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☆ Here's everything you need to know about Lidl, the German discount chain that's struggling to keep up with Aldi's rapid US growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lidl opened 450 stores in Germany in just 15 yearsA Lidl store in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1998. Shortly after, it opened stores elsewhere in Europe, including Italy in 1992 and the UK in 1994. In 2006, the retailer launched Lidl Asia, a sourcing arm for the company which has more than 1,000 employees across Hong Kong, China, and Bangladesh. Lidl launched its online store in 2009. Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, alongside sister company Kaufland, a hypermarket chain launched by Schwarz in the 1980s.

Persons: Lidl, Claus Felix, Josef Schwarz, Dieter Schwarz, Schwarz, Josef, Kaufland Organizations: Getty, Lidl, Bloomberg, Schwarz Locations: Germany, Nuremberg, Ludwigshafen, Mundenheim, France, Europe, Italy, Asia, Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh, Lidl Northern Ireland, Neckarsulm

☆ Perovskite Solar Cells Push Bounds of Efficiency. Tapping Their Potential Will Be Challenging.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Higher efficiency, measured by how many of the Sun’s photons are turned into watts, lowers the cost of generating solar energy. The factory is small, with a 100-megawatt yearly capacity, but can be expanded and Oxford PV has ambitions to increase production in 2024. Perovskite solar panels may reach commercialization this decade thanks to an expansion of solar investment spurred by government aid from the U.S. and Europe, solar analysts say. China dominates more than 80% of the world’s manufacturing of solar panels, according to the International Energy Agency. “The conversation about degradation is an old one, dating to the early days of perovskite solar technology,” Case said.

Persons: hasn’t, Chris Case, ”, Martin Green, Green, Oxford PV’s Case, ” Case, Diego Diaz, ” Diaz, Dieter Holger Organizations: U.S, Oxford, Oxford University, Saule Technologies, Sustainable Business, International Energy Agency, Oxford PV’s, University of New, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, dieter.holger Locations: Oxford, Brandenburg, Germany, U.S, Europe, China, Oxford PV’s Brandenburg, University of New South Wales, company’s Brandenburg

☆ Gucci-Owner Kering, Drugmaker GSK and Others Are Developing Global Targets on Nature Loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Luxury group Kering and biopharma company GSK are among more than a dozen companies preparing targets to develop a gold standard for how businesses can protect nature. Yet the issues surrounding nature loss are complex and many companies are unsure how to measure it or what to do. The Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures, a business-backed effort to protect biodiversity, is working on a reporting framework, and SBTN is developing standards to evaluate companies’ nature targets. “We expect that the landscapes will be similar [to the ones under the SBTN targets], ” Gonçalves Krebsbach said. In 2020, GSK started to map out stressed water basins in its supply chain.

☆ Vodafone and Nestlé Created Panels to Avoid ‘Greenwashing’ Allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Vodafone Group and Nestlé have set up panels of experts to double check environmental claims before they appear on products and marketing, a move by the multinationals to avoid allegations of so-called greenwashing. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is updating its environmental marketing guidelines and the EU has proposed that businesses need to offer scientific evidence. The panels at Nestlé and Vodafone are examples of how companies are stepping up their due diligence of green claims in response to mounting scrutiny, tighter regulation, shifting consumer preferences and the threat of lawsuits. So far, that hasn’t happened, Mr. Reiter said. The packaged-foods company’s panels are staffed by employees from marketing, regulatory, scientific affairs, sustainability, legal and communications.

☆ Carbon Accounting Changes Could Lift Corporate Greenhouse-Gas Emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Changes to emissions accounting rules are being considered that could significantly increase carbon footprints for companies claiming to use 100% renewable power in their efforts to decarbonize. How companies tally greenhouse-gas emissions from their electricity purchases—so-called Scope 2 emissions—was the most popular issue in a recent consultation on updating widely used GHG Protocol carbon accounting rules. A recent review by carbon management firm FlexiDAO of 22 multinationals that bought renewable electricity across 27 countries found that they could be underestimating their electricity emissions by close to 50% under the current system. The GHG Protocol secretariat is reviewing the more than 1,400 survey responses, around 400 of which mentioned Scope 2. Other areas of focus were emissions in the value chain, or so-called Scope 3 emissions, market-based accounting approaches, and corporate accounting and reporting standards.

