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☆ Lavazza calendar: African photographers are celebrating the birthplace of coffee
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Arya Jyothi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Every year since 1993, the Italian coffee manufacturer has produced a photography calendar, featuring images from the likes of Helmut Newton, David La Chapelle and Annie Leibovitz. This year’s edition celebrates the African continent as the birthplace of coffee (widely considered to be Ethiopia). But the theme itself, for me, was so powerful,” said 33-year-old Kenyan photographer Thandiwe Muriu. Photo by Thandiwe Muriu / 2024 Lavazza CalendarFor 31-year-old South African photographer and filmmaker Aart Verrips, the Lavazza project, and its emphasis on Africa and African creatives, is a big step forward in terms of recognition. “I brought that [theme] into every kind of image [for the Lavazza calendar],” said Verrips.

Persons: Helmut Newton, David La Chapelle, Annie Leibovitz, Thandiwe, Aart Verrips, Daniel Obasi, Giuseppe e, ”, Thandiwe Muriu, “, ” Muriu, Muriu, ” Verrips, Daniel Obasi’s, Obasi, ” Obasi, we’ve Organizations: CNN, Lavazza Locations: Ethiopia, “, Africa, African, Europe, Badagry, Lagos State

☆ Global watchdog proposes detailed climate disclosures from banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Basel Committee of banking regulators from G20 and other economies proposed climate-related disclosures by banks to make it easier for investors to also compare climate exposures at lenders, and ensure banks hold enough capital to remain stable. The proposals provide more detailed banking sector climate-related disclosures to supplement broader corporate disclosures agreed at the global level by the International Sustainability Standards Board. Not all countries will apply ISSB disclosures, however, and it is unclear how Basel's disclosures would dovetail with corporate climate disclosures the European Union has finalised. Draft U.S. corporate climate disclosures from the Securities and Exchange Commission face heavy pushback from companies which want to ditch the inclusion of so-called Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions produced by a company's customers. "For banks, financed emissions are often the most significant part of their total GHG emissions."

Persons: Amanda Perobelli, Huw Jones, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Committee, International Sustainability, Union, Securities and Exchange Commission, Thomson Locations: Amazonia, Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso, Brazil, Basel

This raised doubts over whether SEC rules would survive a court challenge. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on Scope 3 emissions and when the climate disclosure rules will be finalized. Even some advocates of climate action have expressed concerns about the logistical challenges of accurately calculating Scope 3 emissions. For many businesses, however, Scope 3 emissions represent more than 70% of their carbon footprint, according to consulting firm Deloitte. Some voluntary initiatives such as the International Sustainability Standards Board already specify that it is best practice to disclose Scope 3 emissions.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, Gary Gensler, Joe Biden's, Biden, Gensler, Jarrett Renshaw, Douglas Gillison, Isla Binnie, Chris Prentice, Ross Kerber, Simon Jessop, Michelle Price, Greg Roumeliotis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Union, Republican, Commission, Democrat, Deloitte, Gensler, Republican SEC, Sustainability, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Thomson Locations: Detroit , Michigan, U.S, CALIFORNIA, California, Washington, New York, Boston, London

☆ 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

☆ Three-quarters of firms globally are not ready for new ESG rules, KPMG finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Three-quarters of companies globally are not ready to have their environmental, social and governance (ESG) data audited externally months before new regulations kick in, according to a new report from KPMG published on Tuesday. Regulators say external auditing of sustainability-related data - while not as extensive as financial auditing - is crucial for giving investors information free of misleading environmental claims, known as greenwashing. The EU rules will require disclosures be audited while countries adopting the International Sustainability Standards Board's reporting requirements can also demand external checking. Yet of 750 companies surveyed by KPMG, only 25% feel they are sufficiently prepared. KPMG's ESG Assurance Maturity Index assessed the views of executives and board members across industries, regions and different firm sizes to measure companies preparedness.

