Global biodiversity is deteriorating faster than at any time in human history, largely due to human activity. Such massive biodiversity loss poses serious economic and financial risk as more than half the world’s economy is moderately or highly dependent on nature. To reverse this trend, companies must start by meaningfully assessing, disclosing, and addressing their nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities.
Read moreThe Net-Zero Banking Alliance, Climate Finance, and Banks' Accountability to Shareholders
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) formed in the spring of 2021 to great fanfare. Banks in the alliance made a voluntary commitment, signed by their CEO, to set and publish targets that are aligned with pathways for net zero by 2050, reduce emissions associated with their material financing activities in carbon-intensive sectors, and develop transition plans to achieve the targets.
Read moreAI Energy Demands Pose Challenge to Alphabet's Net Zero Goals
The pervasiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) appears to be inescapable – AI bots are integrated into smart phones; internet searches are completed by AI assistants such as by Alphabet’s Gemini AI model. What’s more, the market for AI products and services is predicted to grow – and fast.
Read moreThe Future of Freight: Decarbonization of Heavy-Duty Trucking is Accelerating
The transportation sector is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are the fastest-growing source of transport emissions, driven by the expansion of e-commerce and consumer demand for fast delivery. Trucks’ disproportionate impact on emissions and community health underscores the urgency of adopting cleaner, more efficient technologies and practices.
Read moreChallenging Companies to Draw Down Use of Flexible Packaging
Flexible packaging is one of the fastest-growing packaging sectors and a major contributor to global plastic pollution. It is the second largest packaging segment in the U.S. after corrugated cardboard, valued at $63 billion, comprising 21% of the U.S. packaging market.
Read moreMarching Steadily Toward an Uninsurable Future
Insurance is the climate crisis canary in the coal mine, and the canary is expiring. Last year, insurers globally had a record $154 billion in natural catastrophe losses. In the U.S., insured natural catastrophe losses were a record $117 billion; 2025 is on track to be another record setting year, with the LA wildfires alone costing insurers an estimated $25 to $35 billion.
Read moreAvocado Industry Helps Reduce Deforestation in Mexico
In complex situations where environmental and human rights issues are not addressed by local regulation, shareholders can drive corporations to promote significant change by demanding more from their suppliers. This is evident in Mexico's avocado industry, where shareholder engagement, political action, and NGO efforts are tackling illegal deforestation and its impacts.
Read moreAmazon Lags Behind Peers in Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Disclosures
Scope 3, or value-chain emissions, account for an average of 75% of a company’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, rising to over 90% in the retail sector. While challenges persist in assessing Scope 3 emissions – including data availability and quality concerns – assessing these emissions is critical to any credible climate strategy. Only by acting to assess value-chain emissions will data quality improve.
Read moreClimate Transition Planning Will Improve Business Transparency and Resilience
The year 2024 saw record-breaking global temperatures and extreme weather disasters worldwide, causing loss of life, homes, and hundreds of billions in damages. In light of this devastating year, investors are looking to the 2025 proxy season as an opportunity to encourage corporations to do more to address the financial impacts of climate change by reducing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and investing in the clean energy economy.
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