☆ Coca-Cola Trials Turning Hard-to-Recycle Plastic Into Bottles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Coca-Cola is trialing technology in Europe that turns hard-to-recycle plastic into new bottles, as part of its effort to meet its sustainability goals. “We simply do not have the necessary levels [of recycled plastic],” said Joe Franses, vice president of sustainability at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. Packaging represents around 40% of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ carbon footprint, largely because of its use of oil-based virgin plastic. It aims to stop using oil to produce plastic bottles by 2030. He hopes recycled plastic supplied by CuRe’s method to be on par or not significantly more expensive than current recycled plastic, which can be 50% more costly than plastic made from oil.

☆ A protestor threw a cake-like pastry at a board member's head during a Volkswagen meeting that descended into chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About a dozen protestors reportedly created chaos at Volkswagen Groups annual meeting on Wednesday. One protestor threw what appeared to be a cake at a board member's head. The Associated Press reported that the pastry was thrown in the direction of Wolfgang Porsche, the chairman of Volkswagen Group's majority shareholder, Porsche SE. But recordings of the moment, uploaded to YouTube from news outlets including The Guardian, show VW Group chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch dodging remnants of the pastry that flew in his direction. A Reuters video from the event shows the protestors being led out of the meeting by security.

[1/3] Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Dr. Ing. He did not mention the company's Xinjiang plant in China, a joint venture with SAIC Motor (600104.SS), which has become a sore point for human rights activists as well as some shareholders, including top-20 investors Deka Investment and Union Investment. "Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka. Volkswagen's China chief visited the plant in Xinjiang earlier this year and said he saw no evidence of forced labour. Shareholders flagged rising competition from Chinese EV competitors in China, with BYD (002594.SZ) outselling Volkswagen as the top passenger car brand earlier this year.

☆ Climate-Disclosure Rules Are Coming. Here’s How Companies Are Adapting.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

International jurisdictions and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are expected to finalize rules by this summer that will require public companies to report their greenhouse-gas emissions. Direct suppliers are known as tier 1 with that number increasing the deeper you go down the supply chain. Partnerships with suppliers: Large companies are working with small suppliers to overcome hurdles to accessing renewable power supplies, a relatively straightforward way to cut emissions. In October, it said its first group was five companies, including Amy’s Kitchen Inc., Levi Strauss & Co. and J.M. Targets for lower-emission alternatives: Nestlé SA is paying a premium to farmers in its supply chain that cut emissions by following regenerative farming practices.

☆ Lululemon’s Climate Goals Hinge on Replacing Oil With Plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s need for crude oil for its leggings and other stretchy clothes presents a hurdle to meeting its climate ambitions. Its first products out this month are two shirts containing at least 50% nylon made from plant-based sugars instead of oil. A new Lululemon shirt contains at least 50% nylon made from plant-based sugars instead of oil. Lululemon’s push into biomaterials is part of a goal to make all of its products with sustainable materials by the end of the decade. Biomaterials also can help Lululemon more swiftly reduce its climate impact because using recycled materials is challenging, Ms. Speck said.

☆ Low-Carbon Electricity Expected to Cover New Power Demand in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

A surge of clean electricity is set to cover new power demand globally this year, bringing within reach the Paris-aligned sustainable energy goals set by the International Energy Agency. Historically, rising electricity demand has been met by burning more fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, but from 2023 additional renewable energy capacity should be available to supply almost all new power demand, said London-based environmental nonprofit Ember on Wednesday. Last year’s record high of 12.4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from the global power sector is likely to be the peak. The share of global electricity generated by low-carbon emission sources—including wind, solar, biomass and nuclear—reached a record high of 39%. The nonprofit’s data covers 78 countries representing 93% of global electricity demand.

