Sustainability Now

Are Shareholders Turning Against ESG?

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Part of proxy season is over, so we take a look at the landscape of shareholder proposals. And it is well known for to those who are closely watching ...

Semiconductors aren't green?!

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Semiconductors are used in ev-er-y-thing. But semiconductor manufacturers have a high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint. Since they are so ubiq...

California Gets Harder To Insure and the NZIA Gets Smaller

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Under pressure from wildfires and inflation, State Farm has stopped issuing new homeowner policies in California. We get to the bottom of how physical...

Green Buildings: Beam Me Up!

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are a number of looming carbon emission regulations set to hit the commercial real estate sector in the coming years. These regulations would re...

Tracking our climate goals and next steps

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are you aware of how much progress we are making on addressing climate change? There are all-these-pledges and all-these-plans made by companies, but ...

BNP’s “Duty of Care” and a Lonely Start for Germany’s Female Execs

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

NGOs have filed a lawsuit against BNP Paribas, arguing that bank has failed in its “Duty of Care”, under French law. As climate-related litigation...

Solar, So Hot Right Now

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To meet net-zero ambitions, it looks like we’re going to need a whole lot of solar energy, and fast. And a complex value chain is bracing for soarin...

Blastin’ E[sg]-Cigs and the EPA

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There is a considerate environmental cost to e-cigarettes. The critical metals that make up their batteries are more likely to be found in landfills t...

We Should Be Paying More Attention to Air Pollution

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week we discuss why air pollution is a topic that investors may want to take greater interest in. It is not only a macro-economic burden, but als...

The Shrinking Colorado River

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Colorado river is shrinking and the tens of millions of Americans that rely on the water source are having to deal with the possibility of imposed...

Diet ESG

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week we discuss the new anti-obesity drugs that many have claimed could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic. But ESG and diseases are ...

Was SVB All About That ESG?

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From being a go-to bank for US tech start-ups, SVB’s collapse was swift and chaotic. As investors and regulators pick through the wreckage, we look ...

Climate Infuses Proxy Strategy and South Korea Ponders 69-Hour Work Week

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

South Korea’s government has proposed a change to laws governing working hours. We look at why the proposal has not been well received by key stakeh...

ESG Is Becoming Polarized – It Doesn’t Need To Be

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ESG has always been different things to different people. But some of its newest critics suggest that ESG investing is being used to impose liberal id...

Bribing Olympic Committees and Tracing Ben & Jerry’s Supply Chain

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A Japanese publishing company allegedly bribed an Olympic committee member to become an official sponsor of the Tokyo Games. As Kadokawa Corp picks up...

The ESG of a Train’s Toxic Plume

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The derailment of a train carrying possibly hazardous materials near East Palestine, Ohio on February 3 has prompted environmental concerns and chemic...

The Labor of ESG

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There have been over 70,000 people laid off from their jobs in the tech industry – an amount unseen since the dot.com bubble burst. Layoffs are an i...

What ESG Tells Us About Adani

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gautam Adani, whose empire the Adani Group, was rising along with India’s economy. Then a little known US short seller perhaps aptly named Hindenbur...

The Fed Mulls Climate Risk and Swifties Sue Live Nation

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US central bank wants climate data from the country’s “big six” banks. It’s a telling shift and one that is echoed across several jurisdic...

The Conflict Within ESG

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What if there is a water utility that saves a city millions of gallons worth of water a day, but also increases its carbon emissions by a large amount...

Do Record Profits Change Oil?

13 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After energy prices surged, oil and gas companies reported record profits in 2022. We discuss where this profit bonanza will end up and whether any of...

CRISPR Comes to ESG

06 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As drought is followed by flood, there is renewed talk of how gene-editing techniques can be used to shield our agricultural system against the ravage...

COP-erating on Biodiversity Loss

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the biodiversity focused COP15 continues in Montreal, we discuss how investors and companies have begun to understand the risks caused by biodivers...

ESG Trends to Watch for 2023

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

An audio exploration of our latest annual trend report on the ESG trends that may shape the environment for investors and companies in the year ahead....

COPacetic in Egypt and Methane is a Low-Hanging Fruit

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh winds down, we talk to Oliver Marchand about his impressions from the conference. While staving off the worst effects of c...

Bribery – Where ESG Risk and Externality Collide

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Glencore admitted to bribery in five African countries between 2011 and 2016. A £276 million payment ordered by a UK court highlights the financial r...

Medicine, Chocolate and the ESG Data-verse

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One well-worn critique of ESG investing is that some companies with a high rating aren’t actually making the world a better place. We break down thi...

