Sustainability News and Trends – November 2022

Posted by | Fuld & Company

For the latest and most important sustainability news and developments from September and October 2022 please see below for all the key stories.

For a PDF version of this news please download here.

National Governments’ Announcements

A summary of the key announcements by national governments in relation to sustainability is as follows:

Companies Making Sustainability-Linked Acquisitions & Investments

Some of the key sustainability-linked acquisitions and investments have been made by the following companies.

Key Sustainability News

A summary of the key sustainability news that has occurred over the past month is listed below.

12-October-22: energy

US Department of Energy has announced funding of $32 million to boost the domestic supply chain of clean energy technologies for the country’s economy and security

• The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced funding of $32 million to support studies to produce rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals and materials (CMMs) from domestic coal-based resources
• Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law program, front-end engineering design (FEED) studies will be carried out to support the manufacturing of clean energy technologies, such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells
• While the US currently imports 80% of its rare earth elements from offshore suppliers, the funding aims at developing FEED studies that will boost extraction and processing technologies for producing critical minerals from domestic sources of coal and its by-products

10-October-22: Banking, Finance

United Nations has launched the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Academy to coach banking professionals on sustainability 

• UNEP FI (United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative), along with the Chartered Banker Institute and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has launched the ‘Principles for Responsible Banking Academy (PRB Academy)’ for banks across the globe
• The academy aims at offering banking professionals and employees access to high-quality training to provide them with knowledge and skills for managing challenges that come with climate change
• The initiative launched at the UNEP FI’s Global Roundtable will enable banking personnel to situate their professional practices, strategies and operations with the society’s objectives

10-October-22: Dairy farming

Arla Foods has introduced a new sustainability incentive for its dairy farmers where the company will reward the farmers based on their environmentally responsible dairy practices

• Arla Foods amba, a Danish-Swedish multinational cooperative and producer of dairy products, has announced a new sustainability incentive drive for its dairy farmers to achieve 2030 emission reduction target on its farms
• As part of the incentive program, from 2023, the milk price that the company’s farmers will receive will be based on their environmental sustainability activities
• The dairy cooperative has set aside 3 Eurocents/kilo of milk annually for environmental improvements, where in the first year, at least €270 million will be distributed through the monthly milk price based on the activities of farmers

07-October-22: space

Lloyd’s, along with its marketing association, has planned to launch a space sustainability standard in partnership with the UK government and industry experts to reduce extraterrestrial risk

• Lloyd’s, a global insurance company, along with Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA), announced plans to establish the world’s first kitemark (UK’s quality trademark) for sustainable space exploration in partnership with UK Government and industry experts
• The company that is extensively involved in insuring space exploration and satellites intends to develop the Earth & Space Sustainability Initiative kitemark to help shape extraterrestrial and space debris risk
• The company also believes that the Earth & Space Sustainability Initiative will facilitate the establishment of a global transparent ESG space sustainability standard (the kitemark) that will be recognized by finance and insurance communities

27-September-22: Technology, Energy

Saudi Arabia and IBM have collaborated to use AI and ML to boost the country’s sustainability initiatives across the Kingdom

• Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has entered into a strategic partnership with IBM, the American technology MNC, to boost AI adoption in carbon capture and industrial domains across the country
• As a first use case addressing key challenges in the carbon economy, the Country’s Ministry of Energy plans to use AI for depicting, charting, and eventually reducing carbon emissions of KSA with the help of IBM
• IBM will support SDAIA in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications for supporting the Country’s sustainability and industrialization objectives

26-September-22: Training and Development

Deloitte has launched a new sustainability learning program for all its people across the globe to help them address climate change challenges

• Deloitte, a professional services network and management consulting company, has introduced a global Sustainability & Climate learning program to enhance the skills and capabilities of its employees for addressing global societal challenges
• The company hosted its first Global Sustainability and Climate Learning Week to launch the newly announced initiative, with live, on-demand opportunities for education, awareness, engagement, and action
• The company plans to provide Sustainability & Climate learning and development opportunities in coming years through the network of Deloitte Universities, to help address sustainability challenges

20-September-22: energy

Schlumberger and Saudi Aramco have jointly planned to launch digital solutions for energy and metal industries to help them measure and manage their carbon emissions

• Schlumberger, an oilfield services company, and Aramco, the Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company, have joined hands to develop a digital platform for providing sustainability solutions for industrial sectors that are difficult to reduce emissions, such as oil and gas, chemicals, utilities, cement and steel
• The platform will help companies in such industries to depict, analyze, report and validate their carbon emissions, while also examining different methods towards decarbonization
• The platform also aims to eventually add parameters of water sustainability and management, methane emissions measurement, flaring reduction and prevention, and carbon capture and storage

19-September-22: mobility, transport

Uber has added sustainability data metrics to its corporate users’ dashboard

• Uber, a provider of ride-hailing, food delivery, package delivery, couriers, and freight transportation services, via its division for corporate clients – Uber Business – has added sustainability metrics in its clients’ dashboard
• The new metrics including Uber Green, Uber Comfort Electric and Uber Planet allows users to view their GHG emissions data on the trips they take via the platform
• It also allows users to view their average gCO2 emissions and a graph of total emissions by average gCO2 per mile

For a PDF version of this news please download here.