Posts by lucidcapitalism

(Venture Capital Journal) “We need attributable greenhouse gas data. That’s my big ask to GPs in the room.” So said an executive at an influential US-based investor at PEI Media’s Responsible Investment Forum in New York. The event was conducted under Chatham House rules, which means comments cannot be attributed to the speakers. The same…

(Fast Company) There may be no better signal that a corporate initiative has potential than when customers reach out and beg: “Take my money.” After Stripe, the online payments company, committed to spending at least $1 million on carbon-removal technologies a few years ago, two things happened. One, “we got a surprisingly positive reaction from…

(GreenBiz) Last year saw a record number of ESG and climate-focused shareholder proposals winning majority support in 2021. Therefore, we can only expect the same for 2022 as shareholders’ and stakeholders’ expectations continue to rise. The success of hedge fund Engine No. 1 in securing board seats at Exxon Mobil in 2021 was a major…

(Protocol) On a Veterans Affairs job board, between advertisements for public loan forgiveness and a Red Cross blood drive, is an attractive small-business opportunity for returning soldiers. Want to finally be the boss of your own future? Amazon will offer you the chance to start your own delivery company, no experience required. This advertisement attracted…

(Bloomberg) An investing movement that promotes itself as a protector of people and the planet has somehow found itself providing capital to the autocratic regime behind Europe’s worst military conflict since World War II. Funds labeled ESG — an acronym that denotes a commitment to environmental, social and governance interests — own shares of Russia’s state-backed…

(Grist) This is how Amazon washes its hands of the climate impact of most of the things it sells: It simply decides to play by different rules than its peers.  For example, for all the packs of Pampers parents grab off the shelf at Target, the big-box retailer tallies the emissions that go into making…

(The New York Times) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upset the world order. It could conceivably alter the way some people think about investing, too. At least that’s the view of two analysts with Citi, who argue that the height of social responsibility at this moment requires putting your investment money into the stocks of…

(Canary Media) Grid storage investment is surging worldwide, but the U.S. has emerged as the undisputed global leader — for now. Energy storage allows the electrical grid to balance supply and demand. More importantly for countries’ climate goals, it also transforms super-cheap but intermittent wind and solar power into a still-cheap but more reliable resource. Almost all…

(Vice) The call for an investigation follows findings that Amazon could be illegally punishing and terminating employees for taking legally protected time off. They say Amazon’s ‘no fault’ attendance policy, one that punishes workers regardless of the reason for their absence, appears to have taken effect in October 2021, and could be violating the Americans…

(UN Environment Programme, Finance Initiative) This week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) launched the second part of its 6th Assessment Report, drawing on seven years of research from peer-reviewed scientists. The report provides an alarming summary of the increasingly devastating impacts of climate change on societies and economies, their vulnerabilities and how we…