(Responsible Investor) The US Department of Labor (DoL) had today put forward a proposed rule that would remove Trump-era obstacles preventing US workplace pension schemes from considering ESG when investing, including using ESG funds for their default strategies. Read more here.

(Vice) Starbucks has temporarily closed two stores involved in a union drive in Buffalo, New York, that are leading what could soon become the first campaign to successfully unionize the coffee shop giant. The company said that the two temporary store closures in Buffalo have nothing to do with the union drive—one is for a remodel…

(New York Times) As the oil and gas industry faces upheaval amid global price gyrations and catastrophic climate change, private equity firms — a class of investors with a hyper focus on maximizing profits — have stepped into the fray. Read more here.

(World Economic Forum) Mental illnesses, such as depressive and anxiety disorders, are among the 25 leading drivers of global burden of diseases. More broadly, mental health includes mental wellness, emotional resilience and psychosocial wellbeing – all of which are impacted by climate change, particularly among vulnerable communities in natural-disaster prone environments, and in low- and…

(Financial Times) PwC was advising DWS on sustainability at the same time as the accounting firm was investigating and dismissing whistleblower allegations of large-scale greenwashing at the asset manager, raising questions over the independence of the probe. The allegations were made in mid-March by DWS’ former head of sustainability Desiree Fixler. Shortly after being sacked,…

(WSJ) The Ford Foundation, S&P Global, Hamilton Lane and Omidyar Network are backing the venture to gather and share data related to environmental, social and governance performance. The system, called Novata, aims to be a central database for gathering, reporting and benchmarking companies’ performance on factors such as carbon emissions, resource management, employee diversity and…

(WSJ) Starting in 2022, BlackRock says its large investors can vote themselves on everything from who sits on boards to executive pay to what companies should disclose on greenhouse gas emissions. The change allows those BlackRock clients to lay claim to voting power on some $2 trillion in investments tied to index-tracking assets BlackRock manages…

(Reuters) Carbon offsets are allowing the world’s biggest polluters to forge ahead with business plans that are threatening global climate goals, the head of Greenpeace International said in an interview. “There’s no time for offsets. We are in a climate emergency and we need phasing out of fossil fuels,” Greenpeace’s Executive Director Jennifer Morgan said…

(NBC) Tesla Inc. must pay nearly $137 million to a Black former worker who said he suffered racial abuse at the electric carmaker’s San Francisco Bay Area factory. The jury in San Francisco agreed that Owen Diaz was subjected to racial harassment and a hostile work environment. Diaz alleged in a lawsuit that he was…

(Financial Times) The San Francisco-based start-up said in its IPO prospectus in August that it would adhere to a “sustainability principles and objectives framework”, which was developed with a consultancy group advised by academics, rating agencies and charities. However, in an update to the prospectus, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Monday,…