DEI and Renewable Energy: April’s Top Sustainability Stories
24 April 2025
Levi Strauss & Co shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to abolish the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion programme, with less than 1% voting in favour at its annual meeting on 23 April 2025.
The proposal, submitted by the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research, urged Levi’s to dismantle its DEI policies, which the board opposed, citing a strong business case for an inclusive workforce.
Michelle Gass, President and Chief Executive Officer of Levi’s, reaffirmed that the company’s commitment to DEI, in place for decades, remains unchanged and is central to its performance and culture.
During the meeting, General Counsel David Jedrzejek clarified that Levi’s does not use quotas or discriminatory practices in hiring or promotion.
The vote comes amid intensifying political debate in the US over corporate DEI initiatives, highlighting Levi’s shareholders’ continued support for the company’s long-standing social values.
14 April 2025
IBM has begun scaling back several diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives amid increasing political and legal pressure from the Trump administration and conservative activists.
The company has ended the practice of linking executive pay to workforce diversity targets, restructured its supplier diversity programme and disbanded its internal diversity council.
As a federal contractor, IBM cited the need to align with changing legal and political expectations, particularly following executive orders targeting what the administration describes as “illegal” DEI practices.
Senior Vice President Jonathan Adashek said the changes had been under review for months and were framed internally as a pragmatic adjustment rather than a retreat from inclusion.
The move places IBM alongside other major US corporations reassessing DEI and raises broader questions about the future of social commitments within ESG strategies.
29 April 2025
Canada’s 2025 federal election has ushered in a potential shift in sustainability policy with the appointment of Mark Carney as Prime Minister, a figure widely recognised for linking climate action with financial reform.
Carney inherits a mixed legacy, as Canada has invested heavily in renewables and carbon pricing while remaining among the world’s top ten greenhouse gas emitters.
Drawing on his background at the Bank of Canada, Bank of England and the UN, Carney has pledged to align markets with climate goals through emissions disclosure, private finance mobilisation and data-driven accountability.
His campaign promises balance climate ambition with economic pragmatism, including changes to carbon pricing, accelerated energy infrastructure and support for clean and conventional energy during the transition.
Canada has also reaffirmed its international climate commitments, positioning itself to influence global sustainability standards under Carney’s leadership.
29 April 2025
A major power outage across Spain and Portugal on 28 April disrupted transport, traffic systems and high-profile events, prompting Spain’s grid operator Red Eléctrica de España to trigger emergency restoration procedures.
By 7am local time on 29 April, REE said 99.95% of electricity demand had been restored, though the precise cause of the failure remained unclear.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned against misinformation as speculation about a cyberattack was raised then quickly played down, while Portugal’s grid operator REN pointed to a significant voltage fluctuation in the Spanish grid as a key factor.
The outage began at 12:33pm local time, when Spain’s supply was heavily weighted towards solar and wind, although renewables’ intermittency alone does not fully explain such a widespread event.
Recovery efforts temporarily leaned more on conventional generation, with natural gas supplying more than half of Spain’s electricity needs early on 29 April.
The blackout highlighted the need for stronger energy resilience planning, with Eaton’s Andrew Gordon warning businesses to prioritise technologies and strategies that speed safe restoration and limit financial and reputational harm.
17 April 2025
Transport for London (TfL) has ended its relationship with Accenture after the consultancy rolled back its diversity, equity and inclusion commitments, prompting TfL to exclude it from bidding on a creative marketing tender.
The Telegraph reported on 10 April that Accenture failed to meet TfL’s supplier diversity standards, which TfL confirmed, saying the bid no longer satisfied the criteria it expects from all suppliers.
Accenture’s retreat from DEI was announced in February following US policy moves under President Donald Trump, with TfL’s response highlighting how quickly such changes can affect global reputations and eligibility for public contracts.
HR leaders cited the decision as an example of values-based procurement, warning that partner misalignment can create reputational risk for public bodies.
Experts including Frank Douglas, Grace Mansah-Owusu and Aggie Yemurai Mutuma argued organisations should embed DEI expectations into tender processes and regularly review supplier practices to maintain transparency and accountability.
The move signals that, for UK public sector buyers, inclusion is increasingly treated as a governance and strategy issue rather than a standalone HR commitment.
