The REP Wrap: Docusign to offer standard ESG clauses
Docusign has partnered with Bonterms to offer free, standardised ESG clauses for supplier contracts. Bonterms, which provides standard agreements for contracts, created the clauses to “set clear expectations, such as requiring suppliers to adhere to ethical sourcing practices, committing to emission reduction targets aligned with global climate goals, and enforcing labour standards to protect worker rights”.
Mars has announced partnerships with suppliers including food commodities giant Cargill to encourage regenerative agriculture practices in its European supply chains for pet food. Centred on Poland, Hungary and the UK, the partnerships aim to “transition 20,900 hectares (almost twice the size of Paris) of wheat and maize crops to regenerative agriculture practices by 2028,” the company said.
Salesforce will spend $5m buying carbon removals via Stockholm-based investment platform Milkywire, in a deal the latter claims will provide “catalytic support” to the development of the market. This week, the platform opened calls for proposals from those running relevant projects. Salesforce has a long-standing commitment to invest $100m to scale and commercialise carbon removal technologies.
Businesses could see their earning hit by up to 25% by 2050 if they don’t prepare for the physical impacts of climate change, according to a report by the World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group. On the mitigation side, carbon prices could cost some companies the equivalent of half their earnings if the world is to stay comfortably on track of meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, the report stated.
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will be the basis for strategic climate lawsuits, according to a French human rights law firm. Kermabon Avocat published a report this week exploring the details and implications of the recent legal ruling in favour of Shell in a climate-related case brought by NGO Milieudefensie.
ESRS Reporter has published a guide for companies wanting to map the sustainability impacts of their value chains. Authored by Bo Carlsson, an ESG manager for Danish bank Spar Nord, the free guide is intended to help firms with their double materiality assessments under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has appointed Robin Hodess as its CEO. She will join in February from fellow non-profit The B Team, where she heads strategy. GRI’s chief operational officer, Cristina Gil White, has been interim CEO since Eelco van der Enden quit the role to become the CEO of Accountancy Europe.
Chapter Zero has released a “primer on nature” to help it with its work educating board members on climate issues. The non-profit partnered with specialist advisory house Pollination on the report, which warns directors that, while litigation and shareholder engagement have so far focused on climate, “there is evidence to suggest that claims on the basis of nature and biodiversity are the next frontier”.