Breaking sustainability news - 01/03/24 🌎
Major blow as sustainability due diligence law is rejected by the European Council, plus robots deliver food in Japan and fish scales outsmart counterfeiters in Singapore.
Sustainable innovation is limitless, as you’ll see by some of the headlines in this week’s global news roundup. From robotic food deliveries to crime-busting recycled fish scales, people like you are finding new ways to make the world better.
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🌎 World news
➡️ Following objections by countries including Germany and Italy, the corporate due diligence directive (CSDDD) has not been granted approval by the European Council. This key piece of EU legislation sets mandatory obligations for companies to address their negative impacts on human rights and the environment. Under the directive, companies would be required to integrate due diligence on impacts into their policies and risk management systems, and adopt climate transition plans. Uku Lilleväli, Sustainable Finance Policy Officer at WWF European Policy Office, has called the decision “scandalous”.
➡️ Capital Group has launched three global sustainable funds to meet demand from investors in Europe and Asia. The sustainable investment themes are mapped to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), for which the UN estimates there is a $4.3 trillion annual financing gap. The funds are expected to encourage investments in sustainability whilst delivering against the UN SDGs in areas like financial inclusion, energy transition, and health and wellbeing.
➡️ Poland is blazing a trail in sustainable fashion, with different generations embracing the donation and repurposing of clothes. Generation X - those born in the 1970s and 80s - are particularly likely to donate to those in need, while younger Poles are creatively repurposing their clothes in line with the zero waste movement.
➡️ Food is set to be delivered by self-driving robots in Tokyo following a partnership between the U.S. delivery robotics company Cartken, Mitsubishi Electric and Uber Eats. The ‘Model C’ robots feature AI, computer vision and temperature-controlled cargo bins to keep food warm. Anjali Jindal Naik, Cartken’s cofounder and COO, says the initiative will make food delivery “more accessible and sustainable” to Japanese consumers.
⚡Quick headlines
UK Parliament set for chemistry lesson on sustainable energy
Brazil reveals new FX hedge programme for sustainable investments
National University of Singapore recycles fish scales that can tackle counterfeiters
63% of UK energy groups plan to move to more sustainable markets
Recycling Improvement Fund is transforming Scotland’s circular economy
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation to be finalised on 4th March
Environmental racism is still rife in the U.S., according to Nonprofit Quarterly
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