ING has joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as an official Circular Economy 100 (CE100) corporate member. As a member, ING makes up one of the maximum of 100 global corporations collaborating on developing circular economy opportunities, growing their knowledge and creating a network including experts, partners and other CE100 members to promote the circular economy.

The charter was launched this week and set out how to implement the recommendations of Empowering Productivity: harnessing the talents of women in financial services, the review undertaken by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the Chief Executive of Virgin Money The Gadhia Review recommends that financial service firms connect parts of the remuneration packages of their executive teams to gender balance targets. It also recommends that firms set internal targets for gender diversity in their senior management, publish progress reports annually against these targets, and appoint an executive solely responsible for gender, diversity, and inclusion.

The Triodos Corporate Finance team places charities, social enterprises and environmental projects directly in contact with investors in order to raise finance, and has reported that it has raised over £17 million in 2015. This sum was raised for 11 organisations delivering a wide range of positive impacts: alleviating youth homelessness, providing work for ex-offenders, housing people with a learning disability, engaging young people in education and creating clean electricity. The 2015 figure brings the total capital raised on behalf of clients in the last five years to £72 million.

The London Stock Exchange has welcomed the transfer of £400m of Transport for London (TfL) bonds to its new green bond segment. The money raised via the bonds will support the objectives of TfL’s corporate environmental framework, which includes reducing air pollution in the city, improving natural resource management and preparing for potential climate change effects.

EIRIS, the sustainable investment research specialist, has estimated that the UK's green and ethical retail funds have now reached over £15bn, up from approximately £6bn ten years ago. The estimate is launched ahead of Good Money Week (18 - 24 October 2015), which aims to raise awareness of sustainable and responsible finance. Previously known as National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW), Good Money Week is co-ordinated by UKSIF – the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association.

According to a new OECD study in collaboration with Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), public and private finance mobilised by developed countries for climate action in developing countries reached $62 billion in 2014. This is a 410billion increase from $52 billion in 2013.

Colourful thinking by a team of children from a North Tyneside primary school has seen them come out on top in a region-wide competition. The team from Shiremoor Primary School competed against schools from right across the North East in Newcastle Building Society’s fourth annual Boardroom Charity Challenge, which asked its nine and ten year-old participants to develop business ideas that focus on benefiting their local community while also making a profit.