Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Praj wins breakthrough order to set up Compressed Biogas plant from HPCL

Pune, March 08, 2021: Praj Industries bags the prestigious breakthrough order from Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for setting up Compressed Biogas (CBG) project at
Badaun in Uttar Pradesh. Praj is offering its State of the art, worlds’ first of its kind RenGasTM
technology developed using proprietary microbe to produce CBG from rice straw.

The project has capacity to process 35000 MT of rice straw as feedstock to generate 5250 MT of
CBG annually. In addition, the project will also generate 23,000 MT high quality solid biomanure and 350,000 MT... Read more..

BBVA announces coal phase-out

BBVA will reduce to zero its exposure to coal-related activities, stopping the financing of companies in this business by 2030 in developed countries, and by 2040 in the rest of the countries of its footprint. This decision, which is included in the updated BBVA’s Environmental and Social Framework, is in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) proposal. This aims to limit the rise in temperatures to a maximum of 1.5ºC and achieve the ambition of a carbon neutral economy in 2050.

“At BBVA, sustainability is an essential part of our strategy, including the... Read more..

Anthesis secures investment to help eliminate 3 gigatonnes of CO2e by 2030

Anthesis, the largest group of dedicated sustainability professionals globally, and one of the UK’s fastest-growing private companies [1], has secured a significant minority investment from Palatine Private Equity, a responsibly-driven, mid-market private equity firm.

This backing from a top private equity house comes as Anthesis also achieves the prestigious B Corp accreditation, given to businesses that are shown to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and legal accountability. Both announcements cement Anthesis’ position as the firm... Read more..

Adani beats the clock on 100MW wind in India

A subsidiary of Adani Green Energy has commissioned a 100MW wind farm in Gujarat, India, five months ahead of schedule.

The project in Kutch has been developed by Adani Wind Energy Kutch Three.

It has a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at Rs2.82 (€0.032) a kilowatt-hour.
It brings Adani Green Energy's total operational wind energy capacity to 497MW and total renewables capacity to 3345MW.

The newly commissioned plant will be managed by the Adani Group’s Intelligent Energy Network Operation Centre platform that... Read more..

World Bank okays $86 mln for energy efficiency in Vietnam

HANOI March 8, 2021 — The World Bank, acting on behalf of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), has signed a US$11.3 million grant with the State Bank of Vietnam to support the development of a commercial financing market for industrial energy efficiency investments. The total financing support from GCF also includes a US$75 million guarantee.

US$8.3 million from the grant will be used to build capacities for the private sector to identify, appraise and execute energy efficiency projects. It will also provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant... Read more..

NITI Aayog to release the SDG India Index & Dashboard, 2020-21 on 10th March 2021

The third rendition of India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index will be launched by NITI Aayog on 10 March 2021. First launched in December 2018, the index has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in the country and has simultaneously fostered competition among the States and Union Territories. Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, will launch the SDG India Index & Dashboard, 2020-21 in the presence of Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Dr K. Shivaji, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Ms. Renata Lok-Dessallien,... Read more..

Goldman Sachs to Align Financing Activities with 2050 Net Zero Pathway

Just over a year ago, we developed a framework to put climate transition and inclusive growth at the forefront of our work with clients. And to demonstrate the depth of our commitment, we announced that we would target $750 billion in financing, investing, and advisory activity to nine areas focused on these two priorities by 2030.

We took this step because we saw that climate transition and inclusive growth were increasingly central issues for markets and economies.

And now that we are one year in, I thought it was appropriate to update you on where we are. In the past... Read more..

Space-starved Singapore builds floating solar farms in climate fight

SINGAPORE: Thousands of panels glinting in the sun stretch into the sea off Singapore, part of the land-scarce city-state’s push to build floating solar farms to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

It may be one of the world’s smallest countries, but the prosperous financial hub is among the biggest per capita carbon dioxide emitters in Asia.

And while authorities have been pushing to change that, renewable energy is a challenge in a country with no rivers for hydro-electricity and where the wind is not strong enough to power turbines.

So the tropical country turned to... Read more..

India Grid Trust inks largest transmission deal with Sterlite Power

India Grid Trust, India's first power infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), on Saturday signed a share purchase agreement to acquire NER-II Transmission Limited from Sterlite Power as part of the Framework Agreement.
The indicative value of the acquisition is ₹4,625 crore and would boost IndiGrid's AUM (asset under management) by 34 per cent to over ₹20,000 crore ($2.8 billion).
Post completion, the platform's asset portfolio would consist of 13 power transmission projects, with a total network of 38 power transmission lines and 11 substations extending over 7,570 circuit... Read more..

Husk Power Systems plans to raise USD 110M in equity and debt this year

Husk Power Systems is a Bihar-based mini-power plants company that designs and provides end-to-end renewable energy solutions. Recently, the start-up has announced to have been planning to raise USD 110 million in the form of equity and debt funding this year in 2021.

The Indian operator of energy mini-grids that serve in Africa, Asia and India is planning to raise USD 60 million in debt and USD 50 million in equity in 2021. The reason behind this mix and match is to ensure the continued growth of the company’s CAGR which stands for Compounded Annual Growth rate of 100%.

... Read more..

India - Sweden Virtual Summit: Sweden decides to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA)

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the King-dom of Sweden H.E. Stefan Löfven today held a Virtual Summit where they discussed bilateral issues and other regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

Prime Minister Modi expressed solidarity with the people of Sweden in the wake of the violent attack on 3rd March and prayed for early recov-ery of the injured.

The Prime Minister fondly recalled his 2018 visit to Sweden for the first India-Nordic Summit, and the India visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden in December, 2019.

... Read more..

Sustainability-focused investment partnership selects food tech company Benson Hill as first investment for Climate Solutions Fund

ST. LOUIS, MO – March 4, 2021 – Benson Hill, a food tech company unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants with its cutting-edge food innovation engine to create healthier, great-tasting and sustainable food and ingredient options, has been chosen as the first investment of a three-year, $125 million co-investment partnership to advance climate solutions, formed by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and S2G Ventures (S2G).

Through the co-investment partnership, CDPQ, a global investment group, and S2G, a leading multi-stage investment firm, are investing behind... Read more..