New research reveals a growing acknowledgement amongst insurance brokers of the importance of contributing positively to society, with charitable giving the most popular way of achieving this goal. The study, conducted by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, suggests that, for the first time, UK brokers are making a significant contribution to their communities, responding to a growing consumer demand for a more responsible approach to business.

Stroud Brewery has launched a bond offering with sustainable bank Triodos to develop a new brewery and bar opening this autumn, showing a diversity of what sustainable finance can mean.

Pension schemes are being warned they are at risk of legal action being taken against them if they fail to develop their approach to climate risk in line with improving data and market practices.

Insurance Europe has welcomed the European Commission’s consultation on its proposed InvestEU programme, which aims to bring together various EU financial instruments and expand the Investment Plan for Europe.

Green bonds had their second highest quarter, managing to reach $47 billion according to SEB, the Swedish commercial bank. But the good news is offset by global political uncertainty and potential interest rate rises that SEB sees as damping issuance in the immediate near future.

Munich Re has announced that it will stop offering insurance for new coal-fired power plants and mines in industrialised countries, while also ceasing investment in shares and bonds of coal companies that generate more than 30 per cent of their revenues in the coal sector.

Lloyd’s Banking Group has announced that it will stop funding coal-related projects and will stop extending finance to new clients whose revenues predominantly come from coal power plants and mines.

Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC) has invested £1.1 million in responsible lender, Five Lamps. The investment is part of a £5 million deal over six years, and SASC is one of nine investors that will help mobilise over £60 million of lending, enabling Five Lamps to offer over 100,000 affordable personal loans under its Conduit brand, through a dedicated subsidiary called Five Lamps Trading.

James’s Place has decided to reallocate its £277m ethical fund, meaning that Standard Life Aberdeen will be losing the mandate to manage the fund.

Mercedes Benz has announced Europe’s first automotive Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and will buy electricity generated at a Polish 45MW wind farm to power its manufacturing facility in Jawor, 10km away.

Spearheaded by Apple, Akamai, Etsy and Swiss Re have announced an agreement to develop two new wind and solar energy farms in Illinois and Virginia. The new projects should generate 290 megawatts, with the group purchasing 125 megawatts from a wind farm near Chicago and 165 megawatts from a solar PV project outside Fredericksburg, Virginia, which will be delivered to the electric grid.

Of 48 major global cities analysed on their levels of air pollution, light pollution and noise pollution, Cairo heads the list as the most contaminated city on earth.

Retailer Aldi has built on earlier endeavours and has now announced that it will be carbon neutral by the end of next year in its UK operations.

In light of recent reports that recycling programmes are often ending up in a landfill, here or aboard, there has been a call to consider chemical recycling.

The CareTech Foundation, an independent grant-making corporate charitable foundation, has announced that the Care Workers Charity (CWC) will benefit from one of its three-year, strategic partnerships for care workers.

There is now over a terawatt of wind and PV solar power, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), with 54 per cent wind and 46 per cent solar contributions.

Entrepreneurs are selling plastic carrier bags outside of supermarkets and convenience stores or 2p, undercutting the 5p price in-store and creating more plastic waste.

Kraft Heinz will be increasing its use of recycled materials and setting its environmental targets on science-based emissions reduction targets and will announce these new science-based goals when their current commitments expire in 2020.

The Government proposal for waste companies to pay a tax per tonne of plastic burned is based on the idea that such costs would encourage them to invest in new plastic recycling technologies.

To demonstrate that environmental considerations can be made in any sector, League Two side Forest Green Rovers has scored a world’s first in being recognised as a United Nations certified carbon neutral football club, after signing up to the UNFCCC Climate Neutral Now initiative for the upcoming season.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has become a member of the Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF), a network of insurance supervisors and regulators from around the world working together on sustainability challenges facing the insurance sector.

Cyber defence company Darktrace, is joining WISE, a social enterprise promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), to help inspire more girls to consider STEM careers and increase their awareness of future roles available in technology.

Raw averages fail to tell you anything really, but MPs are now suggesting that any organisation with more than 50 employees should publish average pay rates for male and female employees.

Three insurance firms could be facing fines after ClientEarth reported them to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failure to disclose climate risks in their annual reports.

Capita has had a hard ride recently, and as part of its plan to revitalise its operations, the company has promised to appoint up to two staff members to the board.

The FCA has said that it will take no action against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) over alleged mistreatment of small business customers pushed into bankruptcy so that the bank’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG) unit could then strip the client’s assets.

Insurance companies top a ranking of corporates receiving most praise from NGOs for their leadership on environmental issues, human and animal rights.

A study of lobbying spending in the US has found that fossil fuel companies and other ‘polluting’ companies have spent more than $2bn in attempts to influence climate change legislation in the US over the past two decades.

The Government’s latest annual energy statistics demonstrate a growing use of renewable energy as it takes a central role in mainstream supply.

Gender pay equality is significantly more likely to be viewed as an important factor in pay decisions by UK employers than by global companies, according to research conducted for Willis Towers Watson. Gender pay equality is becoming a more important factor in base pay decisions for almost six out of ten UK employers (58 per cent), compared to just 23 per cent of global companies, according to WTW’s 2018 Getting Compensation Right Survey.