News
Artificial intelligence: one week after being established, Google's ethics board is already falling apart
Google's ambition was to develop an artificial intelligence program with the US military. But faced with the outcry raised by its own employees, the company has since changed course and set up an ethics committee on this new technology. Impacted by a poor casting of board members, the plan has...
[Inside story] Calls for boycott: George Clooney against the Sultan of Brunei, while Arab States stand against brazilian agrobusiness!
Boycotting is a double-faced geopolitical weapon used by stars like George Clooney to defend human rights but also by Arab states against the Brazilian agribusiness that sells them halal meat!
Despite water stress risks, large companies continue to consume more water
22 March is World Water Day. This basic resource is increasingly abused due to demographic pressure as well as growing industrial and agricultural needs. Despite increased awareness of the risks associated with water scarcity and water degradation, large global companies are only adding to this...
[Infographic] Gender equality is also an economic opportunity
A $5.800 trillion opportunity. This is what greater workplace gender equality could provide the economy, and in doing so, increase global GDP by 3.9%. While equality should not be subject to economic performance, several studies show that inequalities are stalling growth. In some developing...
The plant-based craze sparks the appetite of companies and investors
It's time for agribusiness actors to take the plant-based path. Driven by an activist fund, Nestlé has just separated from the Herta delicatessen division to move towards more plant-based options. McDonald's will soon offer a vegetarian burger, and Danone wants to compete with French organic brand,...
The future of corporate accounting could include ecological debt
In the future, business accounting will have to integrate the degradation of human and natural capital caused by company activities. In any case, this is what many experts are trying to push with a new method of accounting soon to be tested in France.
For investors, the artificial intelligence race has a long road ahead
Startups incorporating artificial intelligence technology are not as numerous as we think. A study conducted by MMC Ventures identified nearly 1,600 such startups in Europe. That’s 40% less than the number of companies claiming to be a part of this sector. Investors are ready to put more money into...
ESG reporting obligations for investors adopted by European parliament
The European Parliament and Council have agreed that EU financial professionals should be required to provide information on the incorporation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria into financial management. The aim is to use this provision as leverage to reorient financial flows in...
The day the Norwegian sovereign wealth weakened the oil sector’s financial stronghold
8 March 2019 may be remembered the day in which the largest shareholder in the world, Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, announced that it is divesting from “oil exploration and production companies" due to financial reasons!
Sustainability linked loans: a new favorite for companies...and banks
Sustainability linked loans are the new sustainable finance products on the rise. After the stalled growth in green bonds in 2018, positive incentive credits, with rate indexes based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, are experiencing triple-digit growth. This is not a bubble,...
Despite being challenged on climate, top oil companies still link production increases with executive compensation
To maintain a 2°C trajectory, it is a known fact that two-thirds of all fossil reserves have to be kept underground. However, the majority of oil and gas companies screened by Carbon Tracker continue to base executive compensation on the growth of hydrocarbon production and the increase in their...
Climate change could provoke a financial crisis similar to 2008
The current climate crisis could provoke a financial disaster. A group of researchers from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in the United Kingdom estimate that the link between climate, social and economic risks have been greatly underestimated until recently. According to them, the...
Natural disasters causing insures to lose profits
Almost all Insurance and reinsurance companies have seen their financial results impacted by the numerous natural disasters that occurred in 2018. The increase in economic losses related to climate events is beginning to worry insurers, but not so much in the short-term.
Meeschaert management company launches a social footprint for investments
Meeschaert wants to understand the impact of its investments on employees. The management company has recently developed its own method for calculating the social footprint of its portfolio and is now using this information to engage with companies. Accidents at work, employee turnover, parity......
Drax power plan successfully captures CO2...But let it back into the air
It's a world’s first pilot, a British biomass plant has managed to capture the CO2 it emits. This is an important step forward in the fight against climate change. The IPCC estimates that this technology could remove about fifteen million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year by 2030.
Global call to massively mobilize capital for the climate
Elected officials, economists, scientists, and academics may all propose different plans, but they all have the same goal: ensure that not a single euro or dollar finances global warming, particularly through the development of fossil fuels. These calls must move global decision makers from inaction...
Mining giant Glencore will limit its coal production amid investor pressure
Glencore is not withdrawing from coal. However, the group’s recent announcement is almost the same thing for the stunned public, after expressing their desire to cap coal production. Pressured by investors to align their strategy with the Paris Agreement, Glencore will focus its business on premium...
Top rating agencies turn to ESG criteria for credit quality
Gone are the days when rating agencies were only interested in financial information. Climate, social and governance risks are beginning to influence issuers' credit ratings for better or worse. It remains to be seen how to integrate such extra-financial criteria into the credit quality equation.
An Australian court invokes the climate to reject major mining project
An Australian court just reached a potentially far-reaching decision for the mining industry. In order to reject a coal mining project, the court invoked climate change and the Paris Agreement.
PG&E electric: the first bankruptcy linked to climate change
The recent bankruptcy of energy giant Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is a very concrete illustration of climate risk. Suspected of being at the origin of the fires that devastated California last November, the company alone is paying a heavy price for its poor consideration of climatic...