But at the same time, EU countries have increased their overall purchases of Russian LNG, undermining the bloc's pledge to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Russian LNG exports by region Russian LNG exports by regionEU analysis found Russian LNG imports increased to 22 billion cubic metres (bcm) last year, up from 16 bcm in 2021. Belgium and Spain nearly doubled their imports of Russian LNG in the 12 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, analysis by Kpler showed. The Netherlands has eliminated its Russian pipeline gas imports since the war and reduced, but not eliminated, Russian LNG imports. TO BAN OR NOT TO BANHalting Russian LNG imports would be double-edged, analysts say.

☆ The economy would be better off without bitcoin as it's a 'negative-sum' investment that comes at a social cost, economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Bitcoin is a wasteful asset that doesn't add to global welfare, Dieter Wermuth, economist and partner at Wermuth Asset Management, wrote in a recent note. He says the bitcoin market is highly centralized, and primarily benefits early investors and miners. That's because the cryptocurrency is a wasteful investment that takes funds away from general economic growth, Dieter Wermuth — economist and partner at Wermuth Asset Management — wrote in a note published on Wednesday. "Without crypto, the economy would be better off — there would be more money for consumption and investment." "Bitcoin has been brought to market with the narrative that it would be a better, more stable currency than traditional money," Wermuth wrote.

☆ At Least 10,000 Foreign Companies to Be Hit by EU Sustainability Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

The estimates exclude foreign companies that are subject to the reporting requirements due to other conditions, such as having an EU bond listing. Foreign companies with EU listings will need to start reporting these disclosures in 2025 if they have more than 500 employees in the EU. Businesses based in the EU that reported under the bloc’s previous sustainability rules must follow the new requirements from 2025. The EU rules call for limited-assurance audits to start, with a goal of eventually moving to reasonable assurance. Other sustainability reporting regulations are also set to go into effect in the next few years.

☆ Companies Get Another Year for Some International Sustainability Disclosures
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The International Sustainability Standards Board voted Tuesday to give companies an extra year to disclose sustainability metrics unrelated to climate issues to investors under its soon-to-be-finalized standards. The ISSB is part of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, whose accounting rules are followed in more than 140 countries. The February vote also would have had companies disclose non-climate sustainability metrics as soon as 2025. ISSB staff recommended the one-year delay after companies said reporting all sustainability information at once would be too burdensome. Some ISSB members on Tuesday said a delay would give companies more time to prepare better disclosures and understand investor expectations.

☆ Independent Group Stakes Out Position as Arbiter of Carbon-Offset Quality
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Each carbon credit is supposed to equal one metric ton of carbon dioxide avoided or removed from the atmosphere. Credits that meet the ICVCM’s standards would receive a so-called Core Carbon Principles badge. Still, it remains to be seen how carbon crediting organizations adopt the ICVCM’s standards. PREVIEWThe ICVCM’s effort comes during a time when many companies are hesitant to buy voluntary carbon credits or have pulled back. Less than a quarter of 137 global companies surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2022 plan to use carbon credits, according to the World Economic Forum.

☆ Pressured to Cut Plastic Use, McDonald’s Aims to See What Works and What Doesn’t
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The McDonald’s report will draw on those experiences and others to assess the opportunities, risks and environmental impact of reusables, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said. PREVIEWMcDonald’s commissioned an industrywide study on reusable packaging in Europe that published in February. Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@wsj.comCorrections & AmplificationsMcDonald’s Corp. doesn’t put individual burgers in reusable containers for meals served in its French outlets. Separately, in Germany, reusable containers are available on request for drinks and ice cream. An earlier version of this article didn’t specify which items were available in reusable packaging in Germany.

☆ McDonald’s to Study Pros and Cons of Reusable Packaging
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The McDonald’s report will draw on those experiences and others to assess the opportunities, risks and environmental impact of reusables, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said. PREVIEWMcDonald’s commissioned an industrywide study on reusable packaging in Europe that published in February. “Reusable packaging is one potential solution when applied correctly, but sustainable packaging is complicated,” said John Blake, senior director analyst at Gartner Inc.’s supply chain practice, who wasn’t involved in the report. Although no large-scale reusable packaging laws exist in the U.S., a handful of states including California and Colorado have placed producer-paid fees on disposable packaging to boost recycling rates. “We continue to learn from our reusable packaging system pilots and are focused on implementation of our policy to address this important issue,” a Yum spokesman said.

