Primary analysis

Delachaux — ESG QuickTake (9fin) (16 Oct)

TLDR: Delachaux specialises in rail infrastructure and signalling, energy and data management systems, and high-purity chromium production. The group’s emissions targets are not SBTi-verified and it does not report any targets post-2023. 46% of subsidiary Pandrol’s production facilities are located in areas of extremely high baseline water stress. Despite this, Pandrol does not outline targets to reduce water consumption, or any aims to move production facilities away from water stressed areas. Pandrol’s production facilities could pose a risk to biodiversity in the area. However, neither Pandrol nor Delachaux report any measures to mitigate against biodiversity loss. 

Aggreko — ESG QuickTake (9fin) — UPDATE (12 Oct)

TLDR: Aggreko, a supplier of temporary power generation and temperature control equipment, has improved its net zero and climate change targets since 9fin’s analysis in March 2023. These are more ambitious than peers, though they are not SBTi-verified. Recent progress in reducing operational carbon emissions has been strong. Between 2020 and 2022, Aggreko developed its offering of cleaner technologies and fuels compatible with a low-carbon transition economy. Cyber security processes have improved slightly, with NIST scoring and ISO certification added. The board was 0% female in 2022, from 36% in 2020.

Secondary analysis

ESG Secondary Digest — BITĖ, Advancion Corporation (ANGUS Chemical), Engineering Group (9fin) (16 Oct)

In this week’s Secondary Digest, 9fin takes a deep dive into telco BITĖ’s climate transition reporting, which is relatively robust but with some potential shortfalls related to scenario analysis, its implementation plan and engagement. The team also looks into Advancion (ANGUS Chemical), a US based producer of specialty ingredients and consumables. Advancion’s emissions and energy intensity targets could be more ambitious; the group has already achieved its 2030 emissions target and is close to achieving its 2030 energy intensity target. Lastly, we look into Engineering Group, an Italy-based IT service provider. Unlike peers, Engineering Group does not report any group-wide emissions reduction targets and its environmental reporting only covers Italian operations (72% of FY 22 revenue).

HY company news

US Foods to pay $721,000 for gender-based discrimination at five locations, including Cincinnati (13 Oct)

Food distributor US Foods has agreed to pay over $721,414 in back wages and interest to 997 female applicants to resolve alleged hiring discrimination, according to the US Labor Department (DOL). The DOL found that five of US Foods’ facilities in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and North Carolina discriminated against female applicants for selector and warehouse positions. The agency determined that the company violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on sex as well as race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

Taxis are asking Uber for 456 million euros for “unfair competition” (13 Oct)

Nearly 2,500 taxis and nine industry associations are demanding almost €456 million in a lawsuit against Uber. The claim, which was lodged with the court three years ago, seeks financial compensation for the "unfair competition" allegedly exerted by the American platform since its arrival in France in 2011. The plaintiffs' argument is based in particular on a ruling by the social chamber of the Cour de Cassation (France’s supreme court) on 4 March 2020, which held that a driver of a chauffeur-driven car was not self-employed but an employee of Uber. The ruling found that the driver’s independence was only "fictitious", since the platform did indeed control his working hours, as well as the nature and remuneration of his assignments.

News stories

Sunak’s green U-turn dismays sustainable investors (12 Oct)

Following UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement last month that he was watering down the country’s plans to reach net zero by 2050, some investors say they are now more likely to look outside the UK, where there is more policy reliability (for example, the US after the Inflation Reduction Act and the EU with its green deal). Many think that net zero targets for different industries are vital to plan an orderly transition to net zero in their own portfolios. Mike Fox, a sustainable investment veteran at Royal London, said that political uncertainty is already affecting his decision about whether to invest more in current energy stocks, including London-listed SSE, a big offshore wind developer. The price has fallen, but he is no longer convinced it makes sense to add to his holding.

Fear of reprisals prevent people calling out employers on climate, says charity (14 Oct)

Concerns about being fired or victimised at work are preventing people from calling out their employers on the climate crisis and the wider environment, according to Protect, a charity that defends whistleblowers. The organisation started investigating after receiving a “surprisingly” low number of calls about the environment to its whistleblowing advice hotline. Of the few people who had contacted Protect about an environmental issue at work over the past decade, three-quarters said they faced negative treatment as a result. In 2021, Desiree Fixler lost her job after exposing greenwashing at Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm DWS Group. Her actions led to several regulatory investigations and recently forced the company into a multibillion-dollar settlement with the US Securities & Exchange Commission.

Regulation round up

Greening the bond markets: MEPs approve new standard to fight greenwashing (5 Oct)

MEPs on Thursday adopted a new voluntary standard for the use of a “European Green Bond” label, the first of its kind in the world. The standards align with the EU’s taxonomy framework that defines which economic activities the EU considers environmentally sustainable. All companies choosing to adopt the standards and therefore also the EuGB label when marketing a green bond will be required to disclose considerable information about how the bond’s proceeds will be used. They would also be obliged to show how these investments feed into the transition plans of the company as a whole. 

UK taskforce launches final transition plan disclosure framework (9 Oct)

The UK’s Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) has published its final disclosure framework to guide organisations on designing credible climate transition plans. The TPT framework consists of three principles: ambition, action and accountability. These are underpinned by five disclosure elements — foundations, implementation strategy, engagement strategy, metrics & targets, and governance. The Taskforce has expanded its requirements on the foundations element. Now companies should report on their strategic ambition, business model and value chain and key assumptions and external factors, whilst the previous draft asked for disclosure on objectives and priorities, as well as business model implications.

EU lawmakers push to weaken corporate sustainability disclosure (13 Oct)

EU lawmakers will be called to back a proposed weakening of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), on 18 October, in the latest move by centre-right parties to water down the EU’s green agenda. The ESRS form the basis of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires mandatory reporting on ESG factors from 2024. The motion says that the disclosures proposed by the European Commission put a "high administrative burden" on companies. It also added that the threshold for companies coming into scope of the new rules should be raised. The Commission has already watered down the proposals that were initially drafted by EU accounting advisory body EFRAG.