Posts by Broc Romanek
‘Forever chemicals’ found in US drinking water
Here’s an excerpt from this “Fox News” article (and here’s the ‘hot spot’ map from the study): The risk of having potentially harmful chemicals in your drinking water may depend on your zip code. A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience on April 8 found that higher amounts of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) were found…
Read MoreHow the “reference narrative” is critical to ESG investing
Here’s a note from Harald Walkate: I’ve been doing some reading (& listening) on climate change and reflecting on takeaways for investors. I think there’s good news and not so good news. The good news: most investors have put climate change on the agenda: considering climate investment risk & how to contribute to solutions, joining…
Read MoreSBTi to allow increased role for carbon credits in net zero targets
Here’s a note from “ESG Today”: The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) announced plans to extend the use of environmental attribute certificates, such as carbon credits, to tackle Scope 3 value chain emissions, in its Corporate Net Zero Standard, used to assess and certify companies’ decarbonization commitments to achieve net zero emissions. The decision could…
Read MoreUpdate on the EU’s sustainability due diligence directive
Here’s an excerpt from Tim Mohin’s newsletter from a few weeks back: Europe continued its leadership in sustainability policy with the approval of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) late last week. The new policy requires companies to identify and mitigate adverse environmental and social impacts in their supply chains. While this directive was…
Read MoreHouse hearing on the SEC’s climate disclosure rules
Here’s a note from Michael Littenberg of Ropes & Gray: This morning, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the SEC’s climate risk disclosure rules. The Committee’s press release, captioned “McHenry: The SEC’s Final Climate Disclosure Rule Would Be Catastrophic for Our Markets and American Competitiveness,” indicates that “Republicans will examine the numerous…
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be an ESG skeptic?
Here’s an excerpt from this Substack note from Matthew Sekol: One of the proxy advisory firms under scrutiny is Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). ISS offers many types of ESG services and proxy advice options, but like many proxy advisors, it hasn’t provided anything to the anti-ESG crowd. There are two ways to look at this.…
Read MoreInternational court rules Switzerland violated human rights in landmark climate case
Here’s the intro from this CNN article: An international court in France on Tuesday ruled Switzerland’s failure to adequately tackle the climate crisis was in violation of human rights, in a landmark climate judgment that could have a ripple effect across the globe. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France delivered its…
Read MoreA mapping of key sustainability frameworks, standards, and milestones!
Here’s a great image courtesy of David Carlin that maps key sustainability frameworks, standards, and milestones…
Read MoreThe SEC stays its own climate rules
Last Thursday, the SEC issued this stay order for its new climate disclosure rules so that the Eight Circuit can evaluate the numerous petitions – I believe we are up to 10 petitions now – that have been consolidated there recently. Here are four things to note that I just blogged about on Perkins Coie’s…
Read MoreIn defense of carbon credits
Here’s a note from Nawar Alsaadi: “If you invest in a forest, the question we ask is, ‘How do you manage wood products versus carbon?’” said Brian Kernohan, chief sustainability officer, private markets, at Manulife Investment Management. The above excerpt from this WSJ article demonstrates the role carbon credits play in introducing a financial dimension…
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