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(https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/sustainability/pdf/KraftHeinz-2025-ESG-Report.pdf)

ESG report detailing goals and progress for the fiscal year ending Dec 28, 2024 across environment, people and governance.

Includes metrics, programs and supporting disclosures/assurance resources via the Reporting Verifications hub.

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(https://www.infineon.com/assets/row/public/documents/corporate/company/sustainability/sustainability-at-infineon.pdf)

Annual sustainability report (ESRS framework) supplementing the annual report, including the separate combined non‑financial report.

Covers environmental, social and governance topics, targets and progress across operations and value chain.

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(https://cleanedge.com/data-dive/2026-grid-market-map/)

With the continued expansion of renewable energy, the electrification of transportation and heat,  and the rapid growth of data centers to support AI, global demand for electricity is surging. Electricity grids require significant investment to meet this skyrocketing demand. 

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, grid spending is expected to reach $577 billion annually by 2027, up from an estimated $479 billion in 2025.

Clean Edge’s 2026 Grid Market Map represents a selection of companies and organizations contributing to the grid across a range of sectors, from transmission & distribution manufacturers and data and software providers to grid enhancing technology innovators and energy storage players.

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(https://shareaction.org/reports/in-debt-to-the-planet-2025)

urope is the fastest-warming continent, with climate change triggering more frequent and severe heatwaves, droughts and floods. This is driving up food prices, multiplying health risks, especially for the most vulnerable in society, and inflicting mounting damage to homes and livelihoods.

Banks have a vital part to play in tackling the climate crisis and helping protect our economy from the serious financial risks it creates. Yet, ShareAction’s new forensic analysis of Europe’s largest banks has found progress on climate has ground to a standstill, and in some cases, reversed.

A minority of banks are setting new targets to cut emissions in key sectors. This includes BPCE, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Standard Chartered, and UniCredit, which all expanded the scope of their decarbonisation targets to cover multiple new sectors between May 2024 and April 2025....

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(https://www.johcm.com/insights/the-administrative-commons-institutional-integrity-and-the-universal-investor/)

This monthly Regnan alert examines the “administrative commons” as a critical shared asset underpinning market stability. It argues that weakened public institutions and policy capture transfer systemic risk to diversified investors.

Framing institutional integrity as a material investment issue, it outlines why stewardship of resilient governance systems is essential for long-term value preservation.

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(https://www.rlam.com/uk/intermediaries/our-views/2025/responsible-ai-isnt-optional-it-is-essential/)

AI presents a range of challenges and opportunities. As AI continues to evolve, it holds the potential to drive economic growth, improve quality of life, and address complex global challenges.

However, it comes with some growing concerns, particularly environmental and ethical. For example, the rapid expansion of AI increases energy consumption and carbon emissions, especially in data centres, raising sustainability challenges.

Ethically, AI systems can perpetuate bias, spread misinformation, and pose risks to privacy by collecting and analysing personal data, sometimes without adequate consent or transparency. Additionally, the adoption of AI may lead to job displacement and changes in employment patterns.

These challenges highlight the importance of robust governance, transparency, and measurable sustainability targets as AI technologies develop.

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(https://www.rlam.com/uk/intermediaries/our-views/2026/democracy-and-the-rule-of-law-is-the-defining-esg-issue-of-the-year/)

For the past several years, climate has dominated ESG agendas. Rightly so in our view, given that its physical and transition risks are reshaping portfolios and policy alike. But in 2026, one issue has returned to the forefront with unmistakable urgency: governance, and more specifically, the health of democracy and the rule of law.

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(https://influencemap.org/insight/Repeated-Delays-Hinder-EU-Deforestation-Regulation)

 

In 2019, the European Commission recognized the EU’s responsibility for around 10% of the global share of deforestation, highlighting the need for urgent and comprehensive regulation. In that document, the Commission first outlined its intention to address the EU’s impact on deforestation, citing its significant climate and biodiversity-related implications.

The EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), which entered into force in June 2023, aims to regulate key commodities linked to deforestation, specifically cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, and rubber. Commodities that fall under the scope of the regulation must be demonstrably deforestation-free along their supply chain.

As of October 2025, the Commission has announced plans to delay the regulation for a second time, pushing its intended application date back a further year to December 2026, citing IT issues.

Because of its scope, the EUDR will have substantial implications for European businesses, especially from the consumer staples, paper & forest product, and automotive sectors. Reflecting this, companies and industry associations from these sectors have engaged actively on the EUDR, with industry associations taking more negative positions than companies.

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(https://influencemap.org/insight/Current-Corporate-Communications-around-Just-Transition-Risk-Muddying-the-Conversation-34828)

Initial findings from new InfluenceMap research indicate that corporate communications around the term "just transition" are generally misaligned with international framework definitions from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and International Labour Organization (ILO). This suggests that influential companies and industry groups may be risking both the energy transition and its just implementation.

Looking at climate-related communications by entities within the LobbyMap database from 2022 through 2024, InfluenceMap finds that the majority of engagement with the term is either vague or counter to the energy transition, such that:

  • 69% of these communications only name-dropped or included a broad reference to a just transition;
  • 11% of communications used just transition language to argue for an extended role for fossil fuels in the energy mix;
  • 20% of communications involved some detailed engagement, with support for the steps required to meaningfully implement a just transition.

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(https://influencemap.org/insight/Science-Aligned-Voices-Challenge-the-Pro-Fossil-Gas-Narrative-on-EU-Energy-Security-35041)

In 2025, new industry voices are chiming in on Europe's energy future—countering long-standing pro-fossil fuel advocacy by vested interests.

Between 2024 and 2025, in consultation responses on the EU Energy Security Framework, InfluenceMap finds an emerging contingent of industry voices from the renewable energy and utilities sector are emphasizing the importance of renewable-based electrification and the development of domestic renewables to strengthen the EU’s energy independence in line with scientific guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

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(https://www.morningstar.com/business/insights/research/esg-proxy-voting)

Largest asset managers increase their support for management at the corporate ballot box

"We analyzed proxy-voting records of 50 of the largest US managers of equity and allocation funds for companies in the Morningstar US Large-Mid Cap Index over the 2023, 2024, and 2025 proxy years.

Asset owners rely on proxy-voting records to assess alignment between their own objectives and the asset managers they appoint. This paper is a comprehensive review of US proxy-voting patterns that can help asset owners make that assessment."

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(https://esgeverything.com/gss-bonds-market-trends-report-january-2026/)

The GSS Bonds Market Trends Report, January 2026, points to a turning point for the Green, Social and Sustainability (GSS) bond market, driven by a record reinvestment cycle, regulatory change under SFDR 2.0 and sharper scrutiny of climate impact.

GSS Bond issuance totalled around USD 1 trillion in 2025, broadly in line with recent years, but the composition of the market continues to evolve. Green Bonds consolidated their lead, increasing their share to 58% of total issuance, while Social Bonds declined to 13%. Sustainability Bonds continued to grow, reaching 26%, as Sustainability-linked Bonds fell to just 3%.

The report also highlights the largest maturity wall the market has faced to date, over EUR 250 billion in GSS Bonds matured in 2025, followed by a further EUR 290 billion in 2026. This reinvestment pool is expected to provide structural support for high-quality Green and Sustainability issuance.

At the same time, new issuance-level carbon analysis shows that issuer-level metrics materially understate the decarbonisation impact of use-of-proceeds bonds, reinforcing the strategic role of Green Bonds in sustainable portfolios.

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(https://www.pensionsforpurpose.com/knowledge-centre/thought-leadership/2026/01/27/Systems-Thinking-Series-Imagining-a-world-with-financial-seismologists-Charlotte-OLeary/)

"Part of Pensions for Purpose’s Systems Thinking Series – short reflections from our Ecosystem Theme leads, which explore how investment thinking needs to evolve. This piece was written by Charlotte O'Leary, System & Governance Change Lead."

