Hey there,

ESG commitments may be unravelling, but mandatory disclosure laws don’t care. This week, we look at La Caisse’s investment in ESG platform Novisto - and what it says about how institutional investors are taking action while the backlash plays out in headlines.

Elsewhere in climate tech:

p.s. we’ll be at Toronto Climate Week next week co-hosting two events - clean compute and commercializing climate tech - and moderating the "Why Canada?" panel at the Carbon Solutions flagship. Hope to see you there!

What happened: Montreal-based Novisto secured a strategic investment from institutional investor La Caisse to accelerate international growth for its corporate sustainability data platform.

Portfolio companies CAE, Boralex and Couche-Tard are already Novisto users, turning a customer relationship into an equity position.

The details: Novisto helps large organizations collect, validate and report ESG data. The platform ingests data across an organization's operations, creates auditable reporting, and automates disclosures that can take hundreds of hours and external consultants to complete.

What's the context: Companies have walked back public climate commitments to avoid political and investor backlash over the past few years.

Voluntary pressure campaigns are losing steam: Investors for Paris Compliance shut down last week citing the ineffectiveness of shareholder campaigns.

But advocacy groups and institutional investors like La Caisse are shifting tactics, moving from public shareholder ESG resolutions and divestment toward private dialogues and active engagement on transition plans.

Why it matters: Reporting and disclosure rules are creating binding demand regardless of what companies say publicly.

The EU's CSRD and ISSB-aligned mandatory reporting frameworks across Asia and the Middle East are ramping up, requiring that companies disclose auditable ESG data alongside other financial measures.

The bottom line: ESG-backlash headlines are no match for mandatory climate laws. La Caisse is betting Novisto becomes the infrastructure that the compliance era runs on.

Canada's climate challenge isn't an invention gap; it's a scaling gap. The Climate Solutions Prize Festival (June 8–9, Marché Bonsecours, Montréal) is where innovation gets moving. Founders, investors, researchers, and policymakers. Seven thematic tracks. One ecosystem. One mission: accelerating climate solutions from breakthrough to scale.

Innovation in Motion. Be part of it.

Come witness innovation in motion.

Vancouver's Renaissance Bioscience developed an "RNA interference" biopesticide from yeast that targets the RNA of specific pests while leaving surrounding plants and soil undamaged.

Protein Industries Canada and four Prairie First Nations will launch a new fund to invest directly into Canadian food and agriculture.

Deep Sky closed an offtake agreement with Lufthansa Group with to supply high-quality direct air capture carbon removal credits.

NS/TX, the company behind plant-based salmon maker New School Foods, launched a new partnership with Protein Industries Canada to scale up their manufacturing technology for whole-cut plant-based foods.

BrainBox AI and Trane opened an AI innovation lab in Montréal to develop energy efficiency solutions for buildings, targeting the 30% of energy most buildings waste.

GeoRedox will develop the first stimulated geologic hydrogen well at Canada Nickel's Crawford mine in Ontario, producing the first zero-carbon hydrogen from natural deposits.

Airbus established a new tech hub in Quebec to develop sustainable materials and decarbonization solutions for aircraft including batteries, SAF, and aerodynamics.

Calgary-based Enbridge will develop a $1.2B solar and battery storage project in Wyoming to power Meta data centres.

Irish solar developer BNRG and North Shore Mi'kmaq Tribal Council are developing a 150 MW agrivoltaics project in New Brunswick, the largest solar project in the province.

About face: Canada's suite of climate policies is shrinking for the first time, with more policies ending or running out of funding in 2025 than were implemented according to the Canada Climate Institute.

Rollback on carbon pricing: The federal government lowered its carbon pricing backstop to align with the price agreed to with Alberta. Few provinces use the federal pricing backstop, but will likely be pressured to lower their carbon pricing.

Indigenous energy: Hydro Quebec launched a $5B financing program for major wind energy projects with Indigenous partners, backed by CIB and National Bank.

EV revival: EV sales are surging around the world - the US. Canadian sales are up 75% year-over-year, hitting 12% of new cars sold. Meanwhile, EVs are expected to hit 28% of global sales in 2026.

Corporate climate: Almost 75% of U.S. and Canadian businesses have or are developing climate action plans according to a BMO survey. Climate risks are a top concern.

Gas ban: Vancouver lifted a ban on new residential gas connections and killed emissions reporting for commercial buildings.

Coal risk: SaskPower is planning a $26B coal plant refurbishment that could increase electricity prices at least 20% by 2030.

QUICK HITS

Calgary Climate Week: bringing together communities, innovators, investors, and policymakers to celebrate and accelerate climate solutions. Calgary, June 1-6th.

World Geothermal Congress: a global platform shaping the future of geothermal energy. June 8-11th, Calgary.

District Energy IDEA: bringing the global district energy community together. June 23rd, Ottawa.

Chief Financial Officer at Novisto

Operations Lead, Transportation at GoBolt

Product Lead and Associate General Manager at Mangrove Systems

Director of Business Development at Planetary

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