Your Earth Day special 🌍

This Earth Day, we’re taking a closer look at the areas of ESG advisers are navigating every day.

In this edition we bring you, our latest ESG update, an exclusive view from our Ethical Oversight Committee on war and weapons, and a practical guide to sustainable investing.

ESG news: the storage story

Here’s what’s been making the headlines in the world of sustainability and responsible investing this fortnight, and what advisers should know:

Key highlights for advisers

• Microsoft dominates the carbon credit market – Microsoft accounted for 96% of global carbon removal credit purchases in 2025.As its AI-driven data centre footprint expands, the company is balancing rising emissions with its ambition to be carbon negative by 2030.
• UK begins development of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors – Rolls‑Royce SMR has secured a contract with Great British Energy – Nuclear to develop the UK’s first batch of reactors. The project is backed by £2.5bn of public funding and marks a major step in the UK’s push for low‑carbon, domestically built nuclear power.
  
  
• JP Morgan commits to large-scale carbon removal – JPMorgan Chase has signed a deal to purchase over 85,000 tonnes of verifiable forest‑based carbon removal credits in the US. This follows their target to match all unabated Scope 1 operational emissions with matching carbon removal deals by 2030.
  
  
• Delta Air Lines drops sustainable fuel target – Delta Air Lines has dropped a number of key climate commitments, including its pledge to use sustainable aviation fuel for 10% of total jet fuel use by 2030, blaming slow technological improvements. The airline also watered down its 2050 net‑zero target from a firm-goal to just an aspiration.

Spotlight: storage hunters

Source: BloombergNEF, data shows benchmark levelized cost of electricity for a four-hour battery project

Why this matters

Energy storage sits at the heart of the clean energy transition, bridging the gap between intermittent generation sources such as wind and solar and the need for reliable, round-the-clock power. Encouragingly, costs have fallen sharply in recent years. Battery prices have fallen by around 75% from 2018 to 2025, with expectations that this trend will continue into the 2030s. This shift is making large‑scale storage a more attractive investment globally and has been improving project economics and returns.

Lower costs are also unlocking wider system benefits.  Greater storage capacity helps smooth energy supplies, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and increase energy security at a national level.

Ethical Oversight Committee: War and weapons in focus

The role of defence-related companies within ESG portfolios continues to prompt debate, particularly as geopolitical tensions reshape the investment landscape.

Our Ethical Oversight Committee provides an updated perspective on how war and weapons are assessed within our responsible investment framework. The discussion explores where exclusions may apply, how definitions of “controversial weapons” are evolving, and how to balance ethical considerations with fiduciary responsibility in a more complex global environment.

Read the full article: War, weapons, and ESG | Parmenion

Sustainable investing: supporting client conversations

Sustainable investing continues to evolve from a values-led discussion into a core part of portfolio construction and client engagement.

At Parmenion, our range of ESG solutions is designed to help advisers translate this shift into practical client outcomes, supporting meaningful conversations and enabling sustainability preferences to be reflected within real-world portfolios.

This new article is designed to support advisers in navigating those conversations, helping to frame sustainability in a way that is practical, balanced, and aligned with client objectives. It explores common themes raised by clients, how to position trade-offs, and where sustainable approaches can sit within broader financial planning discussions.

Read more here: What is sustainable investing? | Parmenion

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This article is for financial professionals only. Any information contained within is of a general nature and should not be construed as a form of personal recommendation or financial advice. Nor is the information to be considered an offer or solicitation to deal in any financial instrument or to engage in any investment service or activity.

Parmenion accepts no duty of care or liability for loss arising from any person acting, or refraining from acting, as a result of any information contained within this article. All investment carries risk. The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and investors may get back less than they put in. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.