Thematic Thoughts
Real world sustainability linked changes and what they might mean for companies and investors
Do soil carbon-sucking projects deserve the credit they get?
A story over the holiday period that caught our eye in New Zealand publication Stuff was one discussing carbon dioxide (carbon) storage in soil. The article highlighted Australian agricultural start up Loam Bio that produces a fungal and bacterial seed coating which boosts plants' ability to absorb carbon into
Critical minerals - will we have enough?
Kathryn Porter, who writes the Watt Logic blogs, recently did a two part detailed dive into the potential demand from the sustainability transitions for critical minerals. Part 1 sets the scene in some detail. In Part 2, the blog we are highlighting, she looks at the supply situation for two
We need to invest a lot more in agriculture
25 leading philanthropies recently issued a joint report, calling for a tenfold increase in funding for regenerative and agroecological transitions to address urgent global agricultural and environmental challenges. They urge that to align food systems with the 1.5ºC goal of the Paris Agreement there is a need to phase
Electrification of agriculture
More than 130 countries signed a declaration at COP28 to accelerate action on transforming food systems to be more sustainable and tackle their impact on climate change. The Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action will require nations to include food emissions in their Nationally Determined
Could property linked finance unlock £bn of investment?
The Green Finance Institute (GFI) has recently released a report suggesting that introducing Property Linked Finance (PLF) to the UK market could enable £ billions of capital to be raised, to improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s homes and commercial buildings. While the response to the report has been
Impact investing can align with fiduciary duty
A frequent debate is the one around impact investing and fiduciary duty. More specifically, does impact focused investing deliver financial returns that are similar to those of a meaningful benchmark? A recent Pensions for Purpose report helps with this question. At the risk of ruining the surprise - listed global
Green buildings offer good financial value as well?
We know we need greener buildings, but the 'how' is often less clear. And we need to better understand the financial implications. A recent report from the engineering consultancy ARUP, for the World Building Council for Sustainable Development, highlighted the important role that making buildings greener will play
Is the real issue with nuclear different from what you think?
If you talk to most sustainability professionals about nuclear, the most common concern is safety (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and perhaps most importantly Fukushima), followed by build cost (ie OL3 in Finland and others). But as well as these issues, should we also be thinking more about decommissioning costs? According
Insetting - defining and implementing at scale
Organisations can reduce their net greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to zero ('net zero') by either making changes to their businesses that mean they produce no net emissions themselves or they can offset any net emissions they have to some degree by purchasing carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are programmes
ESO becomes the terminator of phantom projects
Getting new energy generation projects up and running and delivering energy to people who need them in the form that they need may seem to hinge on getting the technology to work and/or getting the required financing and other resources in place. However, it can often hinge on approvals.
Why are we not cutting fossil fuel use?
A recent podcast from Rachel Donald (interviewing Ketan Joshi in an episode entitled Climate Delay and the Fossil Fuel industry) contained the following answer to the question - why is fossil fuel usage not falling? "The answer is complex, of course. One part, though, is that governments are the
New milk fridges could help farmers cut carbon and costs
Dairy farmers need to chill their milk to below 6oC within hours of carrying out milking. As we highlighted in a recent blog, there are some sustainability issues with fridges, freezers and chillers. Link to blog 👇🏾 Cooling food - regular, salty and constant volume.Modern fridges and freezers do a