July 17, 2021

Weekend Reads: Dissecting the EU Green Deal; The Reality Behind Corporate Emissions Targets

It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web.

The Seven Elements of the EU Green Deal You Should Care About (Bloomberg) The European Union has unveiled its blueprint for how the continent intends to meet stricter 2030 climate targets on the way to eliminating emissions by mid-century. From the scores of new rules for cutting carbon across the economy, we summarize below the key elements of the so-called Fit for 55 package -- the EU’s program to slash pollution by at least 55% from 1990 levels. While several years of negotiation are expected before the planned legislation comes into force, there are major changes afoot for citizens and industry. Here’s a look at some of the biggest -- from the price of a plane ticket to the cost of heating your home.

Corporate giants have been lobbying against their own emissions targets (Grist) Corporate America has made a slew of pledges to reduce its emissions over the past few years. Today, 92 percent of the companies on the S&P 100, an index of leading U.S. stocks, have announced intentions to reduce at least some of their carbon emissions, according to the corporate sustainability advocacy nonprofit Ceres. But do these companies actually plan to change their business practices, and in some cases their entire business models, to meet the scale of the challenge? Or are these pledges just greenwashing?

Webinar: How Daimler Trucks North America is Accelerating Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emission Reductions with Sustainable Energy Services Agreements (Metrus Energy) Daimler Trucks North America is implementing sustainable energy improvements across multiple sites using the "as-a-service" model to avoid upfront costs and accelerate sustainability at scale. In this webinar, DTNA’s Matthew Markstaller will reflect on how these projects were shaped by legal and risk considerations, and how the energy services agreement offered the flexibility the program required. Metrus Energy's Anastasia Beckett will share her perspective on the financial nuts and bolts of the Sustainable Energy as a Service model and discuss the role of the third-party financier in coordinating the project's development and hands-on management. REGISTER HERE

From green to gold: 5 ways CFOs can gain from climate risk disclosure (Utility Dive) CFOs face rising heat to combat climate change from a range of stakeholders. Activists demand commitments to shrink carbon footprints. Investors want both green operations and robust profits. Regulators — including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — are gearing up to require detailed disclosures on climate risks. When handling such pressure, financial executives draw from an ill-fitting set of tools. They lack a single, detailed framework for measuring climate risk that is recognized across industries, markets and jurisdictions worldwide.

Race to Zero: How Companies Are Deploying Decarbonization Strategies (Exchanges at Goldman Sachs) As companies look to reduce their carbon footprints, decarbonization strategies are taking center stage. In this podcast, Goldman Sachs’ John Greenwood and Cindy Quan discuss the efforts by corporations to reach their net-zero goals. Listen to learn why decarbonization and net zero are the new ESG, and what is driving increased efforts from corporations to set and meet these goals.

Got an Old Power Plant Lying Around? Crypto Miners Are Buying Them Up (Curbed) Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains near Marble, North Carolina, there’s a 250,000-square-foot factory building that used to make denim for Levi’s jeans. Starting in the 1960s, Levi Strauss built many plants like this across the American South — and then shuttered almost all of them in the 1990s and early 2000s, when it moved its manufacturing operations overseas. After this North Carolina factory closed in 1999, the building, which sits on 70 acres of land, stood empty for almost two decades. Then the crypto miners came to town.

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