This week in ESG news: IFRS eases climate reporting requirements for financial firms; MSCI study finds companies continuing to raise net zero ambitions; EU’s ESMA to regulate ESG ratings providers; new decarbonization-focused sustainable building standard by USGBC; BoE raises climate risk management expectations for banks; RBC scraps sustainable finance target due to new greenwashing rules; ESG funds suffer outflows in Q1; Microsoft sources more renewable energy in U.S.; Kering launches sustainable water strategy; UK’s FCA pushes off sustainable disclosure rules for portfolio managers; new solutions launched to assess double materiality, buy and manage carbon credits; capital raises for circular economy tech, recycling robots, sustainable infrastructure, and more.
See below for the highlights of the past week, and get all your ESG news at ESG Today:
Sustainability Goals, Initiatives and Achievements
H&M-Backed Syre to Build “Gigascale” Textile-to-Textile Recycling Plant in Vietnam
Microsoft Signs 335 MW Wind Power Purchase Agreement in West Virginia
Companies Continuing to Increase Climate Ambitions Despite Headwinds: MSCI
Cleantech Startup Remora Partners with Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific to Capture Carbon from Trains
Kering Launches New Water Sustainability Strategy
Nestlé, ofi Launch Project to Reduce Emissions and Deforestation from Cocoa Supply Chain
ESG Reporting
IFRS, IDB Partner to Drive Adoption of Sustainability Reporting Standards in Latin America
ISSB Eases Scope 3 Reporting Requirements for Financial Sector
Government & Regulators
ESMA Releases Proposed Rules for Regulation of ESG Ratings Providers
BoE Raises Climate Risk Management Expectations for Banks, Insurers
FCA Halts Plan to Introduce Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and Investment Labels for Portfolio Managers
France Launches Charter to Support Use of High-Integrity Carbon Credits
EBA Launches ESG Dashboard to Track Climate Risk in Banking Sector
ESG Services and Tools
Blue Yonder Acquires Pledge to Enhance Supply Chain Emissions Reporting Capabilities
Datamaran Launches Double Materiality Assessment Solution
USGBC Launches New Sustainable Buildings LEED Rating System
Patch Launches New Platform to Ease Purchasing and Management of Carbon Credits
Sustainable Finance
RBC Drops $500 Billion Sustainable Finance Target
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Ara Partners Raises $800 Million to Invest in Mid-Market Decarbonization Infrastructure Providers
DePoly Raises $23 Million to Turn Hard-to-Recycle Plastics into New Raw Materials
Stonepeak Acquires $340 Million Stake in U.S. Solar Portfolio from Repsol
Pioneer Raises $1.2 Billion for Article 9 Sustainable Infrastructure Fund
Amazon-backed Glacier Raises $16 Million to Deploy AI-Powered Recycling Robots
ALTÉRRA, Brookfield Invest $100 Million in Indian Renewable Energy Platform Evren
Sustainable Investing
ESG Funds Experience Record Outflows in Q1 2025