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☆ Apollo Global’s CSO Talks About Knitting Sustainability Into the Culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

A sustainability veteran with more than 24 years’ experience, Stangis has built sustainability teams at both Intel and Campbell Soup . WSJ Pro: Do you have a favorite sustainable product or service, that isn’t an Apollo company? In terms of our regulatory reporting, we made some great progress, but it’s also helping and building the tools for our portfolio companies. Stangis: We’ve got data from all of our portfolio companies from surveys of 100-plus questions every year. So our portfolio companies, they’re literally doing sustainability reporting to us, we’re compiling it and then making that public.

Persons: Dave Stangis, Stangis, Campbell, it’s, we’ve, I’ve, —, We’ve, they’re, we’re, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: Apollo Global Management, Intel, Pro, Business, Campbell Soup Company, WSJ, Private Equity, Flagship Fund, Apollo, Rochelle, rochelle.toplensky@wsj.com Locations: Europe, Asia, Paris, Detroit, U.S, Russia, Ukraine, decarbonize, we’ve

☆ Transition Plans Are The Latest Climate Action Trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The Transition Plan Taskforce published a framework for companies looking to create transition plans. Photo: London Stock Exchange GroupCompanies have a new climate-action tool: transition plans. Some companies, such as Mars and Allianz , have recently published transition plans. The U.K.’s Transition Plan Task Force published its framework Monday, offering a template for companies looking to create transition plans. Even though disclosure requirements are currently voluntary, transition plans are a live issue for many businesses that can help them shift the conversation to how they can achieve their net-zero goals.

Persons: ”, Mary Schapiro, Amanda Blanc, David Schwimmer, ’ ”, Sue Lloyd, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, Mars, Allianz, London Stock Exchange, Glasgow Financial Alliance, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Force, Business, Aviva Group, ’, Rochelle, rochelle.toplensky@wsj.com Locations: United Nations, Dubai

☆ Q&A With the Sustainability Chief of Oilfield-Services Firm SLB
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

The German native joined SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger , in 2021 as its chief strategy and sustainability officer. Katharina Beumelburg, chief strategy and sustainability officer of SLB. Beumelburg: This push toward lowering carbon emissions in the oil-and-gas industry is a major change. The other side is our transition technology portfolio that focuses on bringing the carbon emissions at our customers down. Carbon capture and storage is the obvious short-term solution to reduce carbon emissions, one where the technology is ready, where we know what to do.

Persons: Katharina Beumelburg, SLB, Beumelburg, SLB Beumelburg, Johan Rockström, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: Sustainability, Siemens, SLB, Schlumberger, Pro, WSJ, Potsdam Institute, Business, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco, Linde, Rochelle, rochelle.toplensky@wsj.com Locations: Greenland, Paris, Texas, Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Davos

☆ Q&A With Volvo Group’s Karin Svensson
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Karin Svensson, chief sustainability officer of Volvo Group. We were setting the new strategy for the Volvo group. The numbers of electric trucks we sell are still quite small, but it’s a huge increase. It’s really really important that we really decrease our emissions by 2030, so we have set interim targets for all our business areas. We are now [testing] fuel-cell electric trucks and expect to have an offer ready toward the second half of this decade.

Persons: Karin Svensson, can’t, Bo Hakansson, Svensson, ’, It’s, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: Volvo, Volvo Group, Employees, Rochelle Locations: Swedish, Paris, Sweden, “

☆ Stock Exchange Regulators Back Global Climate-Reporting Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Regulators of the world’s top stock exchanges gave their backing to the international climate-reporting standards framework Tuesday, adding momentum to efforts to establish the rules as the global baseline. The International Organization of Securities Commissions, known as Iosco, endorsed the International Sustainability Standards Board’s recently published climate reporting standard. While some businesses may be waiting to see the completed SEC climate reporting rules, it hopes the advantages of using a single standard worldwide outweigh any disadvantages of being more demanding than the SEC’s coming climate reporting rules. PREVIEWIt is now up to individual countries and jurisdictions to decide if and when they adopt the ISSB standards. “This is a hugely significant step towards a global baseline of sustainability reporting.

