An Austrian regional court found Austrian Airlines AG (AUA), a subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa, liable for greenwashing for advertisements offering carbon-neutral flights that used 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),...more
11/28/2023
/ Airlines ,
Austria ,
Aviation Industry ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Advertising ,
Greenwashing ,
Marketing ,
Misrepresentation ,
Net Zero ,
Sustainable Business Practices
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s de facto central banking institution, issued a directive for banks setting out high-level principles on planning for a transition to a net-zero economy. In a “Dear CEO”...more
10/17/2023
/ Banks ,
Business Strategies ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) ,
Net Zero ,
Transparency
On July 5, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a statement on the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance’s (NZIA) progress towards net-zero targets. The NZIA is convened by the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) and...more
In June 2023, Climate Action 100+, a climate-focused investor initiative, launched the second phase of its benchmarking program to help investors assess and engage with public companies on climate-related issues. Phase 2...more
In April 2023, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance transparency, Morningstar Sustainalytics launched a ratings system designed to provide investors with an assessment of a company’s current net-zero alignment. The company’s...more
On May 15, 2023, twenty-three Republican state attorneys general (AGs) sent a letter to members of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) expressing “serious concerns” about whether the NZIA’s requirements comply with federal...more
On March 30, 2023, 21 Republican Attorneys General (AGs) wrote a letter addressed to over 50 U.S. asset managers citing “concerns about the ongoing agreements between asset managers to use Americans’ savings to push political...more
5/9/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Asset Management ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Competition ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Net Zero ,
Popular ,
State Attorneys General
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), a European membership body for investor collaboration on climate change, announced the launch of its Net Zero Engagement Initiative (NZEI). A primary goal of the...more
5/5/2023
/ Capital Investments ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Net Zero ,
Paris Agreement ,
Popular
On February 23, 2023, the Green Technical Advisory Group (“GTAG”), an independent advisor to the UK government, published a paper entitled “Promoting the International Interoperability of a UK Green Taxonomy.” In the paper,...more
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (“NZBA”), the UN-led coalition of global banks “committed to aligning their lending investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050,” is facing backlash from certain sustainability-focused...more
3/16/2023
/ Banks ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Lending ,
Net Zero ,
Sustainability ,
United Nations
The 2023 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor (CCRM), produced in partnership by Carbon Market Watch and the New Climate Institute, contend that of the 24 multinational corporations assessed in the review – “the largest...more
Last month, the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), an alliance of asset managers committed to transitioning their investment portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, released the third edition of its...more
Mark T. Uyeda, Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), spoke at the California ‘40 Acts Group on January 27 regarding various investment-related ESG issues....more
On January 10, 2023, Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced that it had closed over $1.6 billion in funding for Horizon Environment & Climate Solutions I (Horizon Climate), the first in an expected series of funds through...more
Proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have published their updated U.S. voting guidelines for 2023, with Glass Lewis additionally releasing its 2023 policy guidelines for ESG...more
A recently published independent review of Australia’s carbon credit units (ACCU) scheme, commissioned by the Australian government, has found that the ACCU scheme is “essentially sound,” but provides 16 recommendations to...more
Introduction -
The asset management industry has been sounding the alarm for some time about the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. While private equity giant, Carlyle, is the most recent financial institution...more