A consultancy has thrown down the gauntlet to the 100-plus producers of corporate sustainability ratings, calling on them to disclose their methodologies in a bid to improve the sector’s transparency.

Investors are challenging companies over their relationships with a trade organisation that is seeking to derail US carbon regulations.

Spending by large businesses on sustainability initiatives such as energy efficiency and clean-tech innovation could double in the next two years, according to analysis firm Verdantix.

Investors are increasingly concerned about how companies are complying with the EU chemicals legislation REACH and whether they are looking to phase out potentially dangerous chemicals, experts said.

‘Sustainable’ business practices are seen as more important in the developing world than in developed countries, according to a survey of executives – and the gap is set to widen.

Three quarters of large companies in the UK do not measure and report their carbon footprint, while many finance directors remain unprepared for the shift to a low-carbon economy, according to a survey sponsored by the Carbon Trust Standard Company.

The quality of ‘geo-data’, used to map environmental risk in the insurance sector, may be threatened by cost cutting both in business and the public sector, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has warned.

The oil spill and subsequent suspension of drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico will have a long-term impact on the creditworthiness of oil and gas companies, according to ratings agency Standard & Poors.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is working on an environmental and social risk policy to cover its corporate banking operations, and hopes to be ready for implementation by November this year.

After substantial prodding from investor advocates, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will provide guidance to companies about what they must tell their investors about climate risks and opportunities.

Danone Waters plans to make Evian and Volvic bottled water ‘plastics-neutral’ in the UK, through the use of recycled plastic.