By Sustainable Brands ‘Underwriting Our Planet’ finds that rather than addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, many economic activities underwritten by insurance companies actually fuel the twin crises. WWF Switzerland and Deloitte Switzerland have co-launched a report that offers a first comprehensive insight into the impact of insurance companies’ underwriting business on climate change and biodiversity …
Beyond ‘Carbon Neutral:’ Refining Corporate Carbon-Credit Claims
By George Favaloro, Sustainable Brands With the explosive growth of the voluntary carbon market came concerns around carbon-reduction claims lacking clarity or being misleading. Several refined claims frameworks have emerged to bridge these gaps. Historically, companies relied on carbon credits to bolster claims of Carbon and Climate Neutrality; using these …
Study Shows Stronger ROI for Companies with High ESG Ratings
By Sustainable Brands Kroll analyzed data on over 13K companies across industries and found that those with better ESG ratings outperformed their peers with lower ratings; globally, ESG leaders had annual returns of 12.9% vs 8.6% for laggards. A new study by Kroll, a leading independent provider of global risk and …
At Long Last, There’s a Metric for Quantifying the Monetary Value of Sustainability Investments
By Tom Idle, Sustainable Brands Astanor Ventures’ Impact Multiple on Investment methodology translates the expected and realized benefits of invested-in products or services into monetary terms — helping investors make more informed, strategic decisions. Anybody working in sustainability is only too aware how crucial impact measurement is to maintaining performance. …
Landmark Report Sets Out 7 Steps for Embedding Nature, Equity Goals into Global Financial Activity
By Aldo Nestares, Sustainable Brands The Taskforce on Nature Markets asserts an unprecedented shift towards accurately pricing nature in global markets must occur to deliver on nature, climate and equity goals. On Thursday, at the Amazon Summit in Belém, Brazil, the Taskforce on Nature Markets launched its Making Nature Markets Work recommendations report — detailing how an unprecedented …
Absolute Poverty Rises Amid Debt Distress and Corruption
By Frank Vogl, Other News New humanitarian approaches are vital instead of IMF austerity Nine Kenyans were killed and more than 300 were arrested by the police in recent protests over what many Kenyans view as draconian government economic policies. In Lebanon, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – …
The Profiteers of Armageddon
By William D. Hartung, Other News Oppenheimer and the Birth of the Nuclear-Industrial Complex Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, you’re undoubtedly aware that award-winning director Christopher Nolan has released a new film about Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb” …
EU Confirms Watering Down of Corporate Sustainability Disclosures
By Huw Jones, Reuters LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) – The European Union’s executive body on Monday published final rules for corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures, confirming earlier moves to water down the requirements. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had pledged to cut red tape across the …
What CFOs Need to Know About Fast-Emerging Biodiversity-Credit Markets
By Laura Waterford, Sustainable Brands When companies invest in biodiversity credits, the ‘unitization’ of biodiversity outcomes in the form of credits takes the guesswork out of designing the investment. But they are not intended to offset an equivalent, negative impact on biodiversity elsewhere. We are at a crucial point in …
Which Countries are Paying Their ‘Fair Share’ to Fight Climate Change?
By Kate Abnett, Reuters BRUSSELS, July 21 (Reuters) – As temperature records topple and extreme weather rages around the world, countries are preparing for talks at this year’s COP28 UN summit on climate finance – money that large economies provide to help poorer states cope with climate change. So far, countries have …