Today’s ESG Updates
- Google Invests in Carbon Capture Power Project: Google is partnering with I Squared Capital to build a U.S. natural gas power plant with carbon capture technology, supporting its 2030 net-zero goal amid rising AI-driven energy demand.
- ISS STOXX Launches Real Asset Climate Risk Tools: ISS STOXX has launched Real Asset Climate Solutions, a new toolset helping investors assess and manage climate risks using advanced geospatial and AI-driven analytics.
- MIT: Supply Chain Sustainability Still a Priority: An MIT report shows companies still prioritize supply chain sustainability, driven more by investors than regulations.
- TotalEnergies Misled on Climate Claims: A French court ruled that TotalEnergies misled the public with deceptive climate claims, ordering the removal of its sustainability messaging following a lawsuit by environmental groups.
Google Blends Gas and Carbon Capture to Drive Cleaner Data Center Operations
Google has announced a partnership with I Squared Capital and its portfolio company, Low Carbon Infrastructure (LCI), to develop a natural gas power plant with integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the U.S. Google will purchase the majority of the facility’s electricity.
This project represents the inaugural corporate offtake agreement for a CCS-enabled power plant, thereby augmenting Google’s portfolio of low-carbon energy solutions to address the escalating demand for data centers.
As part of its 2030 net-zero target, Google continues to invest in innovative technologies to balance the growing energy needs of artificial intelligence with its climate commitments. As stated in the company’s most recent Environmental Report, achieving complete decarbonization remains a formidable challenge, particularly amid escalating power demand and sluggish progress in implementing carbon-free energy sources.
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Further reading: Google Adds Gas + Carbon Capture to Data Center Clean Energy Portfolio
ISS STOXX Introduces Real Asset Climate Risk Tools to Help Investors Manage Exposure
Recently, the ISS STOXX sustainable investment unit has made available a new suite of tools, called Real Asset Climate Solutions, intended to help investors assess and mitigate climate-related risks.
The solution has been developed to assist institutional investors, banking institutions, insurance companies, and reinsurers in identifying climate-related risks, with a view to creating more resilient investment portfolios. The methodology builds on ISS STOXX’s existing analytical capabilities, which include assessments of physical risk, carbon footprint, and scenario alignment, and adds in granular geospatial asset-level data.
A fundamental component of the offering is the Geospatial Asset Analytics solution, which is powered by Sust Global, an AI Powered climate risk intelligence company that was recently acquired. This enables consideration of hazards such as floods, wildfires, and heatwaves, as well as forward-looking projections extending to 2100. The model provides insights into the potential structural and operational risks to an asset.
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Further reading: ISS STOXX Launches New Suite of Real Asset Climate Risk Solutions for Investors
Klimado – Navigating climate complexity just got easier. Klimado offers a user-friendly platform for tracking local and global environmental shifts, making it an essential tool for climate-aware individuals and organizations.
Sustainability Across Supply Chains Remains a Priority for Companies: MIT
A recent report from MIT shows that sustainability remains a priority for companies globally. The report, which surveyed over 1,200 supply chain professionals in 97 countries, demonstrates that corporate sustainability motivations are increasingly driven by market and investment pressures rather than by government itself.
Sreedevi Rajagopalan, a researcher at MIT, has asserted that European companies are significantly influenced by the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. In contrast, companies in North America respond primarily to shareholder pressure and reputational risk. The report also highlights significant regional variation in the tools that are used, with half of North American companies still using spreadsheets to track progress, compared 32% in Europe, which makes more regular use of life-cycle assessment tools and data from direct suppliers.
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Further reading: Sustainability across supply chains still a priority for companies: MIT
Court Rules TotalEnergies Misled Public on Climate Promises
In a landmark greenwashing case, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled against TotalEnergies today. The court found that the French energy giant’s claims about its ambitions regarding the energy transition and carbon neutrality were misleading and ordered the company to remove a series of sustainability claims from its website.
This follows a 2022 lawsuit filed by Greenpeace France, Friends of the Earth France, and Notre Affaire à Tous, supported by the environmental law organisation ClientEarth. The lawsuit argued that TotalEnergies’ “reinvention” campaign, in which the company claimed to be “a major player in the energy transition” and noted its ambition to reach net zero by 2050, falsely portrayed it as on track to address the climate crisis.
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Further reading: French Court Rules TotalEnergies Misled Consumers with Climate Claims
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the cover photo: Google homepage. Cover Photo Credit: Wiki Commons
