Finance

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    Kate Tornone/ESG Dive
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    Labor Dept. defends ESG rule in a post-Chevron landscape

    An ongoing challenge to a rule allowing pension fund managers to consider ESG factors stands as a litmus test under a recent Supreme Court ruling.

    By • July 26, 2024
  • JPMorgan Chase global head of sustainable solutions Chuka Umunna
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    Jack Taylor via Getty Images
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    JPMorgan appoints new global head of sustainable solutions

    Chuka Umunna, a former British MP, will lead the bank's ESG and sustainable solutions arm alongside his role overseeing Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

    By • July 25, 2024
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    TarikVision via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from ESG Dive

    This year is shaping up to be a formative one for ESG, both on the regulatory and financial front, with the SEC’s climate disclosure rule and the battle over shareholder rights and proposal approvals.

    By ESG Dive staff
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    Petmal via Getty Images
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    Energy storage industry sees 117% increase in corporate funding in H1 2024: Mercom

    Storage deal volume reached $15.4 billion in the six months ending June 30, but funding for smart grid companies dropped 11% from the year-earlier period to $1.8 billion, Mercom Capital Group said.

    By Brian Martucci • July 25, 2024
  • H&M's logo is pictured on a sign on a building.
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    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    H&M’s ‘green’ financing tool supports supplier sustainability

    The collaborative program aims to help manufacturers overcome the funding hurdles of implementing sustainable practices. Here's how.

    By Kelly Stroh • July 24, 2024
  • Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President-Designate, speaks on stage.
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    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
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    COP29 president lays out climate action priorities ahead of summit

    Azerbaijan’s Mukhtar Babayev said he’s committed to boosting climate finance and finalizing the implementation of the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 at this year’s summit.

    By • July 23, 2024
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    Elizabeth Lara via Getty Images
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    Oklahoma judge permanently blocks state’s anti-ESG law

    The ruling extends a temporary injunction against the law issued in May, though Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he will bring an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

    By • July 23, 2024
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    Jack Taylor via Getty Images
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    Sustainability reporting, ESG management roles on the rise: Deloitte

    The accounting firm’s survey of 300 executives at public companies pointed to an increase in sustainability oversight as disclosure requirements mount.

    By • July 22, 2024
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    Kate Tornone/ESG Dive
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    Challenge to Labor Dept. ESG rule kicked back to lower court

    A U.S. Appeals Court vacated a prior ruling, which relied on the overturned Chevron doctrine, and sent it back to Texas’ Northern District “given the upended legal landscape.”

    By • July 22, 2024
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Vanguard clients ask new CEO to prioritize climate risk

    Over 8,000 clients urged Salim Ramji to “steer Vanguard in a new direction” and prioritize climate risk as part of the firm’s risk management strategies.

    By • July 19, 2024
  • michael hsu acting head of the OCC rests his chin on his hand in front of a christmas tree at a federal regulatory meeting
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    ‘Polarizing’ state laws risk ‘fragmenting’ system: bank regulator

    Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said banks are increasingly asked by state policies to “pick a side in service of performative politics rather than deliberative policy.”

    By • July 18, 2024
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    Drew Angerer via Getty Images
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    SEC rule jumpstarts Corpay CAO’s ESG push

    The climate disclosure rule’s March passage helped push the payments player to double down on its ESG reporting strategy, Chief Accounting Officer Alissa Vickery said.

    By Maura Webber Sadovi • July 18, 2024
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    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
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    LevelTen Energy scores $65M to scale clean energy transition

    The transaction infrastructure company connects renewable energy buyers, sellers and advisors and plans to use the financing to expand its platform.

    By • July 17, 2024
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    David McNew via Getty Images
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    5 takeaways on costs, challenges of climate disclosure compliance

    Complacency regarding the SEC’s now-stayed rules could leave companies “scrambling to try to get ready” once they are put in place, PwC’s Marc Siegel said.

    By Maura Webber Sadovi • July 16, 2024
  • Shot of BlackRock building from below with company logo centered and U.S. flag visible to the right of company name.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    BlackRock updates climate stewardship policies, targeting $150B in funds

    The policies will initially apply to 83 European investment funds with $150 billion in assets under management and prioritize sectors and companies “critical” to the clean energy transition.

    By • July 15, 2024
  • Oklahoma Republican Representative Tom Cole at a hearing
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    House panel approves FY25 budget that strikes Labor Dept. ESG rule

    The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee advanced a funding bill for the agency containing the policy rider.

    By • July 12, 2024
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    Alex Wroblewski via Getty Images
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    Senators press Jamie Dimon on alleged climate turnabout

    The lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, demanded answers from the JPMorgan Chase CEO on the bank's environmental "commitments" and "aspirations."

    By Gabrielle Saulsbery • July 12, 2024
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    Kena Betancur via Getty Images
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    SBTi calls on financial institutions to pilot net-zero standard

    The climate target validation organization is looking for participants to test a standard that will encompass near- and long-term portfolio-wide goals.

    By • July 11, 2024
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    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
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    Sustainability is a key factor in improved financial performance: KPMG

    Indicators like lower carbon dioxide emissions, land environmental impact reduction and business ethics policies are linked to increased gross profit margin, per a study of 2,617 companies.

    By Suman Bhattacharyya • July 11, 2024
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Labor Department, challengers argue over ESG rule’s tiebreaker standard post-Chevron

    A lawyer for the agency said he believes “the logic of the District Court's opinion would produce the same result” under the Loper Bright ruling.

    By • Updated July 10, 2024
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    David McNew via Getty Images
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    38% of public companies ‘significantly misaligned’ to net-zero: Morningstar

    Of more than 3,300 public companies, none are on track to hit the Paris Accords’ 2050 target, a study from the financial services revealed. 

    By • July 8, 2024
  • The exterior of the Labor Department building, with a sign that says "United States Department of Labor"
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    Labor Department’s ESG rule trial to serve as litmus test for Chevron decision

    A lower court’s dismissal of a challenge to the rule cited the now-overturned Chevron doctrine, though the agency believes the rule will survive.

    By • Updated July 10, 2024
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Fidelity updates sustainable investing framework against regulatory backdrop

    Fidelity’s international arm said its revised framework aims to “ensure ongoing alignment with transparency and disclosure requirements.”

    By • July 2, 2024
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    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
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    UN-backed group, others collaborate to boost global sustainable finance taxonomies

    The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, Principles for Responsible Investment and the Climate Bonds Initiative aim to “harmonize taxonomy definitions and concepts.”

    By • July 1, 2024
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Google invests in BlackRock-owned solar company to aid net-zero goals

    The tech giant will invest in the buildout of Taiwan’s clean energy capacity for the rights to procure up to 300 MW of solar power from New Green Power’s development pipeline.

    By • July 1, 2024
  • Aerial view of solar array farm in a Chilean desert.
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    John Moore via Getty Images
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    IFRS partners with World Bank member to improve emerging market disclosures

    The foundation behind the International Sustainability Standards Board signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Finance Corporation Thursday.

    By • June 28, 2024