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A coalition of 133 civil society organizations, financial institutions, academics, and experts calls for the exclusion of fossil fuel developers from all SFDR fund categories, specifically targeting the "ESG basics" category to prevent greenwashing and align EU finance with climate goals.

Two years after the Paris financial center committed to coal exit strategies, Reclaim Finance finds a mixed record. While 24 of 54 analyzed actors have robust policies, others lack them entirely or have significant gaps, such as failing to exclude coal developers or lacking clear exit dates. Major banks like BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, and Natixis remain under scrutiny for continuing to support coal companies without credible transition plans.

The policy brief identifies a gap between the climate commitments of institutional investors and their actual impact on corporate behavior, citing limited transparency and high barriers to shareholder action. It proposes four primary reforms to the Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) II: introducing a mandatory 'Say on Climate' vote every three years, ensuring legal security for submitting environmental resolutions, increasing transparency requirements for asset owners, managers, and proxy advisors, and lowering the shareholding threshold for submitting resolutions to a maximum of 2% (and 0.2% for large companies).

The report proposes 'natural capitalism' as a new economic model where businesses profit by radically increasing resource productivity, eliminating waste, shifting from selling products to providing services, and investing in the restoration of natural capital. It argues that the current industrial model is logically flawed because it liquidates the ecosystem services upon which all life depends. By applying whole-systems thinking, the authors claim companies can achieve significant cost savings and competitive advantages, citing examples from firms like Southwire, Dow, and Interface. The text suggests that while governments can support this transition through tax policy, corporations possess the necessary agility and resources to lead the effort to heal the planet.

The text proposes 'natural capitalism' as a successor to the current industrial system, which the authors claim liquidates natural capital and treats it as income. It outlines four core strategies—radical resource productivity, biomimicry, a service and flow economy, and investing in natural capital—to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation. The document emphasizes that the limiting factor for future prosperity is no longer industrial capacity but the availability of life-supporting ecosystem services.

The text examines the ideological divide in environmental debates and proposes 'natural capitalism' as a synthesis that integrates economic viability with ecological health. It argues that businesses must shift from incremental improvements to systemic innovations in resource productivity to avoid catastrophic environmental failures. The author highlights a growing global movement of organizations and a shift in corporate strategy—exemplified by companies like OK Petroleum—that view environmental sustainability as a competitive advantage rather than a regulatory burden. Ultimately, it calls for a fundamental reevaluation of how society values natural and social capital to ensure long-term stability.

The text explores the application of 'lean thinking'—the systematic elimination of 'muda' (waste)—to business operations and the broader economy. It advocates for 'service and flow,' where companies provide the function of a product as a service rather than selling the physical object. This shift is presented as a way to align the interests of providers and customers toward resource productivity, reduce the volatility of the business cycle, and minimize environmental impact through dematerialization and closed-loop systems.

The Netherlands maintains a foreign policy focused on internal European integration and a selective, value-added approach to African development. It is a significant global donor of Official Development Assistance (ODA), pledging at least 50% of its bilateral budget to Africa, with priority given to the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region. The document highlights the Netherlands' role in promoting African priorities within the EU and its long-standing historical, economic, and defense ties with South Africa.

The report investigates the impact of a transition to a green hydrogen economy on TVET-level employment in South Africa, contrasting domestic development with international export opportunities. It identifies key sectors for skill development—including chemicals, electrical machinery, and PGM mining—and argues that while GHE jobs are expected to grow significantly after 2030, the TVET system must address structural gaps and develop specialized curricula in fuel cell and electrolyser manufacturing to support a just transition for workers in coal and refining.

This event report summarizes a May 2019 workshop in Gdansk, Poland, focused on improving water and nutrient governance in the Baltic Sea region. Key discussions centered on the challenges of phosphorus recycling, the role of cities and public procurement in driving circular innovations, the use of testbeds for scaling technology, and the potential for carbon farming to mitigate climate change while improving soil health. The report highlights that while technical solutions exist, market demand, regulatory barriers based on product origin, and a lack of trust remain primary obstacles to the widespread adoption of symbiotic circular economy models.

