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ESG in 5 - Market Update & Sustainability News - 15-05-2025

  • Writer: Anthony Walters
    Anthony Walters
  • May 15
  • 2 min read

Welcome to the 15 May edition of ESG in 5 - Market Update & Sustainability News, your quick roundup of the most impactful sustainability and ESG news shaping industries worldwide. This week, we spotlight bold climate action across sectors, from Air New Zealand’s updated emissions targets and Google’s mission to tackle superpollutants, to L’Oréal’s €100 million push for sustainable innovation and Microsoft’s major nature-based carbon removal deal. These developments reflect a growing commitment to decarbonisation, innovation, and accountability in the race to net zero.



Air New Zealand Sets New 2030 Climate Goals.


Air New Zealand has published new 2030 emissions guidance, a year after removing its 2030 targets – which it had said were no longer. 


Under its new guidance, Air New Zealand said that it expects to reduce its “well-to-wake” net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20% to 25% by 2030, on a 2019 net emissions basis. Well-to-wake emissions encompass emissions from the jet fuel the airline uses, covering the entire life cycle emissions of the jet fuel. In 2024, Air New Zealand said that well-to-wake emissions counted for 92% of its GHG footprint. 



Google Signs Deals to Eliminate Super-Potent GHG Emissions.


Google has announced two new partnerships aimed at eliminating “superpollutants” or gases that are dozens of times more potent than CO2 in terms of their global warming impact, from the atmosphere. 

The new partnerships, with solution providers Recoolit and Cool Effect, include long-term credit purchases by Google equivalent to removing 1 million tons of CO2.  

 

Superpollutants, which can include gases such as methane from fossil fuels or agriculture, or hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) from refrigerants or HVAC systems, are responsible for almost half of global warming to date. 



L’Oréal Launches €100 Million Sustainable Innovation Accelerator.


Global beauty company L’Oréal has announced the launch of its new Sustainable Innovation Accelerator, a new program aimed at investing €100 million over 5 years to find, develop, pilot and scale breakthrough technologies addressing the company’s and industry’s sustainability-focused challenges. 

According to L’Oréal, under the new program, the company will actively seek and support startups, SMEs, and established innovative companies, targeting ready-to-pilot solutions in key sustainability-focused areas. 



Microsoft Signs 3 million Ton Nature-Based Carbon Removal Deal with Forest Investor EFM.


Microsoft has announced a new multi-year offtake agreement with forest investment and management firm EFM, providing access to up to 3 million nature-based carbon removal credits from EFM’s investment platform. Under the new agreement, EFM will deliver 700,000 carbon removal credits to Microsoft through 2035, sourcing them from a property in Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula that EFM is transitioning to climate-smart forest management. 


Sources. 

Anthony Walters - Head of ESG at Clever Adviser Technology Ltd (Clever)

Data sourced from FE FundInfo (quoted in Pounds Sterling) 

Air New Zealand Sets New 2030 Climate Goals After Dropping out of SBTi, by ESG Today, 13/05/25 

Google Signs Deals to Eliminate Super-Potent GHG Emissions by ESG Today, 09/05/25 

L’Oréal Launches €100 Million Sustainable Innovation Accelerator, by ESG Today, 12/05/25 

Microsoft Signs 3 Million Ton Nature-Based Carbon Removal Deal with Forest Investor EFM, by ESG News, 08/05/25 

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