What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (Week Recap 18.06 - 24.06) 🌎

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This week’s read time: 8 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:

• The ISSB announces that it is working on harmonizing the sustainability reporting landscape 📑

• The number of companies with 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plans disclosed through CDP increased by 44% last year 🌎

• The EU and China agreed to start talks on the planned imposition of tariffs on Chinese-made EVs 🚙

• The US passed a bill to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy 🇺🇸

• Major corporations, including Microsoft and Salesforce, continue to sign carbon removal deals 🟢

• and other news 🌍

THE WEEK’S TOP NEWS

Regulatory Oversight & Industry Insights

📑 The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) announced that it is working on harmonizing the sustainability reporting landscape. The organization is embarking on a new two-year work plan, focusing on reducing the complexity of sustainability reporting initiatives and ensuring high-quality, comparable information about sustainability-related risks and opportunities. The ISSB is partnering with the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT), GHG Protocol, CDP, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to achieve this. Over 20 jurisdictions, accounting for nearly 55% of global GDP and more than 40% of global market capitalization, are already using or planning to introduce ISSB Standards in their legal or regulatory frameworks.

📑 The TNFD and EFRAG have also jointly published a mapping of the correspondence between the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the TNFD’s recommended disclosures and metrics. This mapping aims to help companies understand the commonalities between ESRS and TNFD, aiding those in the scope of the CSRD that consider alignment with TNFD. The high level of correspondence is reflected through concepts and definitions, the approach to materiality, the LEAP approach, reporting pillars, and recommended disclosures and metrics.

🚙 The EU and China agreed to start talks on the planned imposition of tariffs on Chinese-made EVs being imported into the European market. This comes after the EU proposed hefty duties on imports of Chinese-made EVs to combat what the EU considers excessive subsidies. The bloc’s provisional duties of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese EVs are set to apply by July 4, with the investigation set to continue until Nov. 2, when definitive duties could be imposed. China, keen to avoid another tariff war, has expressed a willingness to negotiate but also threatened retaliatory measures if the EU does not back down.

🇺🇸 The US Senate passed a bill to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy, including speeding up permitting and creating incentives for advanced nuclear reactor technologies. The bill, which has bipartisan support, aims to expand nuclear power for decarbonization and job creation. The US also requested the EU to postpone its impending deforestation law, which would ban imports of commodities linked to deforestation, such as soy and wood. The law, set to take effect on December 30, requires proof that supply chains for certain products do not contribute to deforestation. US officials argue that US producers are struggling to prepare for compliance due to a lack of clear guidance and a system for submitting documentation.

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MORE INTERESTING NEWS

Latest developments, reports, insights, and trends

⚡️ Global fossil fuel consumption and energy emissions reached record highs in 2023, despite a slight decrease in fossil fuels' share of the global energy mix. The report also highlighted regional shifts in fossil fuel use, with demand peaking in advanced economies but continuing to grow in the Global South. Fossil fuel accounted for almost all demand growth in India, while in China, fossil fuel use rose 6% to a new high, but the country also accounted for over half of global additions in renewable energy generation.

📑 The number of companies with 1.5°C-aligned climate transition plans disclosed through CDP increased by 44% last year, with one in four companies reporting such plans (5,906 in total). However, only 1% fully disclosed data to all 21 climate transition plan indicators in CDP’s questionnaire. Companies listed on Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 Index and Korea’s KOSPI 200 outperformed their G20 peers in disclosure, while Canada's S&P/TSX60 and China's CSI 300 were the poorest performing indices.

🇨🇭 The Swiss Federal Council decided to allow the financial sector to self-regulate greenwashing prevention, following the sector's progress in developing self-regulatory provisions. The decision comes after the Council's proposals for greenwashing prevention measures, which included transparency rules and sustainability goals. The Council will refrain from state regulation at this time but will reassess once the EU publishes potential amendments to its Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

🇦🇺 The Australian Treasury released its Sustainable Finance Roadmap, detailing plans to reform financial markets to support the transition to a net-zero economy. Key priorities include mandatory climate-related reporting, a sustainable finance taxonomy, and a labeling regime for sustainable investments. The roadmap outlines the implementation of mandatory disclosure of climate-related financial risks and opportunities, with reporting requirements for large and medium-sized companies commencing in 2025.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

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

🟢 CarbonCapture Inc. is set to unveil the first direct air capture (DAC) module designed for mass production in the US. The company's modular units, known as the Leo Series, can capture over 500 tons of CO₂ per year. Each module is the size of a standard shipping container, and the company plans to produce 4,000 of them per year. Despite the current high costs and energy intensity of DAC technology, CarbonCapture believes that a mass production approach could help scale the technology.