☆ Companies Face Another Packed Year of Sustainability Shareholder Votes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. companies are facing fewer shareholder proposals on social issues this year but more calls for climate action. Proposals focused on social issues were again the most popular this year, mentioned in 338 of the filings, down more than 9% from 373 last year. Included in the grand total were 48 so-called anti-ESG proposals focused on the risk of ESG-promoting policies, up from 27 in the same period last year. These typically ask companies to audit or report on gender-and-racial pay differences. Companies will avoid votes when shareholders withdraw some current proposals, usually after they reach an agreement with the company on an issue.

☆ Corporate Climate Targets Get Lift Under Rosier U.S. Government Emissions Outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

A new government projection says the U.S. climate bill will speed up cuts to greenhouse-gas emissions this decade, helping ease the burden on corporate climate targets but still falling short of Paris Agreement ambitions. The EIA considers only energy-related emissions, not the entire economy, and uses 2005 as the baseline because the Paris Agreement also targets that year. The EIA attributed most of the improvement to the 2022 climate bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act. It also remains to be seen if the rosier outlook will spur companies to raise their climate ambitions. “I’m not sure it will lead to more ambitious corporate climate targets, many of which are already targeting net-zero emissions—a goal that will require policy and technology adoption well beyond that included in EIA’s new projections,” Mr. Newell said.

☆ Sustainable Aviation Fuel No Quick Fix to Greening Air Travel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Oscar the Grouch is United Airlines’ pitchman for a new advertising campaign touting the environmental benefits of jet fuel made from waste. It can cut emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel, depending on the feedstock used. First, the sustainably derived fuel is typically two to four times as expensive as conventional jet fuel. Globally, jet fuel cost can be volatile but was around $2.76 a gallon as of March 3, according to the International Air Transport Association. Hydrogen’s energy density makes it more promising as a jet fuel.

☆ U.S. Corporate Boards Boosted Sustainability Experience in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Companies are shoring up sustainability experience in the boardroom as they face mandatory climate-disclosure regulations. Among Fortune 500 companies, 25% of board appointees in 2022 had previous experience on sustainability committees, up from 14% in 2021, according to executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. “Boards feel like they don’t always have the right skills, knowledge, language about what’s going on,” she said. In the longer term, the work of these sustainability committees should be more integrated into the company’s overall strategy, Ms. Breeden said. The agenda of sustainability committees varies among companies and industries, Ms. Breeden said.

☆ Lindt & Spruengli proposes dividend hike as 2022 profit climb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ZURICH, March 7 (Reuters) - Lindt & Spruengli (LISN.S) said its 2022 profit rose and the Swiss chocolate maker also proposed a higher dividend payout on Tuesday, despite a challenging year that saw inflationary price hikes dampen consumer sentiment in key markets. Net income rose to 569.7 million Swiss francs ($612.78 million), beating the 566 million francs forecast by analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank. It proposed a dividend of 1,300 francs per registered share, up from the 1,200 francs last year. Chocolate Gold Bunnys are seen during the annual news conference of Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli in Kilchberg, Switzerland March 8, 2022. With cost pressures continuing to pose a challenge, Lindt said it is likely to do the same this year.

☆ IKEA’s Latest Climate Target: Glue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The company expects biomaterials to become more cost competitive with fossil-based materials in the coming years. Instead, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said IKEA uses weight because it allows them to measure changes in a material, such as recycled and renewable content. It discovered around half of the material’s emissions were from the glue used to bind the wood chips and fibers together, meaning that fossil-based glue was responsible for about 5% of IKEA’s carbon footprint, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. “We are not just telling them you should reduce emissions from suppliers by 80% and go fish,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. It needs to be available also for people with thin wallets,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said.

Companies are now working to measure how soil stores carbon as they encourage farming techniques that reduce emissions across their sprawling supply chains. Regenerative practices can increase soil nutrients and yields while also absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, scientific studies say. PREVIEWMany of the world’s biggest food companies, including General Mills Inc. and Nestlé SA, are working with farmers to promote the practices. The company aims to have 20% of its key ingredients sourced from regenerative agriculture by 2025 and half by 2030. General Mills is now working to include the soil carbon and emissions data into its annual footprint.

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