With Sustainability and ESG disclosures becoming more and more prevalent across the world, the public sector is now seeing its first climate-related disclosure standard for governments and other private sector entities. The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has taken a proactive step towards developing a climate-related reporting standard specifically tailored for the public sector.

Today, in an effort to further enhance sustainability practices the European Commission has proposed a new regulation that seeks to foster greater transparency and regulatory scrutiny in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings industry. This development marks a crucial step in ensuring accurate and reliable ESG information for investors, companies, and stakeholders. The proposed regulation aims to address concerns surrounding the quality and reliability of ESG ratings, which play a pivotal role in guiding investment decisions and corporate sustainability strategies. By subjecting ESG ratings providers to greater regulatory scrutiny, the European Commission hopes to establish a robust framework that instills credibility, accountability, and transparency in the industry.

Realize LIVE, a premiere conference and exhibition lead by Siemens Digital Industries Software for the manufacturing industry, is back again with conference locations across the globe! Running in-person from June 12-15th 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and July 10th - 12th in Munich, Germany for those in Europe, as well as virtually in Japan on July 19th. Sustaira is thrilled to announce that they will participate as a speaker this year for both the Americas and Europe locations. You certainly won’t want to miss this!

Coming off the heels of Hannover Messe 2023, it’s clear that we are at the crux of a true paradigm shift when solving the Industrial ESG and Sustainability challenges many manufacturers are facing. These challenges, which we will dive into shortly, require a low-code digital paradigm shift. What does that mean exactly? Allow me to set the stage.

In recent years, with the rise of Sustainability and ESG across policies and media across the globe, there has been a surge in companies making green claims. However, these claims are not always what they seem to be raising concerns around greenwashing and misleading practices. To address this issue, the European Parliament is passing more policies to fight against greenwashing and promote genuine sustainability and ESG efforts and claims.

The modern workforce is undergoing a significant transformation as younger generations step into the spotlight, bringing with them a distinct set of values and priorities that challenge conventional notions of employment. Deloitte's recent report, titled "The Shifting Workforce: Exploring the Impact of ESG and Climate Concerns on Gen Z and Millennials," highlighted that the newer generations are leaving jobs due to misaligned ESG values and ESG concerns. Here, we will highlight some of the key takeaways from the report.

This week, there was a major turning point in the United States’ commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. The Biden-Harris Administration's recent announcement of an unprecedented $11 billion investment plan for the creation of clean energy programs across rural America is the largest investment of this kind that the states have ever seen and is guaranteed to have residual impacts. This significant investment has the potential to accelerate the shift to renewable energy, stimulate economic growth, and combat climate change challenges.

After onboarding the first APAC customers, Sustainability and ESG software provider, Sustaira, announces their official expansion into the APAC Region with a new strategic regional partner.

The Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), managing €10 trillion in assets, has called on corporations to accelerate action on plastics to reduce their environmental impact. The VBDO has called for corporations to set ambitious targets to reduce plastic use and eliminate single-use plastics to reduce their environmental impact. This call to action is expected to have significant effects on corporations across the globe in terms of sustainability and ESG.

In the the United States, flooding is the most expensive type of natural disaster and yet a new study highlighted this week by The Economist, suggests that including flood risk in the price of American homes could significantly lower their total value. The study estimates that accounting for flood risk could decrease the total value of American homes by as much as $187 billion, or 4.4%.

Earth Day coming up this weekend on Saturday April 22nd, have you taken a moment to consider how you will do your part this year?

This week, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), which includes the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), have proposed amendments to extend and simplify sustainability disclosures for financial market participants under the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). These proposed amendments come from the ESA requesting a review of the SFDR's indicators for principal adverse impact (PAI) and financial product disclosures.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, April 13, 2023 — Today, Sustaira and Sellen Construction announced their collaboration around innovative sustainability data tracking and reporting within the construction industry. In addition to Sellen’s use of Sustaira’s Carbon Accounting and ESG KPI Tracking apps, the two organizations co-created a new application within Sustaira’s suite of powerful sustainability and ESG tools. The new module provides sustainable construction professionals with a turn-key solution to track and report on relevant KPIs and initiatives with respect to carbon emissions, waste management water management, materials, and jobsite wellness relevant to general contractors. 

The United Nations, commonly known in the world of Sustainability and ESG for their leadership and advocacy in promoting sustainability particularly through their 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) also offers completely free sustainability classes to all who would like to learn more! The United Nations has created what they call the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC). The UNSSC houses over 100 courses with topics to choose from that include but are not limited to: Diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainable development goals, stakeholder engagement, climate change, human rights, women leadership, and more.

The U.S. Energy Department (DOE) has proposed new fuel economy rules that would lower the mileage ratings for electric vehicles (EVs) in an effort to comply with existing fuel economy standards. The new proposal would reduce the efficiency ratings of electric vehicles by about 10%, lowering the mileage rating for an EV from 125 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) to 113 MPGe. This current system of calculating the petroleum equivalent fuel economy has not been updated in over two decades.

According to a recent analysis by EY, only 5% of FTSE 100 companies have disclosed transition plans that would be deemed “credible” or detailed enough to meet the draft UK government guidance on decarbonization. With looming regulations and policies, along with the growing pressure to set standards that enable the world to achieve the goal of avoiding 1.5 C warming from the Paris Climate Agreement, organizations needs to act now.

Sustaira has recently become a member of The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, commonly known as AASHE. This new membership allows Sustaira to further their commitment to Sustainability and ESG through Higher Education while enabling others to do the same.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Shift just recently released a primer for CFOs on advancing the “S” in ESG. With social issues becoming a higher priority on the business agenda, it is important for CFOs to begin to understand and communicate social performance as an essential part of their roles. This is immensely important as reporting and disclosure standards around ESG develop across the globe.

Hannover Messe, one of the world’s largest trade fairs that is dedicated to the topic of industry development, is kicking off its annual fair this year on April 17th in Germany. As exhibitors and speakers gear up for the event, Sustaira is proud to participate as a speaker this year. In 2022 Sustaira participated at Hannover Messe together with Mendix and Siemens and is back again, ready to speak about their low-code building block approach for ESG & Sustainability Software Applications in Manufacturing.

This week IRENA’s Director-General Fancesco La Camera shared the World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023 Preview and warned that our world needs a dramatic shift in the energy transition to avoid surpassing our 1.5 C climate target. What this translates to is a total of $35 trillion is needed by 2030 to expedite this energy transition.