J.P. Morgan: We Will Facilitate $200 Billion in Renewable Energy Financing by 2025

Renewable energy can't get much more mainstream than this—J.P. Morgan officials say the bank will facilitate $200 billion in clean energy financing by 2025.

In 2015, the bank facilitated around $15 billion in clean energy financing, so this pledge would increase that to $22 billion annually.

In addition, J.P. Morgan pledged to power its own operations entirely by renewable sources by 2020.

Volvo President/CEO: All Our New Cars Will Be Electric or Hybrid by 2019

Talk about a game-changer. Volvo delivered one to the auto industry on July 5.

Volvo announced that by 2019, all new models will either be fully electric or run by hybrid engines. Volvo Cars President/CEO Hakan Samuelsson said the decision “marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car” and shows the company’s commitment to its stated goal of selling one million hybrid and electric cars by 2025.

Such forward thinking already is leading Volvo to significant growth in sales, revenue and net profits. It also looks to play well with regulators and consumers concerned about decreasing the impact of auto emissions on global climate change.

Click here to read “Volvo Plans to Go Electric, to Abandon Conventional Car Engine by 2019” in the Wall Street Journal.

DanoneWave: Public Benefit Corporation Promotes Positive Change

Danone created a giant in the organic and natural foods industry with its recent $10.4 billion acquisition of WhiteWave Foods. The new DanoneWave unit is now one of the nation’s top 15 food and beverage companies.

But the acquisition that created DanoneWave also formed the largest “public benefit corporation” seen to date in the U.S., according to Fortune.

By its charter, a public benefit corporation seeks more than just profit and must balance the needs of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. DanoneWave says its mission includes promoting healthy eating, sustainable agriculture, water conservation, waste reduction and animal welfare, in addition to earning profits.

DanonWave CEO Lorna Davis tells Fortune, “In 10 years time, people will say its inconceivable that business was done any other way,” says Davis. “The notion that a company can only care about profit will be seen as old-fashioned and irresponsible.”

Kentucky Coal Mining Museum Makes the Switch to Solar

File this under “Man Bites Dog”: the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum announced this week that it is switching to solar energy.

WYMT has the story. The museum, which is located in Benham, Ky. in the heart of Coal Country and owned by Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, is making the switch to save money.

Museum officials estimate the 20 solar panels will save the museum $8-10,000 annually on energy costs. That money will go back to the college to help in its mission of educating students.

 

New Report: Sustainable Investments Grow by 25 percent Worldwide from 2014-16

Globally, sustainable investment assets have increased in value by 25 percent since 2014.

According to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance’s Global Sustainable Investment Review 2016, “there are now $22.89 trillion of assets being professionally managed under responsible investment strategies.”

The sustainable investment market has grown fastest in Japan during this two-year span, with Australia/New Zealand and Canada also showing particularly rapid growth.

Europe experienced 12 percent growth from 2014-16 and has a total globally sustainable asset base of $12.04 trillion. In the U.S., Impact Economy investing is up 33 percent in the time span to $8.72 trillion. Canada experienced a 49 percent increase to $1.09 billion.

The report defines sustainable investing as “an investment approach that considers environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in portfolio selection and management…. Sustainable investment encompasses the following activities and strategies:

• Negative/exclusionary screening
• Positive/best-in-class screening
• Norms-based screening
• Integration of ESG factors
• Sustainability themed investing
• Impact/community investing and
• Corporate engagement and shareholder action.”

New Project by Jacki Zehner Collects 400 Research Reports on Issues Impacting Women & Girls

With the world recognizing International Women’s Day earlier this week, investor/philanthropist Jacki Zehner has complied a comprehensive study on research into gender equity and women’s inclusion, empowerment and leadership.

In the study, titled “Top Reports on Women and Girls: Supporting Gender Lens Giving and Investing,” Zehner aggregates 400 reports across 18 different categories, all of which show work being done on behalf of women and girls.

This report provides a wealth of information for impact economy investors looking to improve the lives of women and girls. As Zehner says, when she was a Goldman Sachs trader, she “relied heavily on research to inform my investment decisions.” This project can guide future giving and investing in ways that have maximum benefit.

Click here to read “Top Reports on Women and Girls: Supporting Gender Lens Giving and Investing.”

Ikea Wins Design Award For Refugee Shelter

It's understood that one of the keys to retail giant Ikea's success is how efficient it is at packaging. Massive pieces of furniture fit into the smallest boxes possible, making them easy to transport from manufacturer to store to home. 

Ikea won recognition this week for putting that same thinking toward the plight of refugees. The Design Museum of London awarded Ikea its Beazley Design of the Year for a flat-pack shelter created to provide refugees with safe, easily transportable housing. Ikea developed the shelter in collaboration with the United Nations. This CNN article has the full story.