NewsRoom Articles - Page 18 of 46

WednesdayMay 08, 2024 10:00 am

EU Gives Airlines 30-Day Deadline Over Greenwashing Claims

Last week, the European Union opened an inquiry into what are possibly misleading greenwashing claims by some airlines. These practices include claims that fuel emissions are offset by initiatives focused on sustainability. While the airlines haven’t been listed, the regulators involved are Spanish, Norwegian, Dutch and Belgian. The European Union has given the airlines involved a 30-day deadline to present evidence that the claims made in their ads aren’t misleading. The objective is to put an end to the growing trend of companies promoting their business, services and/or products as more environmentally friendly than is factually true. Regulators have proposed…

MondayMay 06, 2024 10:00 am

US ESG Battle Now Shifts to Courts

At the start of last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) revealed that it would take more time in the implementation of new reporting rules for public companies as they dealt with the courts. This comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit halted the change, within days of adoption. The rules, which touch on environment, social and government (“ESG”) issues, are being challenged in other federal courts and by different groups. For instance, workers supported by right-wing groups in New York have filed a lawsuit accusing the state’s pension managers of breaking their fiduciary…

FridayMay 03, 2024 10:00 am

Louisiana Lawmakers Want to Restrict State Universities from Using ESG

Lawmakers in Louisiana are looking to restrict state universities from using environment, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria via a new house bill. Dubbed House Bill 909, the measure would require that state university boards first gain the approval of policymakers before deploying ESG-based criteria. According to House Bill 909, public postsecondary education management boards as well as boards of regents at state universities would require the approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget before they launch any activities related to environment, social and governance-related activities. Representative Charles Owen sponsored the measure and voluntarily deferred to avoid forcing a…

WednesdayMay 01, 2024 10:00 am

Investment Advisor Says Investors Expect More Personalization on ESG

A top investment advisor says the key to attracting investors in the current market is to provide more ESG personalization. According to Bartlett Wealth Management president and wealth advisor Holly Mazzocca, investors are looking for increased personalization when it comes to environment, sustainability and governance (“ESG”) investing. Although ESG has been one of the most prominent trends in the financial world for the past several years, its popularity has been hit in recent years amid consistent attacks from American conservatives and fears of greenwashing. Greenwashing is a form of corporate advertising or personal relations that makes it seem as though…

MondayApr 29, 2024 2:00 pm

Climate Change Puts Mining Companies in Catch-22

As countries around the world work to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to slow global warming, the extraction of metals such as cobalt, nickel and copper grows even more important. Forecasts from the World Bank estimate that by 2050, the demand for minerals and metals needed to produce clean energy in order to meet the objectives set under the Paris Agreement will have grown by close to 500%. This surge in demand is expected to affect nature and biodiversity negatively, however, with Re:wild warning that over one-third of great apes in Africa were at risk due to increased…

FridayApr 26, 2024 9:45 am

Headhunter Says Top ESG Professionals Becoming Disillusioned by Lack of Commitment

Despite the recent surge in corporate sustainability commitments across several industries, top environment, sustainability and governance experts are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the lack of proper commitment by companies. The result is a notable increase in senior ESG professionals searching for new employment opportunities after realizing that their bosses were not as serious about committing to sustainability practices as they initially claimed. TWS Search Partners founder and sustainability market headhunter Tom Strelczak says he has seen an increase in the number of inquiries from candidates dissatisfied with their previous positions in Q1 2024. According to Strelczak, some ESG specialists are…

WednesdayApr 24, 2024 2:30 pm

Group of ESG Investors Demand for Market Reforms

A coalition of ESG investors from different parts of the globe say the time has come for more accountability by private markets. This comes after evidence showed that private markets are absorbing many fossil-fuel-linked assets. The coalition, called the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (“NZAOA”), has $9.5 trillion under management. NZAOA has 89members, including Munich Re, Zurich Insurance as well as CalPERS. It is currently focused on broadening its scope to encompass all classes of private assets. Prior to this change, residential mortgage loans as well as debt funds of directly held real estate and other debt funds were excluded…

MondayApr 22, 2024 10:00 am

AI Can Facilitate Sustainability, Profitability in Manufacturing

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology has the potential to facilitate sustainability and boost profitability in the manufacturing space, an industry expert says. James Newman, head of product and portfolio marketing at technology company Augury, notes that AI can be instrumental in launching and running sustainability initiatives that allow manufacturers to position themselves as enviable employers for the incoming generation of new talent. Newman adds that the novel but incredibly advanced technology can also help employers in the manufacturing space upgrade the skills of their current cadre of employees. Augury develops purpose-built Internet of Things (“IoT”) and artificial intelligence-based solutions to monitor…

FridayApr 19, 2024 1:00 pm

EU Council Adopts Rules Mandating Net-Zero Buildings by 2050

The European Union Council has adopted an amended directive on helping decrease greenhouse-gas emissions and energy poverty. The directive’s primary objective is addressing the energy performance of buildings. At the moment, buildings produce more than one-third of greenhouse emissions in the European Union. Under the new directive, all buildings shall be zero-emission by 2050. By 2050, the European Union’s building stock should have transformed into zero-emission building stock. The directive also introduced standards on energy performance for nonresidential buildings in an effort to ensure that they do not surpass the maximum amount of energy used every year for each square…

WednesdayApr 17, 2024 2:31 pm

Europe Resists US-Driven Backlash Against ESG

The finance industry in Europe is withstanding pressures to backtrack on its environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) investments, with some help from regulations and steady investor demand. In the United States, GOP legislators have successfully diluted regulations that promote ESG, reduced ESG product marketing and discouraged financial companies from working with others to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Thus far, Europe has resisted the anti-ESG movement due to consumer support for greener products and regulations supporting operations of companies in the economy, particularly in the finance industry. Some politicians have also helped ease environmental legislations and rules, with investors in Europe injecting…

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