Alex Pearon, Author at ESGWireNews

ThursdayFeb 27, 2025 10:00 am

The EU Plans to Scale Back Some of its Toughest ESG Rules

A recent draft proposal presented by the executive arm of the European Union asks that some primary points in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive be amended. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is focused on fostering responsible and sustainable corporate behavior in firms’ operations and across their international value chains. This ESG regulation entered into force on July 25th last year and applies to large limited liability companies and partnerships in the European Union, as well as large non-EU enterprises. The proposed changes to the directive include: Abolish aspects of the civil liability clause and the regulations concerning representative…

TuesdayFeb 25, 2025 10:00 am

Canadian Investors Remain Steadfast Despite Headwinds Against ESG

A new study has determined that over 90% of institutional investors in Canada are integrating ESG considerations into their strategies, with a focus on long-term engagement and risk management. The study, which was carried out by Millani, comes as shifts in sustainability policies, climate regulations and trade relations rock America. The return of President Donald Trump to the White House has seen pushback against ESG grow significantly as companies come under fire for ESG and DEI policies. Just recently, major financial institutions like Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley pulled out of the Net Zero Banking Alliance. Additionally, Meta,…

FridayFeb 21, 2025 10:00 am

Report Shows Falling Investor Support for ESG Proposals

A recently released report has determined that investor support for environmental, social and governance (ESG) proposals is declining, especially in America. These proposals are usually introduced by activists and campaigners urging companies to address issues including possible human rights abuses, their climate impact, diversity and inclusion policies. Despite not being legally binding, they can influence the board to employ measures to address these issues. The report was compiled by ShareAction, an investment campaign group focused on improving corporate behavior on ESG issues. According to the report, only four out of 279 resolutions tabled at AGMs in the past year in…

ThursdayFeb 20, 2025 10:00 am

America Looks to Be on a Collision Course with the EU Over its ESG Rules

During a recent U.S. Senate hearing, Howard Lutnick stated that the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive would place significant burden on companies in America. Lutnick, who was selected by President Trump to fill the Secretary of Commerce position, explained that they were looking to use available trade tools to challenge these regulations. He added that he’d take whatever action was necessary to prevent the imposition of rules that negatively affected American firms. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is a measure adopted by the EU to promote responsible behavior by companies, focused on adherence to environmental standards and human rights…

FridayFeb 14, 2025 10:00 am

DeepSeek’s Emergence Raises Questions About AI and the Direction of ESG

DeepSeek recently rolled out its large language model designed to improve reasoning capability using less computing power and fewer chips dubbed R1. In its announcement, the Chinese company revealed that it had used about $6 million to develop its model. This amount, while still huge, is minute in comparison to the multi-billion-dollar costs of other AI models. Following the announcement, AI stocks and firms associated with the space saw massive drops. For instance, Nvidia lost nearly $600 billion in market capitalization as investor concerns that demand for the firm’s chips would reduce soared. Additionally, analysts observed a 20-30% decrease in…

ThursdayFeb 13, 2025 10:00 am

State AGs Renew Their Fight Against ESG

Towards the end of last year, attorneys-general from different GOP states filed an antitrust suit against investment firms linked to ESG initiatives, led by Texas. This trend continued into the new year, with opposition against ESG growing while opposition to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs also increased. Just last month, another group of GOP state attorneys-general led by Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas wrote a letter detailing contractual and legal violations by different financial institutions. In their letter, the attorneys-general called attention to the fact that financial institutions were violating their fiduciary duties by working towards their climate commitments…

TuesdayFeb 11, 2025 10:00 am

While Proposals Against ESG are Surging, Their Success is Dismal

As the call for greater corporate responsibility over environmental, social, and governance issues among investors and shareholders grows, so does opposition to ESG initiatives. In the last few months, we’ve seen major corporations like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance following heavy ESG backlash. To determine the anti-ESG movement’s success rate, a new study has analyzed every anti-ESG proposal presented at general shareholder meetings within the 500 biggest public firms in America based on their revenue. The researchers classified proposals as anti-ESG if they criticized investor intervention that insists on firms being held accountable for environmental or…

FridayFeb 07, 2025 10:00 am

EU Technology Consortium Commits to Tackling 6G ESG Concerns

Major organizations have joined forces to roll out an initiative focused on lessening the environmental impact of 6G mobile systems. The organizations, through a consortium dubbed EXIGENCE, hope to address the rising environmental toll of digital devices. The project will focus on optimizing service provision, measuring the consumption of energy, and encouraging behavioral changes among IT users, using incentives. It involves seven countries in the European Union as well as different partners in academic research, the telecom sector and digital transformation. Its partners include Huawei, Detecon, F6S, Eviden, Internet Institute, Instituto de Telecomunicações, Athens University of Economics and Business, National…

ThursdayFeb 06, 2025 10:00 am

Institutional Investors Continue to Consider ESG Despite the Ongoing Backlash

The return of President Donald Trump to the White House has negatively impacted ESG initiatives, particularly in areas related to investment strategies, corporate regulations, and climate policies. Amid the increasing backlash against ESG, financial giants like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan have chosen to distance themselves from global climate initiatives like the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. Meanwhile, publicly listed firms like Bristol-Myers Squibb, Levi Strauss, and Pfizer are being pushed to scrap their DEI programs, objectives, and departments, with others like Meta and Amazon already scaling back/eliminating their DEI efforts. Despite these challenges, a recent study indicates that institutional investors…

TuesdayFeb 04, 2025 10:00 am

SHEIN: Increasing Emissions, ESG Efforts, and Greenwashing Claims

SHEIN, a global e-commerce platform that specializes in fast fashion, has been working to strengthen its ESG efforts these last few years. Between 2019 and 2023, the company grew by over 1000%. In 2023, its estimated revenue totaled $32.5 billion. Chris Xu, its founder and CEO, stated that their mission was to make fashion accessible to everyone. He added, though, that producing affordable clothing and delivering it to consumers gave rise to challenges that had to be addressed. One of these challenges is the significant increase in emissions as global e-commerce grows. Between 2022 and 2023, the company reported 43%…

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Author: Alex Pearon