Today, the European Union countries gave their final approval to adopt a new regulation that will require a 100% reduction in emission from new cars and vans. The EU policy will require all new cars sold to have zero CO2 emissions from 2035 and 55% lower CO2 emissions from 2030, versus 2021 levels. This is in line with the European Commission’s “Fit for 55” roadmap to cut GHG emissions. However, Germany won an exemption for cars running on e-fuels, leading to concerns that traditional combustion engine cars could still be sold beyond 2035.

This month, Deloitte released a new a new poll that shows that private equity investors (PEI) could be paving the way when it comes to ESG diligence procedures and considering ESG provisions in M&A. According to the poll, PEIs are leading by factors of two or three compared to their corporate peers when it comes to the use of ESG clauses in deal contracts and routine ESG due diligence.

On Sunday, national governments gave their final approvals on the latest IPCC report after approval was delayed due to battles between rich and developing countries over emissions targets and financial aid to vulnerable nations. The IPCC report was intended to be approved last Friday, but was repeatedly delayed as officials from big nations such as China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the United States and the European Union negotiated around specific wording of key phrases found in the report. After approvals finally happened, the report was publish Monday afternoon and made some very clear statements regarding what is possible and what the stakes are when looking at climate change.

Early this month, Reuters reported around a study that says that due to extreme weather caused by climate change, Germany could be looking at a bill of about 900 Billion Euros in total damages by mid-century. This is a direct example of how sustainability and ESG is affecting the bottom line. The study, originally from economic research companies Prognos and GWS and Germany's Institute for Ecological Economic Research comes as Berlin works on a climate strategy that is supposed to be presented by the environment ministry.

According to Canada’s new “Standard on the Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Setting of Reduction Targets,” federal procurements greater than $25 million will induce suppliers to measure and disclose their and adopt a science-based target to reduce GHG emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

With many big things happening at Sustaira as we work through the first Quarter of 2023, more exciting news hit as Sustaira Founder and CEO, Vincent de la Mar, was invited to be part of the Siemens Xcelerator Advisory Council. This comes shortly after Sustaira was one of the first partners to be featured in the Xcelerator Marketplace.

In Boston Massachusetts, on the first day of her administration, Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order to create the position of Climate Chief, and in the same executive order, created an Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience within the Governor’s Office. This brand new role of Climate Chief has been filled by Melissa Hoffer. This is a huge accomplishment as Massachusetts is the first state in the United States to create such a role.

On Tuesday this week, the European Parliament formally approved a new law that will effectively ban the sale of new combustion engine cars in the European Unition as of 2035. This new law has been approved in hopes to combat climate change and accelerate the shift from petrol and diesel cars to electric.

Yesterday, we released Sustaira’s brand new Evaluation Criteria Framework for ESG & Sustainability Software. This Framework consists of over 60 criteria to enable Sustainability, ESG, Finance and IT leaders to make an informed decision on which software and platform to adopt for their Sustainability and ESG needs. Sustaira has segmented the evaluation criteria into the following three main groups that consist of various sub categories:

Functional Criteria and Capabilities
Technical Criteria and Capabilities
Organizational Criteria and Capabilities

Read more!

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS , UNITED STATES , February 15, 2023 - Today, Sustainability and ESG solution provider, Sustaira releases an insightful evaluation framework for ESG & Sustainability Software, consisting of 60+ criteria. With a growing demand for organizations to aggregate, track, measure, and disclose ESG and Sustainability data, combined with the challenges of doing so, organizations are seeking guidance on where to start. To enable Sustainability, ESG, Finance and IT leaders to make an informed decision on which software and platform to adopt for their Sustainability and ESG needs, Sustaira shares the common Evaluation Criteria that are considered and is guiding organizations through how to look at the ESG domain challenges and what to look for in solutions, going beyond software.…. Read more!

Of the 18,600 companies which provided information to CDP, less than one in 200 companies disclosed information against 21 key indicators that CDP includes in a questionnaire which represents a credible climate transition plan. This means of 18,600 only 81 companies - a mere 0.4% - were able to disclosure against key indicators and prove that their climate transition plans are credible. While the number of organizations reporting to CDP has been rising rapidly, increasing by more than 40% in 2022, this 81 organizations is actually a decrease from the 153 companies that provided a credible climate plan the year before.

Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest investor, has warned company directors to take more specific climate on climate change or risk being voted out. The head of governance and compliance of Norges Bank Investment Management, Carine Smith Ihenacho, said that the fund was getting ready to vote against 80 company boards due to their failure to set or hit environmental or social targets.

"We have for a long time focused on better company disclosure... Now we are focusing more on actions. So now you need to go from numbers to action, concrete steps that companies are taking to meet the expectations," - Carine Smith Ihenacho

This week, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) released their new report "Net Zero Buildings - Halving construction emissions today." This report highlights that we need to cut emissions in half in the built environment by 2030, and then outlines practical steps that could be taken to do so. Through the report and executive summary, we’ve put together our own summary of what you need to know.

This month, The Circularity Gap report of 2023 was published in collaboration with Deloitte. This report being the 6th annual report of its kind, is looking at how close we are to a true circular economy on a global scale compared to years past. A circular economy could not help to fulfill people’s needs, but could do so with just 70% of the materials we currently use, making human impact more sustainable and safer for our planet. This report highlights that while a circular economy is ideal, we are currently nowhere near that goal. In fact, this report outlines that we are down to only 7.2% circular compared to the 9.1% circular that was seen in the first ever report of 2018.

The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) launched this week the first ever target-setting protocol for insurers at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. This protocol is expected to accelerate the transition to a global net-zero economy by enabling NZIA members to set science based intermediate targets to transition insurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero. Version 1.0 requires that existing NZIA members will set and discloser their target(s) by July 31st 2023, which is just around the corner.

Here at Sustaira we get to know all of our employees very well and we want you to know them too! For every new team member, we ask them the following questions to learn about who they are and why sustainability matters to them. Today, we introduce Diogo Rodrigues Puidival Marques. Read Diogo’s interview and enjoy!

Here at Sustaira we get to know all of our employees very well and we want you to know them too! For every new team member, we ask them the following questions to learn about who they are and why sustainability matters to them. Today, we introduce Rosa Hegi. Read Rosa’s interview and enjoy!

Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, recently announced a cap-and-invest program to fund a sustainable and affordable future for all New Yorkers are part of the 2023 State of the State. This new cap-and-invest program will charge large greenhouse gas emitters and fuel distributers in New York more than $1 Billion per year. The proceeds from this will hen be reinvested in emissions reduction initiatives as well as supporting vulnerable communities facing rising energy prices.

JANUARY 12TH 2023 BOSTON, MA USA - Today, Sustainability and ESG software provider, Sustaira announces their 2022 year end review, aiming to continue rapid growth in 2023. With 2022 being the first official full calendar year, the innovative software company accomplished significant milestones including…. Read more!

As we move into 2023, we do so with a war in Europe, high inflation, energy markets in turmoil, political uncertainty, an ever growing list of climate-induced disasters, and a rapidly growing pressure on ESG and Sustainability. Based on the report, MSCI’s ESG and Climate Trends to Watch for 2023 we will summarize what experts in the field are watching out for in 2023 and what Sustaira hopes to provide around these topics.