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(https://about.amundi.com/article/our-responsible-investment-views-2026-out)

Read more about the key responsible investment trends and their implications for investors in the Amundi Responsible Investment Views 2026

  • Positive inflows led by fixed income in a context of continued normalisation
  • Asset owners double down on stewardship
  • Climate adaptation is now a tangible imperative for investors
  • Energy system integration and strategic‑autonomy fragmentation
  • Natural capital is the new market darlings, for good reasons
  • AI is redefining responsible investing, from data to labour markets
  • 2026: A window to align responsible investment products with investor preferences

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ESG / sustainability-related people moves reported since our previous post in early November 2025, across banking, asset management, corporates, advisory/data firms, NGOs, ESG ratings providers.

1. Banking – ABN AMRO (Netherlands)
Sandra Phlippen – appointed Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), ABN AMRO
Organisation / sector: ABN AMRO – Dutch bank and financial services group (banking / sustainable finance).

Date: Effective 1 January 2026 (appointment announced in late 2025).

Move: Phlippen moves from her role as Chief Economist at ABN AMRO to become the bank’s Chief Sustainability Officer. She has been with ABN AMRO since 2018 and previously held academic and media roles focused on economics and public policy.

2. Asset Management – M&G plc (UK)
Marian D’Auria – appointed Chief Sustainability Officer, M&G plc
Organisation / sector: M&G plc – UK-based savings and investments group (asset management / insurance).

Date: Appointment announced December 2025.

Move: D’Auria joins from GFG Alliance, where she was Global Head of Risk & Sustainability. She has a background spanning risk management, industrial operations and sustainable finance, including advisory work with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries on sustainability.

3. Corporate – Rolls‑Royce (UK industrial technology)
Ivanka Mamic – appointed Global Head of Government Relations and Chief Sustainability Officer, Rolls‑Royce
Organisation / sector: Rolls‑Royce – aerospace, defence and power systems (corporate / industrial & energy transition).

Date: Appointment announced mid‑January 2026.

Move: Mamic joins from bp, where she served as Chief Sustainability Officer and previously held senior roles in sustainable business and supply chains at Target. She brings experience in large-scale decarbonisation strategy and stakeholder engagement.

4. Research / Advisory – EY (Global professional services)
Alexis Gazzo – appointed Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader, EY

Organisation / sector: EY – global assurance, tax, consulting and advisory firm (sustainability advisory / assurance).

Date: Appointment announced 10 December 2025.

Move: Long‑standing EY partner Alexis Gazzo takes over as Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) Leader, succeeding Dr Matthew Bell (who moved to become Group CEO of Anthesis).

5. Data / Technology – Measurabl (Real‑estate sustainability data)
Maureen Waters – appointed CEO, Measurabl
Organisation / sector: Measurabl – real‑estate sustainability data and analytics platform (ESG data / proptech).

Date: Appointment announced 16 December 2025.

Move: Waters takes over as CEO from co‑founder Matt Ellis, who becomes Executive Chairman. She joined Measurabl in 2023 as Chief Growth Officer and later President, with previous roles as Chief Strategy Officer at Cushman & Wakefield and Head of Real Estate at Bill Gates Investments.

6. NGO / Climate Consultancy – The Carbon Trust
Wei Mei Hum – appointed Head of Asia, The Carbon Trust
Organisation / sector: The Carbon Trust – climate consultancy and think‑tank (NGO / advisory).

Date: Appointment announced 19 January 2026.

Move: Hum is appointed Head of Asia, based in Singapore. She brings experience in sustainability, carbon markets and finance from previous roles in the region.

7. ESG Ratings Provider – Morningstar Sustainalytics
Jodie Tapscott – appointed Head of Climate and Nature Solutions, Morningstar Sustainalytics
Organisation / sector: Morningstar Sustainalytics – ESG ratings, data and research provider (ESG ratings / analytics).

Date: Appointment announced 20 November 2025.

Move: Tapscott is appointed to lead the Climate and Nature Solutions function. She takes responsibility for product strategy, development and delivery in the areas of climate and nature within Sustainalytics’ platform.