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ESG Today: Deutsche Bank recorded its strongest sustainable finance quarter in four years in Q2 2025, according to the bank’s quarterly results, which included more than €28 billion (USD$33 billion) in sustainable finance and investment volumes, the highest in any quarter since 2021.
ESG Dive: Shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the Securities and Exchange Commission started taking steps to distance itself from rules promulgated under the prior administration, particularly those on environmental, social and governance issues.
ESG Today: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told the U.S. Court of Appeals that it does not intend to review or revisit its climate disclosure rules for companies, and asked the court to rule on rule on petitions filed against the rules.
Funds Europe: Data from Morningstar for Q2 2025 point to a reversal of investor attitudes towards ESG funds, with $4.9bn of net inflows measured globally versus the redemptions of $11.8bn seen in Q1.
MSN/Reuters: Glass Lewis and ISS, two of the best known proxy advisers, sued Texas to block a first-of-its-kind state law limiting their ability to advise shareholders on diversity, environmental and governance practices.
ESG Today: Nature-based carbon removal startup Chestnut Carbon announced that it has secured a new $210 million project finance credit facility, led by J.P. Morgan and backed by a massive forest-focused carbon removal offtake agreement recently signed with tech giant Microsoft.
ESG News: The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has officially launched its Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, marking a major milestone in sustainable finance. For the first time, banks, asset managers, private equity firms, and insurers can set science-based targets aligned with net-zero across their financial portfolios.
Waste Today: Infrastructure at Goldman Sachs Alternatives announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Liquid Environmental Solutions (LES), a U.S. provider of nonhazardous liquid waste management services based in Irving, Texas, from Audax Private Equity.
ESG News: Blackstone will invest over $25 billion to expand Pennsylvania’s digital and energy infrastructure, a move expected to catalyze an additional $60 billion in private investment across the Commonwealth.
Funds Europe: Eighty-five percent of limited partners (LPs) say poor fund administration has negatively impacted future allocation decisions. This isn’t a marginal concern, it’s a strategic inflection point.
Yahoo Finance: RepRisk uses entirely third-party data to evaluate a company’s “material ESG risks” by screening more than 150,000 sources — from new media, social media, research firms, NGOs, and others — in 23 languages daily, according to its website.
ETF Stream: Vanguard is set to close its US dollar-denominated ESG corporate bond ETF after it failed to gather the “anticipated level of assets under management” (AUM).
Portfolio Adviser: Redwheel has confirmed its decision to close its Global Climate Engagement fund due to a lack of investor demand. The product was brought to market in 2024 under the management of John Teahan, and currently has $0.8m in assets under management (AUM), according to the group.
ESG News: European Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho has formally asked the European Commission to explain why it bypassed key procedural steps in preparing its Omnibus I proposal to scale back sustainability rules for businesses.
ESG Today: Banks in the EU have made “significant strides” in addressing and managing climate and nature-related risks, according to European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board Member and Supervisory Board Vice-Chair Frank Elderson, with major increases in advanced practices in place to identify, monitor these risks made by banks in just the past few years.
ESG Dive: EcoVadis said the “greenhushing” occurring alongside increased investments shows many companies “see it as a behind-the-scenes lever for long-term growth.” More than 6-in-10 respondents (65%) reported viewing supply chain sustainability as a “competitive advantage,” according to the survey.
ESG Today: The UK government announced that it has decided not to proceed with its plans to develop and implement a UK Green Taxonomy, its proposed classification system for categorizing climate and environmentally sustainable economic activities, and one of the key parts of its sustainable finance framework.
ESG News: Chancellor Rachel Reeves will direct UK financial regulators to address obstacles hindering businesses from cutting carbon emissions, as part of a broader push to accelerate green economic growth.
Yahoo Finance/Reuters: Support for shareholder resolutions pressing U.S. companies for environmental and social reforms fell to 16% on average for the 12 months ended June 30, half the rate of three years ago, data from Morningstar shows.
ESG Dive: HSBC departs NZBA in a year where it has appointed a new chief sustainability officer and delayed its net-zero target date by two decades, from 2030 to 2050.
Funds Europe: ESG investing appears to have hit a major roadblock. Donald Trump’s return to the White House has set off a fierce backlash against the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles in investment.
ESG News: The UK has announced a £12 million funding package aimed at bolstering disaster risk finance for climate-vulnerable countries—part of a broader strategy to position the UK as a global hub for sustainable finance and green economic growth.
Funds Tech: 21X, a Frankfurt-based fintech, has partnered with SwissFinTechLadies (SFTL), a network of women in finance, tech and blockchain, to promote diversity across Europe’s financial sector.
ESG News: Tikehau Capital has announced a €1 billion capital raise to fuel the continued global expansion of Egis, its portfolio company and a leader in sustainable infrastructure, engineering, and mobility services.
ESG Today: EU markets regulator the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced the release of a new thematic note aimed at guiding market participants including issuers and fund managers on its expectations for sustainability-related claims, and avoiding greenwashing risks in investor communications.
Funds Europe: According to the latest Fund Flow Index from funds network Calastone, equity funds saw outflows of £98m during the month (inflow of £525m in May), while bond funds saw inflows fall to £195m (£328m in May) and safe-haven money markets saw inflows rise to £218m (£85m in May).
ESG Today: Singapore-based real estate investment manager CapitaLand Investment (CLI) announced the launch of its new “Return on Sustainability (RoS) framework,” aimed at quantifying the financial value of green capital expenditure.
ESG News: The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has approved a historic $1.225 billion in funding at its 42nd meeting, marking the largest amount ever allocated during a single session.
Funds Europe: Private markets investment firm Hamilton Lane has launched the “first” Asia-focused private markets evergreen fund offering institutional investors a gateway into the region’s private equity market.
ESG Today: UBS announced that the SDG Outcomes Fund, developed by its philanthropy-focused platform UBS Optimus Foundation and impact specialist Bridges Outcomes Partnerships (BOP) has raised $100 million in commitments at its final close, reaching the initial fundraising target for the blended finance fund.
ESG News: Regional perceptions are evolving. North American and European companies showed the largest increase in viewing sustainability as a value driver—up 9 and 10 points respectively. Meanwhile, APAC companies reported a shift toward risk management.
City AM: In May 2022, HSBC’s head of responsible investing, Stuart Kirk, took to the stage at a City conference and did something extraordinary; he criticised the financial services industry’s obsession with climate change.
ESG Today: Insurance and investment group Allianz’s commercial insurance unit, Allianz Commercial, announced the launch of Climate Adaptation & Resilience Services (CAReS), a new platform aimed at enabling companies to identify and mitigate climate risk exposures facing their businesses.
ESG News: Europe’s financial supervisory bodies have unveiled draft guidelines to embed ESG risks into the mandatory stress tests for banks and insurers across the European Union.
ESG Dive: Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., first introduced the bill in April, and the committee said in a June 25 press release after its passage that the legislation “seeks to ensure financial institutions are focused on maximizing returns in retirement plans rather than on woke ESG factors.”
The Guardian: Pension funds and institutional investors made a “huge mistake” and exaggerated their role in environmental, social and government (ESG) issues to promote their products, the outgoing chair of Aberdeen Group, Douglas Flint, has said.
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