The Enigma of Tesla's ESG and Santos Pipeline Hits a Snag

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There’s much more to Tesla than electric vehicles. We tackle some apparent contradictions by looking at the company through four lenses: financial r...

Everyone Hates ESG

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is ESG for? Why aren’t ESG ratings correlated between ratings providers? Is greenwashing a problem in the industry? Is ESG a scam? This week we...

What To Do When Your Executive Bites Someone and Hurricanes

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What does a board do if an executive bites someone on the nose? What about if they use corporate resources to stalk and intimate a blogger? What if an...

Aquaculture’s Rise and Electric Snowmobiles

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Farming fish and shrimp might be a much-needed solution to feed a growing population. But it’s not without risks – both regulators and investors w...

NYC Climate Week: Energy Transition and Climate Adaptation Panel

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It is climate week in New York city! For this episode we bring you clips from our live panel called Infrastructure finance for the energy transition a...

Railroad Strikes and How Institutions Go Net Zero

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A labor dispute in the freight rail industry that brought the US to the brink of a potential economic catastrophe was averted this week, as unions and...

It's Electric!

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Not many industries are as important as the automobile industry is to developed economies (some say it is the most important). At the moment, it is go...

River Evaporation and Semiconductor Dominance

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Water levels in key rivers are at historic lows which is creating havoc for our global economies. We use our climate risk models to assess which compa...

Low-carbon Lithium and Green Homes

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mining for Lithium usually calls for large quantities of water or fossil fuel. But an intriguing venture in the Rhine Valley is looking to flip that i...

The Inflation Reduction Act: What the massive bill means for the energy sector and carbon emissions

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A massive provision called the Inflation Reduction Act was passed in the US Senate on August 7 and is making its way to US President Biden. If signed ...

Labor Ignores and La Nina Threatens

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The S of ESG has become more useful in understanding company performance in down times. When things are bad, companies that take care of their workers...

A Pioneer of Corporate Governance Retires

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The G of ESG has always been the more accepted of the three in more traditional investment circles. Ric Marshall of MSCI ESG Research is one of the re...

Concentrating Ownership

22 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

By May 2022, a giddy 46% of MSCI ACWI constituents had controlling owners. We look at what this concentrated ownership means for minority shareholders...

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and the US Supreme Court

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The US Customs and Border Protection agency released operational guidance for importing companies on how to comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Preven...

The Birds and Bees and the ESG

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As biodiversity loss accelerates, companies and investors are under increasing pressure to act. But turning data into decisions is trickier than it se...

Windy ESG Labels

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Every fund manager with an ESG fund seems to be under routine but detailed examination by financial regulators into their use of “ESG” in said fun...

Carbon Markets 101

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

REPLAY! This week the voluntary carbon markets integrity initiative or VCMI launched a consultation to assess companies use of carbon offset credits a...

Cannon-Brookes Brokers a Deal with AGL

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

AGL Energy, Australia’s largest electricity generator and polluter, abandoned plans to spin-off its coal assets after tech billionaire Mike Cannon-B...

Baby Formula Crisis and Australia Goes Green

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Abbott Laboratories is having to answer difficult questions after the F.D.A found its Michigan plant to be “egregiously unsanitary.” The plant clo...

In the Gold Mines of CEO Pay

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After a stellar 2021 for mining company Sibanye-Stillwater, its CEO is banking a hefty pay package. But as the company squares off against 25,000 stri...

McDonald’s Pigs and the SEC’s ESG

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Carl Icahn, a billionaire investor and storied corporate raider, has mounted a proxy fight at McDonald’s Corp. to change how it sources it’s pork....

Abortion Pills and the Climate of Bonds

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After a draft opinion leaked from the U.S. Supreme Court showed the possible reversal of the landmark abortion law called Roe v. Wade, a new spotlight...

The Long and Shorting of ESG

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For short sellers, ESG data offers new strategic considerations. But when it comes to reporting the ESG-related impacts associated with short position...

Resignations and a Looming Crisis in China

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A spate of auditor resignations for real estate developers in China have prompted whispers of economic contagion. The real estate market in China is r...

Unions & ESG and the IPCC Climate Report

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week we saw a landmark win for labor as Amazon workers on Staten Island voted to unionize. The decision and others like it at Starbucks and REI g...

Governance and War and Boeing’s Deja Vu

01 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As Russia invaded Ukraine, endless briefing documents were thrust in front of company directors. Navigating supply chain disruptions, sanctions and a ...