📊 Bloomberg launched a new data solution to provide financial firms with sustainability data reported under the EU's CSRD. Bloomberg's new offering will help clients access the ESG data companies report under CSRD, aiding sustainable investment decisions and supporting their own CSRD reporting.

📊 Workiva launched Workiva Carbon, a solution for companies to collect, manage, and report GHG emissions data. The new solution offers features like emissions measurement, automated calculation of carbon emissions, supplier engagement surveys, and reporting.

🟢 Microsoft signed the largest-ever nature-based carbon removal deal with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG), purchasing 8 million tons of carbon removal credits through 2043. The credits will be generated through TIG’s reforestation and restoration strategy in Latin America, with 60% of the credits expected to come from carbon sequestration in newly restored native forests, and the remaining 40% from carbon sequestration in newly established and sustainably managed commercial tree farms. Microsoft also announced another carbon removal purchase agreement with Indigo Ag, with Indigo delivering 40,000 tons of carbon credits to the company. These credits are generated through the promotion of regenerative agriculture practices by US farmers. Indigo Ag, founded in 2013, provides nature-based and digital technologies to help farmers improve profitability and environmental sustainability.

🟢 Frontier, a consortium of corporate giants including Meta, Alphabet, and Stripe, announced a $48.6 million deal with Stockholm Exergi for carbon removal credits. The credits will come from CO₂ captured at Stockholm Exergi's biomass-fired district heating plant in Sweden. The buyers include Alphabet, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, and H&M. Salesforce also committed $25 million to Frontier to purchase permanent carbon removals. Additionally, Salesforce has allocated nearly $4 million in grants to support clean energy accessibility, early-stage climate startups, and green job creation.

♻️ Amazon has replaced 95% of the plastic air pillows in its North American delivery packaging with paper filler, aiming for complete removal by year's end. This marks Amazon's largest plastic packaging reduction effort in the region and the move is part of the company’s commitment to reducing plastic waste, claiming it will remove nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows from circulation annually.

EVERYTHING FINANCE

Funding rounds, sustainable finance, acquisitions & private equity deals

⚡️ H&M Group invested in Rondo Energy, a zero-carbon industrial heat and power provider, to explore heat storage technologies for decarbonizing the textile supply chain. Rondo's Heat Batteries convert renewable electricity into continuous, high-temperature heat and power for industries, including textile production. This partnership aims to replace fossil fuels in H&M's global supply chain with clean heat and power from Rondo Heat Batteries.

📊 UBS Next, the venture and innovation unit of UBS, invested in impact data and analytics provider GIST Impact. The funds will be used to expand product integrations and develop impact data and software solutions, including preparations for the EU’s CSRD and evaluating natural capital impact.

📈 Paris-based venture capital firm Wind launched a new €130 million fund. The fund will finance sustainable deep-tech startups at the Seed/Series A stage across Europe's vital services and infrastructure industries.

🛞 Circular economy technology company LD Carbon raised $28 million in a Series C funding round. The company's technology provides nearly 100% recovery of waste tires, supporting automakers' sustainability goals.

🔋 Cleantech startup Molten Industries raised $25 million in a Series A funding round to scale its production of graphite for lithium-ion batteries and clean hydrogen for decarbonizing the chemical and steel industries. The company's methane pyrolysis technology converts natural gas into clean hydrogen gas and graphite, using methane sourced from low-emission sources and waste streams.

🏢 Sustainable building solutions provider Bisly raised €6.2 million in a Series A funding round to expand its operations in Europe. Bisly offers a smart technology platform that manages HVAC and lighting in buildings, reducing building emissions by up to 30%.

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