Persons: Stephanie Lecocq, Larry Bradley, Mike Shannon, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes Organizations: La Defense, REUTERS, KPMG, Union, KPMG's, Audit, Global, ESG Assurance, Standards, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, EU, Japan, United States, Brazil, China

☆ More Companies Are Disclosing Their ESG Data, but Confusion on How Persists
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( David Breg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The proportion of companies disclosing sustainability and ESG information was 63%, up from 56% last year. Breaking that down, a quarter of private companies don’t plan any ESG reporting, while only 7% of public companies felt the same. Six percent said they don’t yet report, but plan to, while another 7% don’t plan to. The picture looks quite different for private companies: 45% don’t report ESG information and more than half of those don’t plan to. The sustainability information respondents were most likely to publish was for employee diversity, equity and inclusion, at 47%.

Persons: Thomas R, ”, Maria Ghazal, David Breg Organizations: Street Journal, Regulators, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Sustainability, Board, Business, Nations, Global Reporting, Task Force, Business Roundtable’s, david.breg@wsj.com Locations: U.S

For investors looking to weed out climate laggards from portfolios, these are vital questions but existing guidelines on emissions reporting and new rules due to come in for the United States and Europe are unlikely to provide hard answers. The United States is on track to announce similar rules this year and the corporate standard, first launched in 2001 and revised in 2004, is also embedded in other international emissions reporting standards. Nonetheless, many investors scrutinise carbon emissions data to gauge how polluting a company is, how it compares with rivals and how this might affect its bottom line and share price. Another area of investor concern is how companies account for their own energy use, or Scope 2 emissions. The GHGP allows companies to buy green energy to offset their emissions, using contractual instruments such as renewable energy certificates, and reflect this in their reporting.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, Vanessa Bingle, David Lubin, Subaru, SCA's Lubin, Laura Kane, Kane, Jimmy Jia, Jia, abrdn, Pedro Faria, Faria, Pankaj Bhatia, Douglas Gillison, Sumanta Sen, Dan Flynn, David Clarke Organizations: REUTERS, Toyota, Shell, Greenhouse, World Business, Sustainable Development, World Resources Institute, Reuters, Alpha Financial Markets Consulting, Analytics, Subaru, North, Voya Investment Management, Voya, EU, Sustainability, IFRS, Oxford Smith School of Enterprise, Reuters Graphics, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, United States, Europe, Japan, North America, U.S, Britain, British, EU

☆ 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

☆ 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

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Companies will face more pressure to disclose how climate change affects their business under a new set of G20-backed global rules aimed at helping regulators crack down on greenwashing. The norms published on Monday have been written by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) as trillions of dollars flow into investments that tout their environmental, social and governance credentials. David Harris, head of sustainable finance strategic initiatives at London Stock Exchange Group, said the new norms bring more rigour to sustainability reporting, more aligned with financial reporting. Under the ISSB rules, companies would need to disclosure material emissions, with checks by external auditors. The European Union finalises its own disclosure rules next month and it and the ISSB have sought to make each other's norms "interoperable" to avoid duplication for global companies.

Persons: Emmanuel Faber, Faber, Joanna Penn, Jean, Paul Servais, David Harris, Harris, haven't, Huw Jones, Alexander Smith, Robert Birsel Organizations: International Sustainability, Reuters, Force, London Stock Exchange Group, Union, Thomson Locations: Canada, Britain, Japan, Singapore, Nigeria, Chile, Malaysia, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa

☆ 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.

