EU Approve Landmark Nature Restoration Law

Thanks for subscribing, and welcome to Good.News! In this weekly sustainability & ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) newsletter, we aim to?give you a boost of positivity.

Sustainability isn’t all rainbows ?? and unicorns ??, but at Good.Lab , instead of piling on with the negativity, we’re here to celebrate the sustainability highs, ESG triumphs, and climate champions!

Ready for your weekly dose of good news? Here are five compelling, good news stories to send you off into your weekend with some wind in your sails.

1. EU Approve Nature Restoration Law

This week, the EU approved a new world-leading nature restoration law to help solve the biodiversity crisis and improve carbon sequestration. The bill includes the restoration and protection of 20% of EU land and sea, protections for pollinators, restoration of high carbon sequestering peat land, and the planting of more than 3 billion trees.

2. US Biggest Clean Energy Bill Since the IRA

This week, the US Senate passed a bill that will simplify, reduce costs, and reward innovations in nuclear energy. The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act received overwhelming bi-partisan support and will go a long way toward the US meeting emissions reduction targets.

3. Anti-ESG Laws on the Downturn

New research from Pleiades has revealed that the number of anti-ESG laws being passed is falling massively. The number of new anti-ESG laws passed in 2024 is just six compared to 23 last year. The study puts the fall down to lack of public support and the reality of the costs of anti-ESG regulations.

4. More ESG Reporting Commonality

This week, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) announced that its European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) would be "high commonality" to the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and released a mapping tool to simplify reporting to both.

5. Sustainability Spotlight

?? In this part of the newsletter, we share a positive sustainability story that might go under the radar and celebrate the movement's unsung heroes. This week, we are celebrating a leading furniture retailer, Nebraska Furniture Mart .

Nebraska Furniture Mart has a long history of sustainability and promotes it through the way they design their stores, the suppliers they work with, and the work they do in their communities. They allow staff days off to volunteer for community causes close to their heart, have recycled more than 55,000 tons of materials since 2007, and collaborate closely with sustainable suppliers. If you want to find out more about Nebraska Furniture Mart’s tremendous work on sustainability, check it out here.

Stay tuned for next week's edition of Good.News, where we will bring even more uplifting tales of sustainability successes. Feel free to spread the positivity by sharing this newsletter with someone who could use a burst of good vibes in their day!