Persons: —, Jean, Paul Servais, Benoit Doppagne, “ Iosco, ”, Larry Bradley, Iosco, PwC, KPMG’s Bradley, “, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: International Organization of Securities Commissions, International, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities, Exchange, Zuma, SEC, U.S, EU, KPMG, Sustainable Business, Rochelle Locations: Japan, China, Britain, U.S, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, Glasgow

☆ America’s Green Skills Gap Raises Concerns About Energy Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

But recent data shows strong growth in demand for green skills exacerbating an already tight market where demand outstrips supply. The online professional network defines green skills as those that make economic activities more environmentally sustainable, such as carbon accounting, hydrogen engineering and battery manufacturing. It considers green jobs to be ones which include climate action objectives such as removing pollution and preserving natural resources. Likewise, more than 114,000 U.S. clean energy jobs were created in 2022, according to last week’s annual employment report from the U.S. Department of Energy. As of 2023, nearly 11% of U.S. transport workers, such as employees of carmakers, have green skills, according to LinkedIn.

Persons: ”, Sue Duke, Kenneth Gillingham, ” Gillingham, Tim Gruber, Gillingham, Sara Smiley Smith, Steven Cohen, Cohen, Todd Anderson, Rochelle Toplensky, Dieter Holger Organizations: U.S, LinkedIn, Wall Street, U.S . Department of Energy, Political Economy Research, University of Massachusetts Amherst, American Clean Power Association, Sustainable Business, Yale School of, Workers, Nobles, Environment, Yale, Columbia, Science, Sustainability Management, The Wall, dieter.holger Locations: U.S, Reading, Minn, Woodbine , Georgia

☆ Pro Take: Forget the SEC, International Climate Reporting Standards Could Become the Global Baseline
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

New international sustainability reporting standards could fulfill their ambition in becoming the global baseline as the advantages of using a single standard worldwide may, for many companies, outweigh the disadvantages of being more demanding than the SEC’s coming climate reporting rules. On Monday, the International Sustainability Standards Board released its initial two reporting standards. PREVIEWDespite the strong demand for one standard, U.S. and European Union officials are each developing their own climate reporting regimes. It is now up to individual countries and jurisdictions to decide if and when they will adopt the ISSB standards. Sue Lloyd, vice chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board, at the launch of the inaugural sustainability standards.

Persons: Sue Lloyd, ”, Brian Moynihan, Lloyd, Um, Lysanne Gray, Eelco van der Enden, Jean, Paul Servais, Benoit Doppagne, Iosco, Unilever’s Gray, Rochelle Toplensky, Amplifications Iosco Organizations: Sustainability, Task Force, Sustainable Business, European Union, International Organization of Securities Commissions, Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S, Wall Street, Bank of America, London Stock Exchange, Asian Development Bank, Unilever, Alignment, Global, Initiative, Belgian Financial Services, Markets, FSMA, Zuma Press, Accounting, Rochelle, wsj.com Corrections, Amplifications Locations: EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, Glasgow, Monday’s, Egypt, Africa, Asia, U.S

☆ Google’s CSO Kate Brandt on How AI Can Accelerate Climate Action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Kate Brandt has been working since 2015 to make Google’s operations and products more sustainable and was named its chief sustainability officer in 2018. Early in her career, Brandt worked on climate and energy in the White House, the Pentagon and the Energy Department during the Obama administration. I kind of teared up and felt really excited to see this momentous occurrence in the climate movement. We’re going to see more and more opportunities—whether that’s for governments, for businesses, for nonprofits and NGOs—to use AI to really accelerate their climate work. Google’s total carbon footprint increased last year—what happened?

