subscribe and share it 🍀