The REP Wrap: GRI consults on textiles and apparel standards
Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.
The Global Reporting Initiative is consulting on new disclosure standards for the textiles and apparel sector. The proposal seeks to get transparency about the impacts of companies’ value chains, which GRI noted were particularly difficult to map and monitor. Feedback is being invited until September 28th.
Google has agreed to purchase $1.75m of carbon removals from three companies, in its latest deal in the space. The first company, Karbonetiq, is developing a way to capture and store CO2 using industrial waste. The second, Limenet, is designing an electric kiln to produce carbon-free lime; while pHathom Technologies is working on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
The European Commission’s green spending plans have prompted mixed reactions this week, as policymakers propose €700bn should be earmarked for climate and the environment in its 2028-2034 budget. However, the Commission also wants to do away with its dedicated green spending programme, LIFE, by absorbing it into the European Competitiveness Fund. Its budget proposal says all EU-funded activities should adhere to the Do No Significant Harm principle, meaning they couldn’t undermine the bloc’s green objectives.
The Commission also wants to initiate formal negotiations to link the EU’s emissions trading system with the UK equivalent. If its proposal is accepted, it would mean products imported from the UK wouldn’t be subject to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and vice versa.
The International Emissions Trading Association has published a position paper calling on the Brazilian government to provide clarity on how carbon offsets will fit into its new national emissions trading system. It also asked for more detail on the framework’s governance, and the pathways that eligible companies will be required to commit to.
S&P says Europe’s real-estate sector doesn’t face serious medium-term climate transition risks. Analysis of 15 rated residential European companies concluded that the risks until 2030 were “manageable”, partly because the firms aren’t likely to be hit with strict policies from governments. The real-estate sector generates more than a third of the EU’s emissions.