☆ Global Sustainability Disclosure Standards for Companies Set to Take Effect in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The International Sustainability Standards Board said it has agreed to rules that would harmonize corporate environmental disclosures across the globe. More than 150 countries follow the IFRS, and the group will promote its sustainability disclosure standards to market regulators. For example, the ISSB standards require companies to report emissions from their direct operations, energy purchases and from their value chains, including suppliers. The ESRS is also more exacting than the ISSB standards, disclosure professionals say. “For companies reporting under multiple frameworks, this will make reporting less challenging.”Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@wsj.com

☆ Bank of America CEO says capitalism needs cleaning up with new global ESG rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said Wednesday that current efforts to produce a set of official global standards on ESG issues were vital to "align capitalism with what society wants from it." He said it was now important to "go to the official side" and was supporting the new International Sustainability Standards Board set up by non-profit the IFRS. This is due to comprise a set of general non-financial sustainability disclosure requirements for companies, and a set specifically on climate. Moynihan also said it was crucial that sustainability and ethical standards became official and global. "Which, at the end of the day, will align capitalism with what society wants from it and get us going faster."

☆ ISSB Plans to Finalize Rules on Disclosure of Climate-Related Risks in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

And then quite naturally, we’re now looking at what’s next,” Mr. Faber said. The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, an accounting standards body based in London, launched the ISSB to develop sustainability reporting standards. One of the rule proposals would see companies disclose significant climate-related risks, such as floods and other extreme weather events. The number of global companies reporting under four different frameworks rose to 255 in 2020 from eight in 2019, the data shows. These “adjacent topics” are top of mind for investors, according to Mr. Faber.

Among the most prolific rulemakers was the European Union, which began to roll out sustainability rules for asset managers as part of a series of dictates aimed at ensuring the bloc hits its climate targets and helps rein in global warming. Regulatory scrutiny also broadened to include investment ratings and the labeling of sustainable investment funds. In the United States, for example, both Goldman Sachs Asset Management and BNY Mellon Investment Adviser were fined over ESG failures. ESG rules will also fast become mandatory rather than optional in 2023 - with the EU expected to push out 200 pages of guidance in January alone to help market participants use its green taxonomy, a list of environmentally friendly activities, and other ESG rules. However, this is only likely to happen in stages from 2023 given there are no global taxonomies or rules on what constitute sustainable investments.

☆ Companies Must Reduce Impact on Biodiversity Under New U.N. Rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Companies will have to show they are reducing their impact on the world’s natural life, though not to a specific level, under a global plan agreed to Monday. Under the agreement—officially called the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or GBF—governments between now and 2030 will introduce laws and policy measures requiring large companies and banks to disclose and reduce the damage done to ecosystems from their operations, supply chains and portfolios. The rules aim to take into account the connection between climate and nature, including cultivated and natural biodiversity, deforestation and water use, the ISSB said. Such measures are “critical to addressing the dangerous loss of biodiversity and restoring natural ecosystems,” COP15 organizers said. Even with the framework agreed upon by nations, assessing companies’ biodiversity impact could be a headache.

Companies’ impact on biodiversity and ecosystems would become an integral part of sustainability reporting under new plans that aim to create a more complete assessment of how businesses harm the environment. Corporations should explain to investors how they are managing resources sustainably, according to reporting rules proposed Wednesday by the International Sustainability Standards Board, an arm of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, an accounting-standards body. The trial could act as a beacon for such reporting and make other companies more comfortable with the idea of reporting their biodiversity impact voluntarily, Ms. Saint-Laurent said. Overcoming reporting challengesGathering data on biodiversity still poses a challenge for corporations and can often involve expensive teams of dozens of experts. “We’re not quite at the point where we’re able to have one single number,” she said, adding, “it’s multiple numbers that show performance.” Unlike carbon-emissions reporting, biodiversity assessment can be complicated and expensive.

☆ Opinion: It's time for African countries to consider a climate tax on exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Adjoa Adjei-Twum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

I welcome progress here, as African nations are bearing the brunt of climate change. It is now time for African nations to levy a climate export tax on commodities, such as cocoa and rubber, to help pay for climate adaptation. Adaptation is all about building resilience and capacity, and I believe our governments, banks, and businesses must also adapt. Additionally, G20 countries are asking their banks to forecast how risky their loans are due to climate change. It is a wake-up call for African governments, banks, institutions, and companies to unite, step up, and adapt to a new climate reality.

