This week in ESG
This week in ESG: a shake-up in climate collaboration, a possible rolling back of US emissions rules and a clear message from shareholders on DEI.
Key highlights
🔄️ Munich Re exits climate collaborations - the insurance company, and world’s larger reinsurer, withdraws from ClimateAction100+, the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiatives, and other investor collaborations. The move reflects growing legal and regulatory pressures in the US.
⚡Meta goes nuclear - the social media giant has agreed to buy nuclear power for the next 20 years to help meet its AI ambition. Its energy-partner is even considering building a new reactor to meet rising AI-driven demand.
🏭 US rethinks power plant emissions caps - the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing winding-back regulation aimed at curtailing greenhouse gas emissions, arguing the damage caused from their pollution is overstated.
🏳️🌈 Investors reject anti-DEI proposals - anti diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) votes raised by conservative groups at both Walmart and Netflix AGMs both received less than 1% of shareholder support. A clear signal many investors continue to support DEI despite political pressure.
🤝 Texas reopens doors to BlackRock - the state has signalled it's willing to work with BlackRock as an asset manager again. The shift comes as BlackRock adopts a more fossil fuel friendly approach.
Chart spotlight - are asset managers cooling on climate?
Survey respondents stating climate change is central to their investment policy.
Source: Robeco 2025 Global Climate Investing Survey, June 2025
The chart above shows survey participants who stated climate change was ‘significant or central to’ their investment policy today, and their expectations over the next two years. This data comes from Robeco’s latest global survey of 300 institutional and wholesale investment organisations worldwide.
Why this matters
The decline in the perceived importance of climate change when setting investment policy over the last few years is a worrying result, especially given its ever-growing threat to society.
What does offer some comfort is that - regardless of region - investors across the board expect climate change to rebound in prominence over the next couple of years. While this jump still falls below the highs of 2022-2023, it’s a step in the right direction. And the proportion of climate-focused investors in Europe and Asia Pacific remains very high at around 60%, showing that the de-prioritisation of climate considerations is mostly isolated to the US.
Want to know more about how ESG thinking is evolving in practice?
Take a look at our latest article, Understanding ESG - what Amazon can teach us. It explores how large companies are adapting their ESG strategies in response to shifting expectations - and what that means for investors trying to balance purpose with performance. A timely read alongside the shifting sentiment highlighted in this survey.
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