Planetsave has published a blog by Carolyn Fortune that distinguishes SRI (socially responsible investment) from ESG-driven (environment, social, governance) investment, a field of activity that overlaps but is quite distinct from SRI. Fortune describes ESG investment as a strategy that incorporates ESG criteria into investment analysis.

In the face of claims by president-elect Donald Trump that he will eliminate the EPA, roll back environmental regulations, bring back coal production, and withdraw from the COP21 Paris Agreement, the private sector is pushing back by highlighting corporate goals to reduce carbon emissions. 365 US companies —including Nike, Starbucks, and Levi Strauss—have signed a letter urging the incoming Trump administration to remain committed to the Paris Agreement.

A select group of very large corporations make many of the headlines about sustainability. Partly, it’s a function of their leadership in publically announcing ambitious goals for innovative practices and strategies. It’s also a function of their scale, because big moves toward sustainability by large corporations have the possibility of making major changes. That makes for big news. Walmart can now be added to the list of the usual suspects in this category.

While the big-ticket items—Tesla EVs, LED bulbs, solar power panels—may get the most mainstream press coverage, less sexy but even more transformative subjects such as recyclable packaging and healthier food ingredients are making progress in ways that touch many more people in everyday life. Cosmetics are another sector where, almost unnoticed, significant advances are being made. Major players such as L’Oreal, Croda, IFF, and Unilever have moved sustainability to the top of their agendas.

I read two different kinds of articles about renewable energy these days. In one variety, technological advances are touted (battery storage, new equipment, more sophisticated control networks). In the other, anecdotal stories about this or that company installing and/or sourcing solar or wind power are described. The EPA brings these two strands of reporting together once a year when it announces its Green Power Leadership Awards.

There’s a headline that catches the eye: $2.3 trillion is a very large number.

Every day, I scan the mainstream press for my daily dose of financial and business news that defines the state of the economy. I see a lot of bad news, and some good news. Striking examples of each landed in my inbox today (Thursday, 10/6). The WSJ’s story could not have piled on more doom and gloom: “Worries Deepen that Globalization is Hitting the Skids” (italics mine).The article lays out multiple problems but not one possible solution.

The latest data on spending on CSR by companies in India show a substantial increase, according to the “India CSR Outlook Report.” Figures for 2015-16 total 92 percent of actual CSR spend to the prescribed CSR, compared to 79 percent in 2014-15. The report, an analysis of 250 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, shows that most of the funding was directed to education, health-care, skill development and sanitation.

Do the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and its 169 targets seem vital to life in the future? Does the list of ideas and proposed actions also seem overwhelming? The answers are yes and yes. DNV GL, an international certification body and classification society, has assembled a detailed forecast that breaks down the SDG Big Picture into manageable pieces. Its key finding: good progress will be made in some (but not all) world regions, and progress will not be fast enough and will face unacceptable environmental costs.