The UK Soy Manifesto is an industry-led commitment to eliminate deforestation and conversion from soy supply chains entering the UK. Signatories commit to a cut-off date of January 2020 for deforestation and conversion, with full implementation required by 2025. The framework emphasizes collective action across the supply chain—from traders to retailers—and requires annual public reporting on progress. It aligns with the French Soy Manifesto and the European National Soy Initiatives (ENSI) to create a unified market signal. The UK Government supports the initiative, linking it to the due diligence obligations being established through the Environment Bill. To ensure accountability, a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system is being developed by a working group including the Stockholm Environment Institute and WWF-UK.

The case study examines the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), finding that while it provides more investment detail than some peers, it lacks an environmental or ethical investment policy. Analysis of available data shows approximately 9% of identified investments are in the fossil fuel sector, including holdings in Royal Dutch Shell plc and Rio Tinto plc. The report notes a lack of transparency regarding corporate membership and suggests that gaps in investment data may hide further links to the arms and fossil fuel industries.

The report estimates that the 2019 carbon footprint of EU military expenditure was approximately 24.8 million tCO2e, equivalent to the emissions of 14 million average cars. It identifies significant data gaps and a lack of transparency in GHG reporting across EU member states and military corporations, often justified by national security. The study highlights France as the largest contributor to the EU military carbon footprint and Poland's military technology industry as a high emitter due to its coal-reliant electricity grid. It recommends urgent reviews of security strategies to reduce armed force deployment, mandatory transparent GHG reporting for militaries and contractors, and the implementation of reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement.

The document consists of three tables identifying corporations and organisations involved in fossil fuels and arms. It details the roles of various oil, gas, and coal companies, their reserves rankings, and their environmental records. It also lists global arms manufacturers, their involvement in nuclear weapons programmes, and UK military entities, highlighting ethical concerns regarding recruitment and military strategy.

The document examines the risk of 'stranded assets'—assets that lose economic value before the end of their useful life—driven by climate regulations and the global transition to low-carbon economies. It highlights that Latin America, despite low emissions, holds significant fossil fuel reserves that may become unexploitable to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target. For Colombia, the risk is acute due to a high economic dependence on oil, gas, and coal exports. The report provides a qualitative framework for investors to identify these risks and points toward renewable energy, specifically solar photovoltaics and wind, as profitable alternatives.

The Union of Concerned Scientists evaluated Royal Dutch Shell across four metrics: renouncing disinformation, planning for a carbon-free world, supporting climate policies, and disclosing climate risks. While Shell was praised for acknowledging climate science and leaving the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), it was criticized for maintaining ties to trade associations like the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) that spread disinformation. The report also notes that Shell lacks a company-wide emissions reduction plan aligned with specific temperature goals and provides poor disclosure of physical climate risks.

The document analyzes how media coverage of migration often relies on stereotypes, official sources, and sensationalism, while advocating for ethical journalism based on diversity and factual accuracy.

The We Mean Business Coalition analyzed 30 early adopters of the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) to showcase innovative solutions for challenging disclosure requirements. The report highlights diverse approaches to double materiality assessments, TCFD-aligned climate risk quantification, Scope 3 emissions 'hot-spotting', and supply chain due diligence. It emphasizes that while many early adopters are only partially aligned with the regulation, their methods for reporting on internal controls, whistleblower cases, and climate transition action plans serve as practical guides for companies facing mandatory reporting from 2024.

The report analyzes the first wave of CSRD climate reports from 93 large EU companies, finding that while limited assurance is standard, many companies are restating or erasing historical data to improve quality. It identifies a trend toward integrating sustainability internal controls with financial systems and notes that while GHG reporting is improving, monetized climate risk and opportunity reporting remain rare. The document also evaluates the adoption of the EU Taxonomy and the reporting of political lobbying and climate-related executive incentives.

The paper examines zero-emission delivery zones (ZEDZs)—areas restricting access to zero-emission delivery vehicles—as a tool to mitigate air pollution, noise, greenhouse gas emissions, and congestion caused by urban freight. Based on interviews with policymakers and logistics experts, the authors find that ZEDZ implementation is currently lacking in the neighborhoods most adversely affected by freight activity. The document recommends a stepwise implementation approach, early stakeholder engagement, and a prioritization of equity to ensure inclusive outcomes.