Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Santander Group sets ambition to be net zero by 2050, supported by first decarbonization targets

To support the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, Santander is announcing today its ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions across the group by 2050. The ambition applies to the group’s own operations, which are net zero since 2020, and all client emissions that result from any lending, advisory or investment services provided by Santander. To achieve this and help facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy, by 2030 the bank will align its power generation portfolio with the Paris... Read more..

European Commission under increased pressure over gas in green finance rules

The European Commission came under new pressure on Monday from Poland’s biggest power producer PGE and its own advisors, over whether to include gas power in EU rules on sustainable finance. The European Union’s sustainable finance taxonomy will define which economic activities can be labelled “green” investments - a tool Brussels hopes will incentivise low-carbon finance and rein in greenwashing. The Commission had hoped to finish these rules last month, but delayed them to April after a draft version... Read more..

Ingersoll Rand 2030 and 2050 Environmental Goals Set to Mitigate Climate Change and Make Life Better for Generations to Come

“We are operating at a time when course-correcting the impact we have on the environment is an imperative and our collective responsibility,” said Vicente Reynal, Chief Executive Officer. “On a daily basis Ingersoll Rand employees around the world live our purpose of Making Life Better, and with a strong culture centered on employee ownership and dedicated to citizenship, we stand ready to accelerate our environmental actions.

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H&M’s €500 Million Sustainability Linked Bond Nearly 8x Oversubscribed

Fashion and design brands company H&M Group announced the issuance of a €500 million sustainability linked bond, with a maturity of 8.5 years, and an annual coupon rate of 0.25%. Demand for the bonds was particularly strong, with the offering 7.6x oversubscribed. Helena Helmersson, CEO of H&M Group, said: “Our customers are showing on a daily basis that they appreciate H&M Group’s offering with the best combination of fashion, quality, price and sustainability. Today’s successful bond issue is... Read more..

Centre to support Andhra Pradesh set up EV charging infrastructure

As part of its national policy, the Union government will support Andhra Pradesh in developing infrastructure for electric vehicle (EV) charging. The Centre had recently announced phase-II of FAME (faster adoption and manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles) to incentivise the deployment of public charging infrastructure and increase uptake of electric vehicles in the country. Under this, Andhra Pradesh will set up 400 charging stations in 73 locations across the state. Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and... Read more..

Torrent Power emerges highest bidder for Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu discoms

Torrent Power has emerged as the highest bidder for majority stake in electricity distribution companies of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu by quoting a winning price of Rs 555 crore, sources said. The company outbid firms like Adani Transmission, CESC and ReNew Power who submitted price bids, the sources said. "The winning bid is three times the reserve price of Rs 151 crore," they said. A formal announcement by Torrent Power and nodal agency PFC Consulting Ltd is expected soon. Dadra Nagar Haveli and... Read more..

Maharashtra: MahaMetro postpones meeting its solar target

MahaMetro seems to have postponed the target of meeting 65% of its power requirement from solar energy. It had set a target of installing 14 megawatt (MW) for phase I of Nagpur Metro project but so far, only 2MW has been installed. Another 2MW is in the process of installation. Of the four reaches, two are operational — Reach I (Sitabuldi to Khapri) and Reach III (Sitabuldi to Lokmanya Nagar). Most of the stations on these reaches are operational. Ideally, MahaMetro’s installed solar capacity should have been... Read more..

UltraTech issues first ESG bonds from South and Southeast Asia

The largest cement company in India has made its first USD-denominated sustainability-linked bond offering, the first such offering from South and Southeast Asia. UltraTech Cement, an Indian cement company based in Mumbai and subsidiary of Indian multinational conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, engaged Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy on the sustainability-linked offering of USD 400 million. The notes are due in 2031, and are the first sustainability-linked bonds to be offered from South Asia and Southeast... Read more..

ISA to launch World Solar Bank at global climate meet in Nov

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) plans to launch the World Solar Bank (WSB) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, a top ISA official said, a development that will support India’s attempt to secure leadership in the climate arena. The ISA is the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered in India. The development assumes significance, given that green finance will be among priority themes at the climate meet called COP-26, which comes in the... Read more..

CERC norms: ‘Market coupling’ mechanism for spot power market gets a leg-up

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has introduced the ‘market coupling’ mechanism for spot power trading, a move which could align spot prices within same geographical areas and time slots, and encourage exchanges to attract consumers via improved quality of supply, payment flexibility, etc. The move is seen to dent the market dominance of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), where currently around 94% of the spot market transactions take place and catalyse formation of new exchanges. A... Read more..

IFC, TCCL and EverSource to back WABAG's hybrid annuity model project

VA TECH WABAG Ltd ('WABAG'), a leading pure play water technology company, announced financial closure for its Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) project received from Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). The project debt requirement will be funded by a consortium of International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Tata Cleantech Capital Limited (TCCL) WABAG had earlier signed a Rs 575 crore HAM concession agreement under the Namami Gange programme administered by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)... Read more..

“Statement of Intent” signed between Indian Oil and Greenstat Hydrogen India Pvt. Ltd for setting up of Centre of Excellence for Hydrogen

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today witnessed the signing of a Statement of Intent between IndianOil Corp. Ltd. and M/s Greenstat Hydrogen India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Greenstat Norway for setting up of Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen. This association aims to develop a Center of Excellence on Hydrogen (CoE-H) including CCUS and Fuel Cells by IndianOil and M/s Greenstat for clean energy in cooperation with Indo-Norwegian Hydrogen Cluster companies/organizations... Read more..