Coal Expansion and SEC's Big Climate Move

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Coal is a complex topic: it's the main factor driving up global energy-related carbon emissions, yet it is a cheap and stable fuel source million...

War and ESG

18 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

ESG MORAL CONUNDRUM: Can defense companies (which are also the weapons companies) make a positive contribution to ‘social sustainability’ and so s...

Children in the Cocoa Fields

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We begin this episode with an update on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Western companies have begun an exodus from Russia as sanctions and atrocit...

ESG and the Invasion of Ukraine

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As a country and its people reel, we look at some of the early implications of the conflict in Ukraine. We’ll take you through Russia’s shifting E...

Nord Stream 2 and Vaccines for Everyone

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the Russian escalation in Ukraine continues, Germany has decided to suspend certification of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline that would have ...

Europe’s Dependence on Russian Gas and Online Gambling

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tensions continue to rise between Russia and Ukraine. The crisis is complicated because of the dependence of the West on Russian natural gas. We discu...

Financed Emissions and the Wild World of EV Start-Ups

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As banks feel the heat over financed emissions, we look at current disclosures and the challenge of putting out credible numbers. Then we sift through...

Sustainable Gas and Assault at Rio Tinto

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The EU has made a last minute change to its green bible, the EU Taxonomy: It proposed including natural gas as a sustainable transition fuel. The move...

Labor Strikes and Labor Rights

28 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A labor strike ends at Kroger after contract negotiations give the employees a wage increase. But Kroger is supposed to be a decent employer, so what ...

Forget Naughty or Nice – Santa’s Workshops are Flooding

21 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

China’s toymakers are staring down rising sea levels. And that’s not just bad news for Santa – a sizable portion of global supply chains are anc...

Are Carbon Markets Useful?

14 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week we provide you with a carbon markets 101, and a discussion around companies that use carbon markets and carbon offsets to meet their plans t...

Antibiotic Resistance and What is ESG?

17 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Antibiotic resistance is getting more worrisome. It's possible by 2050, antibiotic resistant super bugs could kill three times as many people cou...

We Need Miners and Cheap Drugs

10 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone wants to get into mining these days. The extractive industries have seen a flurry of interest as the rush to decarbonize our economies sparks...

Twitter’s CEO Resigns

03 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Dorsey, the eccentric and visionary co-founder of Twitter, announced he was stepping down on Monday. Parag Agrawal, the chief technology officer,...

The ESG Weekly: The World Gets Into the Spirit of COP-eration and Energy Prices Be Crazy

19 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

COP26 dropped an unstoppable wave of headlines. As delegates catch their breath for the hard work that starts in the aftermath, we take a look back at...

The ESG Weekly: The US Infrastructure Deal

12 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A USD 1 trillion deal is scheduled to be signed into law by US President Biden on Monday, November 12. The deal, in the White House’s words, is impe...

The ESG Weekly: Deforestation and Coal Death at COP26

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We talk about two of the most consequential agreements made at COP26 this week. The first is the deforestation pledge signed by around 100 world leade...

The ESG Weekly: Deforestation and Coal Death at COP26

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We talk about two of the most consequential agreements made at COP26 this week. The first is the deforestation pledge signed by around 100 world leade...

The ESG Weekly: Emission Talks at COP 26 and Hertz Buys a Tesla

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of the UN COP26 summit, many governments have revisited their Nationally Determined Contribution or NDC pledges to reduce national emissions bet...

The ESG Weekly: Selling a Portfolio's Carbon and Facebook's Oversight Board

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some hedge funds are saying they can net their greenhouse gas emissions exposure by shorting companies, a practice that bets on a company's colla...

The ESG Weekly: Biodiversity Comes to Kunming and Taiwan’s Semiconductors are Thirsty

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As international delegates thrash out new targets to save biodiversity, the food industry could quickly become a pariah. And for Taiwan’s all‐impo...

The ESG Weekly: Our Only Cryptocurrency Episode

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we answer questions about cryptocurrency in a tolerable manner: What are the key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks from cryp...

The ESG Weekly: Climatepalooza Pt. 2

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is episode 2 of 2 of the climatepalooza series. This week we discuss two huge sectors, banking and technology, with more sway in the carbon reducti...

The ESG Weekly: Climatepalooza Pt. 1

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is Climate Week this week in New York city. So, we decided to throw a climatepalooza for you all by examining the climate plans of three companies ...

