Climate and Energy
Where to Start with Practical Climate Action
In a time where thousands of young (and slightly less young) people are following the lead of 16-year old Nobel nominee Greta Thunberg by marching the streets, climate change might be higher on the societal agenda than ever before. Corporate climate action is definitely not a new thing – but today, even companies in traditionally less carbon-intensive sectors must also raise the bar committing to concrete targets to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to the goals in the Paris Agreement. In this article, we propose a straight-forward 5-step approach to start building a pragmatic climate approach.
11 Years Left to Flip the Switch on Energy
The World Economic Forum published its second edition of the Energy Transition Index. The Index benchmarks individual countries on the performance of their energy system and their readiness towards the energy transition. It provides a framework for countries to design long-term energy transition roadmaps by looking at their energy system's current performance. Furthermore, it highlights the necessary enablers that improve a country’s readiness for energy transition.
Renewable Energy Innovation on El Hierro
As part of their round-the-world sailing trip in search of sustainable solutions, the Sailors for Sustainability visited the Spanish island of El Hierro. Propelled by the northeast trade winds, the Sailors sail to the smallest of the seven main Canary Islands, which makes good use of the constant wind, too. Wind turbines generate a large part of the island’s electricity needs. Yet the Sailors come to see another element of the island’s energy system: the innovative way energy is stored to match supply and demand. How did the islanders manage to set a world-class example in renewable energy storage and what are the success factors?
Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit: Amsterdam
This year, Bloomberg is bringing its Sustainable Business Summit to Amsterdam for the first time on June 20-21, 2018. Don't miss the opportunity to meet and learn from a diverse group of sustainability experts!
Paying for Climate Change: Expensive Externalities
New York City is suing five major oil companies for their contribution to climate change. This new lawsuit highlights that the time for companies to pay for previously unaccounted externalities may come faster than expected. So it is increasingly important for companies to perform impact valuations in order to gain insights on their negative and positive externalities, and learn how to mitigate risks and leverage opportunities.
Can Investors Spur Shell Towards a Clean Future?
As we’ve all been reading for the last years, sustainability is a hot topic for many institutional investors. Over 1,600 asset managers have underwritten the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), representing $62 trillion assets under management. But how does it work in practice? Do sustainable investors truly walk their talk and act on mitigating a topic such as climate change as a risk to their capital invested? Can they use their power to change the course of the companies they put their clients’ money in?
How Copenhagen Realizes its Ambitious Climate Goals
As part of their round-the-world sailing trip in search of sustainable solutions, the Sailors for Sustainability visited Copenhagen last summer. The Danish capital has set the ambitious target of becoming CO2-neutral by 2025. This innovative policy objective makes Copenhagen the world’s leading capital city on climate change. Transformations in the construction, transportation and energy sectors will be required, which will not only have positive effects on the environment, but also create business opportunities.
Eneco: Dutch Windmills are Moving Trains
Dutch railway company NS has announced that as of the beginning of 2017, all public transport trains in the Netherlands are being powered entirely by 100% renewable energy sources, namely wind power.
The 2016 RobecoSAM Forum
This year’s RobecoSAM Forum takes place on 22 and 23 September in Horgen near Zürich, gathering together some of the world’s top investors and ESG subjects experts to debate current and rising sustainability investing topics and discuss solutions regarding the future of ESG investing.
