“The Earth belongs to our children. That is not an advertising slogan. It is an existential truth. The coming decade will be decisive and we are fully committed to working with every one of you to protect humanity.” – European Council President Charles Michel
ESG investing stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, an investment strategy that focuses on a company’s environmental commitment, social impact, and governance issues in the hope of building an ethical portfolio. So what factors come into play when determining a company’s corporate social responsibility?
Unsurprisingly, Singapore tops the indices, ranking the world’s most sustainable cities. With just over 5.6 million inhabitants, the Asian city-state has the second-highest population density in the world. Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, adopted earlier this year, also includes strengthening resilience to climate change as a priority in the recovery from COVID-19 for a more sustainable future.
Local governments and authorities can provide the commitment and innovation in cities that are needed to tackle and solve many of these problems. The European Green Capital and the European Green Leaf Awards are initiatives to promote and reward these efforts.
Paper and cardboard are the most common packaging waste materials, contributing 34 million metric tons to the total packaging waste generated in 2021.
The Green City Accord is a movement to improve the quality of life for all Europeans and accelerate the implementation of relevant EU environmental legislation. By signing the Accord, cities commit to addressing five areas of environmental management: air, water, nature and biodiversity, circular economy and waste, and noise.
Greenwashing is making false or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product or practice, attempting to emphasize the sustainable aspects of the product to overshadow the company’s involvement in environmentally damaging practices.
In 2021, fossil fuels accounted for almost 93% of the energy used in road and rail transport in the EU.Biofuels are an alternative to fossil fuels to help reduce GHG emissions in the transport sector.
EU legislation on energy labeling and eco-design is estimated to save around 230 million metric tons of oil equivalent (MTOe) of energy by 2030. For consumers, this means an average saving of €285 per year on household energy bills. In addition, energy efficiency measures will generate €66 billion in additional revenue for European companies
Governments can pool funding for priority climate actions through their budget processes, such as those set out in their national climate commitments, or issue sovereign green bonds to finance projects.
