In 2025 the American model of corporate governance entered a new phase.After a decade in which environmental, social and governance (ESG) activism had gained influence through proxy votes and investor engagement, recent regulatory and political shifts have sharply reduced shareholder leverage. The Securities and Exchange...
Climate change is no longer just a policy issue for governments and conferences; it has become a legal battleground. Around the world, citizens, activists, and even communities have increasingly turned to courts to demand stronger climate action and accountability. The number of climate change lawsuits...
Context Since the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black-lives-matter movement in 2020, the US has witnessed the uptake of DEI policies, DEI-linked executive pay compensation plans and increased affirmative action recruiting in large companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Costco. Pressure has...
Introduction Since the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black-lives-matter movement in 2020, the US has witnessed the uptake of DEI policies, DEI-linked executive pay compensation plans and increased affirmative action recruiting in large companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Costco. Pressure has...
The escalation of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank have brought renewed scrutiny of corporate involvement in these territories. However, the overall ESG investor response cannot be described as a full-scale sector-wide shift. Instead, what has...
Notwithstanding the request by most international and local environmental organization for Lula to veto the full bill, the partial veto is however a pragmatical solution which was chosen by Brazil President Lula to avoid a stronger backfiring by the Congress which voted to approve the...
Asia contributes over 50% of global CO₂ emissions, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) CO₂ Emissions in 2023 report, with China responsible for around 28%, as reported by East Asia Forum (2025). According to the IEA report, Global CO₂ emissions in 2023 totaled approximately...
Climate change is no longer just a policy issue for governments and conferences; it has become a legal battleground. Around the world, citizens, activists, and even communities have increasingly turned to courts to demand stronger climate action and accountability. The number of climate change lawsuits...
Mariana Dam collapse is the Largest Environmental disaster in Brazil, and the largest environmental class action in the world. On November 5, 2015, the Mariana Dam Collapse entered Brazilian history as the largest mining-waste disaster in history, affecting 50 municipalities. On the occasion, 45 million...
REPowerEU is a Programme to protect Europe from energy scarcity in the absence of Russia as a reliable energy partner and ensure long-term cooperation for energy security (and green energy transition) in Europe. It came to life in 2022 and its announcement on 8th March 2022...
International and European Reactions America’s DEI pullback is not contained within its borders, it has also created complex challenges internationally, especially for multinational companies and allies in Europe. American officials have tried to export the DEI rollback to foreign companies that do business with the U.S....
Corporate Reactions to DEI Backlash: Rollbacks and Resistance While U.S. federal policy set the tone for dismantling DEI initiatives in early 2025, corporate America has responded in sharply divergent ways. This second installment in SVI’s DEI series turns its focus to the private sector, where companies...
This article marks the beginning of a new series by SVI exploring the evolving global landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) – from policy backlash and corporate retreats to global impacts. How Did We Get Here? The start of 2025 brought a dramatic shift in the...
On July 17, the Brazilian Congress approved Public Law 2159/211, often referred to as the "devastation bill." Many experts see this as the most significant rollback of environmental protections since the 1988 Constitution, which established modern environmental safeguards in Brazil. Although President Lula has 21...