If you’re a corporate affairs professional who’s been feeling the ESG backlash, you’re not alone. New research from Trellis data partner GlobeScan and the University of Oxford found that in Europe and North America, corporate affairs professionals say pushback against ESG has become more pronounced, with approximately half of respondents reporting increased resistance against this […]
Around 20 employees have been let go by Pachama, a carbon markets company that has won business from Salesforce, Boston Consulting Group and others by providing tools that can identify and monitor high-quality nature-based credits. Pachama’s cuts are the latest in a voluntary carbon market that has been roiled by wider economic uncertainty and anti-ESG […]
Tricia Carey, the former chief commercial officer for circular fabric innovator Renewcell, could have played it safe when she found herself out of a job in July 2024. With a professional network spanning companies such as Gap, H&M and Under Armor, she might have easily landed a new gig at a well-established fashion brand. Instead, […]
Few of the nearly 8,000 companies with validated science-based net zero targets make headlines for reaching that milestone. But for Shein, which has come to symbolize the excesses of cheap, trend-driven fashion, the news drew widespread criticism from sustainability experts. “If Shein were sincere, perhaps we wouldn’t see emissions grow quite so astronomically recently,” said […]
Across the food industry — from meatpackers to retailers—companies face varying levels of climate risk from methane pollution. Livestock emissions account for 32 percent of human-caused methane emissions, which means retailers that sell more dairy, beef and pork products are particularly prone to methane risks. But there are steps all companies can take to clean […]
Key pillars of the climate strategies of five major food system companies have been criticized in a deep analysis by two leading European non-profits. The five companies — Danone, JBS, Mars, Nestlé and PepsiCo — were studied by the NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch. Researchers at the organizations, which presented their findings this week […]
Animal, vegetable or mineral. Most materials derive from one of those categories of nature. But a Chicago startup is cultivating a new class of materials from the fungus kingdom. Hydefy, in fact, is developing alternatives both leather and fossil fuel-based plastics. The company just emerged from stealth mode after spending five years quietly formulating its […]
Jigar Shah is concerned about an impending rise in energy costs, but he’s still optimistic about the prospect of America’s clean energy future. That’s one of the main takeaways from a wide ranging interview with the former director of the Biden Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO). Shah, who is now a part-time […]
The Department of Energy’s plan to cut $3.7 billion in Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) awards strips funding from two startups that have scored high-profile deals with Microsoft and Amazon to decarbonize data center construction. The DOE cuts came after a financial review ordered by President Donald Trump. So far, it impacts 24 projects […]
The Two Steps Forward podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and other platforms — and, of course, via Trellis. Episodes publish every other Tuesday. Financial services is high on the list of the most fascinating and challenging sectors for sustainability. Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer at Mastercard, is one of the sector’s […]