The ESG Weekly: Say on Climate and Deluge in the Delta

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Giving shareholders a vote on a company's climate strategy is trickier than it seems. And while Louisiana reels after hurricane Ida, we look at w...

The ESG Weekly: Non‐Profits Sue VW and China Talks Big

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH ) think VW, along with German rivals Daimler and BMW, are not decarbonizing their car fleets fast enough. The...

The ESG Weekly: China Bans Gaming

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

China tightened its already stringent rules on gaming this week. Chinese children under the age of 18 can now only play video games for one hour a day...

The ESG Weekly: Green Marine and German Diversity

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A low carbon alternative to maritime shipping is coming to the market. The largest shipping company in the world, Maersk, has ordered eight vessels pr...

The ESG Weekly: BHP Eschews Oil for Farming

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The largest mining company in the world, BHP Group, has made three massive moves this week. First, it said it would sell its oil and gas operations to...

The ESG Weekly: Riding Rail Through the Floods and an Ex–con Back in the Saddle at Samsung

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The IPCC's newest climate science has signaled a code red for humanity. As the specter of physical climate risk looms large, we look at how railw...

The ESG Weekly: Vaccine Mandates and Walmart's Insulin

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some companies are mandating their employees be vaccinated if they want to continue working at the company. The idea sort of seems like a mandatory he...

The ESG Weekly: China's Education Company Crackdown and Harassment at Activision

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a sweeping overhaul of its private education sector, China issued new regulations that requires the USD 100 billion industry to register as a non‐...

The ESG Weekly: Methane Emissions and Devastating Floods

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the world of climate mitigative energy sources, natural gas lives in an uneasy balance. It is viewed by some as a bridge from heavy polluting fossi...

BONUS EPISODE: Linda at the G20 International Conference on Climate in Venice

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we bring you a special episode of ESG now: The speech Linda‐Eling Lee gave at the International Conference on Climate in Venice, Italy hel...

The ESG Weekly: It's Scorching in Seattle and Overdraft Fees are SO 2020

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a vicious heatwave hovers over the US and Canada, we get into the dirty details of oil pipelines and the intersection between climate change and co...

The ESG Weekly: APAC is Better at ESG and EVs Aren't Enough

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The APAC region is one of the richest in terms of ESG opportunities, such as renewables and electric vehicles, yet also one of the highest risk areas,...

The ESG Weekly: The SEC Welcomes Climate Disclosures and Wrongdoing at Toshiba

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After nearly a decade, the SEC has begun to update the reporting requirements for companies on climate change. But before they can do that, they need ...

The ESG Weekly: Mines Need Biodiversity and HSBC's Legal Carbon Reduction Requirement

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Biodiversity has finally become mainstreamed, and the world is better understanding what its destruction means for our ongoing concern as a species. M...

The ESG Weekly: No Change for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After the murder of George Floyd, protest and unrest rocked the world as people gathered to express outrage at systemic inequality. In the corporate w...

The ESG Weekly: ExxonMobil Loses Two Board Seats

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There has been a paradigm shift in the oil industry. An activist investor campaigns against Exxon's preparedness for climate change and wins two ...

The ESG Weekly: Telecoms in Myanmar and Powerships in South Africa

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A military coup in Myanmar has left Telenor with a complex stakeholder balancing act. Meanwhile Eskom looks for its deus ex machina in the form of fiv...

The ESG Weekly: Modern Slavery and Native Americans & Mining

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

More regulations have been enacted to try and stop the use of modern slavery and coerced labor in the global supply chains. We discuss what companies ...

The ESG Weekly: SPECIAL Proxy Season Episode

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s episode is a special five-person roundtable on this year’s proxy season! It’s a long one but full of good knowledge about the curren...

The ESG Weekly: India's COVID‐19 Maelstrom and the Fine Print of NDCs

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a vicious second wave hits India, we talk to Ravi Sankar about the conditions on the ground in Mumbai and Pune and the resilience of our colleagues...

The ESG Weekly BONUS: Still waiting for ESG to strut its stuff at the earnings call? 2021 may be a turning point

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Joined by the CECP's Brian Tomlinson and our own Sam Sue Ping, we look at how companies are taking a firmer step onto the ESG stage. Executives a...

The ESG Weekly: Earth Day For the Capital Markets and China

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earth Day was this Thursday and in its spirit, companies and countries have announced net‐zero plans as a climate summit began in the US. We explore...

The ESG Weekly: A Union at Amazon and France Bans Flights

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Amazon workers have voted down a union drive at the company's Alabama warehouse. The victory was decisive, and it the loss signals a change in th...