☆ U.N., standard setter ISO launch net-zero guidelines
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Virginia Furness | Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations and standard setter the International Organization for Standardization launched a set of guidelines on Friday to help organisations construct net-zero emissions plans. As regulators increasingly focus on tackling weak corporate environmental claims, and investors call for harmonised global standards, the U.N. and ISO said its work would act as a core reference text on what to include in their net-zero plans. The ISO's guidelines were developed by a group of 1,200 organisations and experts from over 100 countries. While around 80% of global emissions are covered by net-zero pledges, many organisations lack a clear strategy, and the new ISO guidelines are intended to provide a practical guide. "The guidelines support clarity, we don't replace the ISSB but help companies navigate these multiple initiatives," said Emily Faint, net-zero policy manager at Our 2050 World, the group's secretariat.

Global regulators have called on the EU and ISSB to make their climate disclosures interoperable to avoid competing norms confusing cross-border investors. An advisory body is due to present technical guidance to the European Commission on how to implement the disclosures. The ISSB hopes the EU could move towards its definition of materiality, which is drawn from accounting norms already being applied by EU companies in financial statements. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, however, is facing pressure to ditch Scope 3 from its draft climate disclosures. It said it will apply the ISSB's climate disclosure standard in its work.

☆ Culture of sustainability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Schneider Electric | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

As early as 2005, the company had launched its first sustainability barometer — the Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) — which produces quarterly measurements of its ESG performance. In short, it has created a remarkable culture of sustainability throughout its operations. Watch the video below featuring Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Schneider Electric. The results have been highly encouraging, both in terms of advancing the company's sustainability drive, and in creating a happier and more engaged workforce. To help its customers and partners arrive at this ambition, Schneider Electric applies a programmatic approach to drive sustainability impact: strategize, digitize, decarbonize.

☆ EU seeks better alignment with global sustainability rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Huw Jones | Nita Bhalla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The European Union sought on Thursday to reassure international companies it would seek to align its sustainability disclosure rules with a global initiative, after warnings from regulators over fragmenting capital markets. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is writing global baseline standards for corporate disclosures on climate for use in non-EU countries such as Britain, while the United States is working on its own disclosure rules. "We want to see as much alignment as possible with the work of the International Sustainability Standards Board, even though as I have said Europe is likely to go further and faster to meet our more higher ambitions on climate," McGuinness said. She is moving to the next stage of the EU's green plans by assessing how best to encourage sustainable retail lending for small firms and households. "With the support of the European Banking Authority, we are examining what needs to be done to promote the growth of green loans and green mortgages," McGuinness said.

☆ Factbox: COP26 a year later: Where do last year's climate pledges stand?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - A year ago at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, countries, banks and business leaders announced a slew of climate plans and pledges. METHANE PLEDGETo date, 119 countries and blocs including the United States and the European Union have joined the COP26 pledge to slash methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. And China could also give an update on its plan to begin monitoring methane emissions - a promise made under the U.S.-China agreement announced in Glasgow. The group now counts more than 550 members, including most of the world's leading banks, insurers and asset managers, with collective assets of more than $150 trillion. read more And last week, climate activists criticized GFANZ for dropping a requirement that its members sign onto a U.N. emissions reduction campaign.

☆ Novartis debuted its first integrated sustainability and finance report this year — more companies are likely to follow suit
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-06 | by ( Julia Hood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A coalition of sustainability organizations has recommended integrated reporting to improve the quality of information. Global organizations for decades have wrangled with not just what to report on sustainability goals, but how to report. To learn more about the Novartis Access Principles, Insider turned to the company's integrated report. On May 25, 2022, the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS), the chairs of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), announced they would be incorporating the IIRC's current framework. Novartis tapped the Integrated Reporting Framework in developing the report, as well as SASB Standards provided by the Value Reporting Foundation.

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