Persons: Kate Brandt, Brandt, Obama, Kate, I’ve, We’ve, Ben Gomes, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: Pentagon, Energy Department, Google, UPS, Greenlight, Rainforest, Sustainable Business, Rochelle Locations: Washington, Paris, California, Muir Beach, U.S, Hamburg, Germany

☆ Global Executives Say Greenwashing Remains Rife
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Most global executives think greenwashing is widespread in their industry, and despite customers becoming more vocal about preferring sustainable brands, many companies are cutting corners on their environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives. PREVIEWThe risk of greenwashing is increasing with crackdowns on overstated green claims on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite that threat, the figures are consistent with last year’s findings: Nearly 60% say their own organization is overstating its sustainability methods. Nearly three-quarters of executives said they want to advance sustainability efforts but don’t actually know how to go about doing it. Most executives surveyed—85%—said customers and clients are becoming more vocal about their preference for engaging with sustainable brands.

☆ Corporate Sustainability Becomes a Team Sport
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Chief sustainability officers have historically been technical experts focused on helping companies decode their carbon footprint. Today’s CSOs are business-transformation specialists who run point for companies in their sustainability efforts, supported by a team of experts. “You have to start thinking in 2022 about the demands that are going to be a trending topic in 2025.”Judith Wiese, chief people and sustainability officer at Siemens. His team includes experts in technology, industrial processes, financial markets, sustainability frameworks and reporting standards. Agustin Delgado Martin, chief innovation and sustainability officer at Iberdrola.

Companies are increasingly working together to cut greenhouse-gas emissions but such collaboration faces the threat of antitrust action demanded by politicians who say it violates competition rules. There are now more than 150 business climate collaborations, according to research by Harvard Business Review. “There are a lot of ways to stay on the right side of antitrust laws,” says Justin Stewart-Teitelbaum, antitrust partner at Freshfields. Traditionally, in most jurisdictions, antitrust officials weigh whether the benefits of cooperation outweigh any economic harm caused by it. The anti-ESG movement in the U.S. bases its antitrust threats partly on an assertion that climate action provides little societal benefit to outweigh any economic harm of cooperation.

☆ Clipped Green Claims at COP27 Might Signal Progress
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Less fanfare from companies at this year’s United Nations climate conference doesn’t necessarily mean they are scaling back their ambitions for decarbonization. Corporate and political leaders from around the world are gathered on the shores of the Red Sea for this year’s Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP27. One notable outcome of last year’s COP26 in Glasgow was a raft of promises from businesses to cut their net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. Executives have many reasons to be less vocal this year.

☆ Corporate Executives Call for Action-Based Approach at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Dieter Holger | Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Business leaders are pushing for specific actions to combat climate change and asking for clearer policies to support such initiatives from governments at the United Nations climate summit in Egypt. Top executives of 101 companies penned an open letter last week urging governments and companies to support existing solutions to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

☆ Oil and Gas Profits Are an Easy Political Target
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BP said it recorded $8.2 billion in underlying earnings in the third quarter. Business for European supermajors BP and Shell might be too good for political comfort. On Tuesday, BP said it recorded $8.2 billion in underlying earnings in the third quarter—slightly behind the previous quarter’s bonanza but far ahead of the equivalent period last year. Commodity prices have moderated since the summer, but volatile natural-gas markets helped BP’s traders rake in exceptional profits. Shell’s gas trading had a disappointing quarter but the company still reported strong results last Thursday, with $9.5 billion in adjusted earnings.

☆ Credit Suisse Might Have Hit Rock Bottom
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For the brave, this could be the time to buy Credit Suisse . For the more risk-averse, the bank’s ability to attract capital this quarter will serve as a crucial proof point for its recovery. The beleaguered Swiss company unveiled its latest overhaul on Thursday alongside a big third-quarter loss, mostly due to a deferred tax asset write-down. Executives’ mantra on Thursday was that the bank is at an inflection point and that they must get it right.

☆ Rising Rates Are Banks’ Frenemies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rising interest rates are good news for lenders, but they bring worries too. Third-quarter results on Tuesday from two of Europe’s largest banks offered contrasting cases in point. HSBC and UBS both reported improved net interest income, but they diverged on their outlook. Loan-loss provisions show that the Anglo-Chinese lender is preparing for tougher times, limiting its capacity for shareholder returns, and its shares fell nearly 6% in European morning trading. Meanwhile, UBS’s stock price rose almost 6% after it posted better-than-expected profits and nudged up cash returns.

