Daily ESG Briefing: Private equity’s Eurazeo makes SDG pledges including Net Zero by 2040

Private equity house Eurazeo has launched an initiative to achieve Net Zero by 2040 and help “bridge the widening social gaps” in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.  The firm claims to be the first in its sector to set such ambitious targets, and is working with the Science Based Targets initiative. It will introduce decarbonisation plans for itself and its portfolio companies, screen out carbon-intensive companies and those that are “counter to” the SDGs, develop investment strategies for ‘positive solutions’, increase overall investments in green activities and businesses, and ensure at least 40% of the boards of its portfolio companies are female. 

$1trn asset manager Nuveen is partnering with the PRI's Inevitable Policy Response initiative and others to introduce a “specialised programme” on climate risk for its 500+ investment professionals. The programme will focus on how and where climate risks may impact investment portfolios. The asset manager also announced it has joined Climate Action 100+ and is partnering with “several leading climate research organisations” that will help provide it with data on physical climate risks “and their socioeconomic impact”. 

The founder and Executive Chairman of hydrogen truck maker Nikola, Trevor Milton, is stepping down from the company’s board of directors amid allegations that he misled investors about its technology and capabilities. The accusations were prompted by a report from Hindenburg Research this month . Existing board member Stephen Girsky, a former vice chairman of GM, will become Chairman of the Board.

SEB has formed a new unit, SEB Greentech, that will invest venture capital in green technology, renewable energy, energy storage, water and agricultural technology, circular business models, and waste management, to contribute to a sustainable transition. The bank’s new unit is starting out with SEK300m, but plans to reach SEK1bn in assets over time. It is being headed by Markus Hökfelt, who has been recruited from Almi Invest, where he is currently Fund Manager for Almi Invest’s GreenTech fund.

The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund is fully divested from the coal energy sector, three months ahead of schedule, it has announced. The divestment was pledged by the Office of Investment Management for the pension fund last September.