CSO Connect
Trusted by 500k+ CSOs globally by Leaf
● APR 23, 2025
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Hello!
Welcome to this week's edition of CSO Connect, Leaf media's newsletter.
Here's what's in today's CSO Connect:
🙂↔️ Mike Berners-Lee on the urgency of overcoming dishonesty.
🏤 Webinar : VSME compliance made easy
💂 The UK’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan: what's new?
📝 Case study: How IFAC Achieved 360° Emissions Transparency.
And of course: everything you need to know about compliance, a toolbox of resources, and our curated picks and events of the year !
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🗓 Date & Time: Wednesday, May 7th 2025 - 4:00 PM (CEST).
Join us for a dynamic and insightful webinar where we will explore how businesses can effortlessly navigate the VSME (Voluntary Standard for Micro and Small Enterprises) framework, ensuring seamless ESG compliance with minimal effort.
This session will include real-world insights from a company who successfully adopted VSME, demonstrating how they streamlined their ESG reporting and reduced the administrative burden.
What to expect:
- Introduction to VSME: Discover the streamlined, voluntary ESG framework designed for SMEs.
- Simplified ESG Data Collection: Learn how Greenly’s automated platform helps you easily gather and organize ESG data.
- Generate Reports with Ease: Experience how to generate your VSME-compliant report in just one click.
- Real-life Customer Experience: Hear about their VSME journey and how it improved their sustainability reporting.
- Q&A with Experts: Get your questions answered by ESG professionals and learn how to future-proof your sustainability efforts.
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Leading by Example: How IFAC Achieved 360° Emissions Transparency
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The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global voice of the accountancy profession, is taking proactive steps to align its operations with its sustainability advocacy. By partnering with Greenly, IFAC significantly improved the accuracy of its emissions data—especially across all 15 Scope 3 categories—and implemented strategic initiatives to cut its carbon footprint.
In this video, discover:
✅ The challenges IFAC faced as a nonprofit with limited resources
✅ How Greenly enabled full-scope emissions tracking and actionable insights
✅ Key initiatives like sustainable travel optimization and hybrid work benefits
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Is that it for ESG in the United States? Experts say “not quite”.
Investors have funneled over $130 billion into U.S. ESG funds over the last decades, much of which was invested in the last five years.
Key takeaways:
- ESG assets grew to $344 billion in 2024, buoyed by market appreciation and strong investor demand.
- According to a 2024 Morgan Stanley survey, 84% of U.S. investors are interested in sustainable investing—and that number’s rising.
- The executive order’s enforceability is unclear; legal precedent strongly favors state authority (10th Amendment) and past climate program challenges have failed.
- ESG isn’t going anywhere—at least not at the state level. Lawsuits may drag on for years, but both California’s Senate Bills 219, 261 and 253, as well as New York’s $1 billion Sustainable Future Program, which includes both a cap-and-invest program in development by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and a Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting are moving forward as planned.
“Stop the Clock”
On April 14, 2025; the European Council gave its green light on the European Commission’s “Stop-the-Clock” directive, postponing application dates for corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence.
Key takeaways:
- The delay gives businesses—especially SMEs—time to adapt to ESG rules amid economic headwinds.
- The Directive will need to be published in the EU’s Official Journal and is effective the day after publication, which is projected for June 2025. EU member states then have until December 31, 2025 to transpose into national law.
- Once Stop-the-Clock is sorted, they will turn their attention to the substantive updates of CSRD and CS3D.
- Experts characterize this as a delay—not a derailment. The EU remains committed to ESG regulation, just on a longer runway.
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In this episode of the Leaf Media Global podcast, Sam is joined by Mike Berners-Lee, professor and sustainability expert, founder of Small World Consulting, as well as the author of ’How Bad Are Bananas?’, ’There Is No Planet B’, and his latest book, ’A Climate of Truth’.
Mike highlights the urgency of overcoming dishonesty in both policy and business, and how a cultural shift toward valuing truthfulness is essential for meaningful climate action.
He also reflects on the failure of COP negotiations, and discusses how to stare reality in the face and still remain hopeful amidst a polycrisis.
Discover the podcast on:
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The UK’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan
Transport is the UK’s highest-emitting sector, and tackling its emissions is essential if the country is to meet its net zero ambitions. That’s why, in 2021, the UK Government launched its Transport Decarbonisation Plan – a roadmap for slashing carbon emissions across everything from road vehicles and rail to aviation and shipping.
The UK government published the Plan in July 2021, setting out a vision for a net zero transport system by 2050. It outlines how the government aims to work with local authorities, industry, and the public to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, scale up cleaner technologies, and encourage more sustainable ways of getting around.
It covers all modes of transport, from cars and buses to trains, planes, and shipping, and combines policy proposals, regulatory changes, and funding plans designed to make low-carbon transport the norm.
Read more.
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Events you can’t miss!
- World Economy Summit 2025, Washington, D.C., April 23-25, 2025
- Innovation Zero, London, April 29-30, 2025
- Green Tech Festival, Berlin, May 20-22, 2025
- Sustainability LIVE, Chicago, May 28-29, 2025
- Reset Connect, London, June 24-25, 2025
- Climate Week NYC, New-York, September 21-28, 2025
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We're counting on you!
Tell us what you thought about this edition. We always welcome your feedback, suggestions, critics, questions… See you soon !
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