☆ Is Another Gas Glut on the Horizon?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Commitments to build more liquefied-natural-gas infrastructure have been stacking up after years of little investment. Don’t be fooled by tight markets and high prices for liquefied natural gas. The spot price for natural gas delivered to Europe has retrenched from summer highs but remains around €100 a megawatt-hour, equivalent to $97. Prices were hovering near €20 only 18 months ago following a yearslong glut. The recent mood has been enough to prompt a wave of commitments to build LNG liquefaction facilities.

☆ Is Another Gas Glut on The Horizon?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Commitments to build more liquefied natural gas infrastructure have been stacking up after years of little investment. Don’t be fooled by tight markets and high prices for liquefied natural gas. The spot price for natural gas delivered to Europe has retrenched from summer highs but remains around €100 a megawatt-hour, equivalent to $97. Prices were hovering near €20 only 18 months ago following a yearslong glut. The recent mood has been enough to prompt a wave of commitments to build LNG liquefaction facilities.

☆ BP Bets Big on Biofuel
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BP $4.1 billion biofuel deal makes strategic sense, but it comes at a SPAC-tacular price. The British oil-and-gas giant is buying Archaea Energy a leading U.S. producer of so-called renewable natural gas, a greener version of the fuel because it is recovered from waste rather than pumped out of the ground. The acquisition adds to BP’s new-energy business and there could be synergies in the two companies’ complementary skills—energy trading in BP’s case and gas production in Archaea’s.

☆ Credit Suisse Needs the Deal of the Decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Credit Suisse has tested investor patience over the years with strategic overhauls that haven’t really worked. Credit Suisse latest restructuring plan will require all the deal-making prowess it can muster. Shares in the Swiss bank have tumbled to record lows this week in reaction to a drip feed of leaks about how its new board might overhaul the business. On Friday, a Reuters report that it was sounding out investors about raising more capital sent the stock down 10% to trade at around 22% of book value.

☆ Uniper Deal Is Lehman Moment for European Energy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gas giant Uniper is too big to fail, and German government officials are warning of further bailouts. Germany’s nationalization of gas giant Uniper announced Wednesday, lays bare the seismic ructions in the once-sleepy world of European utilities triggered by the new Cold War with Russia. Investing in the sector will change dramatically. Berlin said it would inject €8 billion, equivalent to $7.9 billion, in return for new equity at a nominal value of €1.70 a share. It will also buy Finnish utility company Fortum ’s majority stake in Uniper at the same rate.

Heard on the StreetThe software maker’s $20 billion acquisition of Figma comes as its own growth is slowing, but the deal could still fly under the radar of regulators.

EuropeIAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said he remained gravely concerned about the situation at the nuclear plant, which sits close to the front line of the Ukraine war, urging the establishment of a safety zone around the site as soon as possible.

☆ Delta Sustainability Chief Discusses Cutting Airline’s Footprint and Shift Away From Offsets
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-31 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +11 min

Delta recently appointed company veteran Amelia DeLuca as its chief sustainability officer. Amelia DeLuca, Delta Air Lines’ chief sustainability officer Photo: Rank StudiosWSJ Pro: Where were you in December 2015 when the Paris climate accord was signed? That gave me clarity of what my role is: that we’ve got to get a running start on this. WSJ Pro: How do carbon offsets fit into what you’re doing at Delta? The second thing is really trying to understand how you connect your sustainability agenda to everyone throughout your company.

Persons: Amelia DeLuca, DeLuca, we’ve, There’s, I’ve, ? DeLuca, doesn’t, we’re, We’ve, it’s, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: Delta Air Lines, Delta, Lines, Nations, WSJ, Air, Business, SAF, Airbus, Boeing, Delta Air, Rochelle, rochelle.toplensky@wsj.com Locations: Delta, Paris, Atlanta, Southern U.S, Netherlands, Mexico City, United States, Nations

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