Jury Hits Chevron with $744M Fine

A Louisiana jury has ordered Chevron to pay $744 million in damages for destroying coastal wetlands in Plaquemines Parish, a rural area southeast of New Orleans. The landmark verdict, delivered on April 4th, 2025, concludes the first of over 40 lawsuits filed by Louisiana’s coastal parishes against oil companies for environmental degradation. The jury found that Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, violated state laws requiring companies to restore exploration sites to their original condition after operations ceased, as they failed to rehabilitate wetlands damaged by dredging canals, drilling wells, and dumping billions of gallons of wastewater into marshlands.

The breakdown of the damages includes $575 million for land loss, $161 million for pollution remediation, and $8.6 million for abandoned equipment after the parish had initially sought $2.6 billion in reparations. Jurors determined that Chevron exacerbated land loss and pollution by neglecting proper permits and failing to implement best practices over decades of operations, as Louisiana law mandates that sites used for oil and gas production be cleared, revegetated, detoxified, and restored as near as practicable to their original state.

Plaquemines Parish has argued that the destruction of wetlands has worsened the region’s vulnerability to hurricanes and rising sea levels, therefore creating severe damage to the land, wildlife, and surrounding communities. Louisiana has already lost over 2000 square miles of wetlands due to industrial activities, with projections indicating even more losses in the coming decades. Chevron plans to appeal the ruling, claiming it is unjust and does not apply retroactively to operations predating the regulations.

Chevron currently has a Post-Penalty Environmental Score of 56, following a 26% penalty, ranking 189th out of 528 peers in the Oil, Gas, and Consumable Fuels industry. This development could potentially increase the penalty further, putting them at risk of falling below the industry average, which currently stands at 38/100.

Tesla Reports Worst Quarter Since 2022 as Deliveries Plunge 13%

Tesla has reported its worst quarterly performance since 2022, with vehicle deliveries in Q1 2025 falling to 336,681 units - a 13% year-over-year decline and well below analysts’ expectations of 390,000 to 407,900. This marks a significant setback for the electric vehicle titan amid growing challenges, including slowing demand, factory disruptions, and intensifying competition from rivals in China and traditional manufacturers expanding their EV offerings.

Production was also impacted, with Tesla manufacturing 362,615 vehicles globally during the quarter. The company attributed the slump to several weeks of downtime at its factories in Texas, Fremont, Berlin, and Shanghai due to the retooling of production lines for the redesigned Model Y. Despite these efforts, demand remained weak even after Tesla introduced substantial price cuts and incentives like zero financing to attract buyers.

The decline has been exacerbated by growing backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s controversial political actions and statements. Musk’s alignment with right-wing figures and criticism of international markets have reportedly hurt Tesla’s brand perception, particularly in Europe and China. Analysts have expressed concerns that Musk’s political involvement is damaging Tesla’s reputation and market position, but we’ve yet to see any change come from these opinions.

Investor reactions have been mixed. While Tesla’s stock initially fell by as much as 6%, some believe this quarter represents a low point for the company, with optimism that production ramp-ups for the new Model Y and upcoming launches like the single motor variant of the Cybertruck could improve future results. However, analysts warn that Tesla faces a “fork in the road” moment as it grapples with brand challenges and fierce competition in an increasingly crowded EV market.

Big Tech’s Data Centres Drain Water from World’s Driest Regions

Big tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, are increasingly building data centres in some of the world’s driest regions, raising concerns about their impact on local water resources. Data centres require vast amounts of water for cooling systems to prevent overheating of IT equipment, with a single facility consuming millions of gallons annually. This demand is exacerbating water scarcity in already stressed areas like Arizona, Virginia, and Oregon, where freshwater supplies are limited.

The rise of AI has intensified the issue, as AI workloads demand denser server racks and higher cooling needs. For example, Microsoft reported a 34% increase in water usage at its data centres between 2021 and 2022 due to AI-related infrastructure. In Virginia’s "data centre alley," water consumption surged by nearly two-thirds between 2019 and 2023. Globally, data centres rank among the top ten commercial industries for water consumption, with indirect usage (e.g., electricity production) further increasing their environmental footprint.

Efforts to address these challenges are underway. Companies are exploring innovative cooling technologies such as closed-loop systems that recycle water, air-cooled heat exchangers, and immersion cooling using dielectric fluids. Microsoft has pledged to implement water-free cooling systems in upcoming data centres. Additionally, floating data centres that leverage natural water temperatures for cooling have been introduced as a potential solution.

Governments and regulators are also stepping in. The UK government plans to locate AI Growth Zones in areas with established water and energy infrastructure, while the European Commission has adopted reporting schemes to promote sustainable designs. However, critics argue that these measures may not suffice as demand for AI-driven technologies continues to grow and that without significant advancements in water conservation and management, the expansion of data centres risks deepening global water scarcity.

Gender Pay Gap Widens at Lloyds and Nationwide

The gender pay gap at Lloyds Bank and Nationwide Building Society has widened, highlighting persistent disparities in the financial sector despite ongoing efforts to promote workplace equity. Lloyds Banking Group reported a median hourly gender pay gap of 35.5% for 2024-25, an increase of 2.7% from the previous year. Lloyds Bank itself recorded the highest median pay gap among UK businesses with over 20,000 employees, at 39.2%. Nationwide Building Society, while achieving progress in board diversity with more women than men on its board, also saw its gender pay gap widen, reflecting broader challenges in the industry.

The financial sector continues to have one of the largest gender pay gaps in the UK, with women earning approximately 78 pence for every pound earned by men. This disparity is nearly double the average across all industries and is particularly pronounced in high-paying roles such as investment banking, with men disproportionately occupying senior positions and roles with higher hourly pay, exacerbating the imbalance. For instance, at NatWest, two-thirds of top-paying roles are held by men, while women primarily take on lower-paid positions.

Efforts to close the gap have been slow. Lloyds Banking Group has made some progress by reducing its mean gender pay gap to 25.9% and increasing female representation in senior leadership roles to 40.4%. However, structural issues such as workplace cultures, childcare systems, and job segregation remain significant barriers to achieving equity.

Lloyds currently ranks at 270th among their 604 banking peers for its Diversity and Inclusion rating, with Nationwide Building Society not far behind. It will be interesting to see whether their decisions to step back from their DEI targets affect these scores in the future.

Barclays Scales Back DEI Goals in the US

Barclays has decided to abandon its gender and ethnicity diversity targets in the United States, citing a reassessment of its DEI policies. This move comes amid a broader rollback of corporate DEI initiatives in the US, driven by political pressures under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has actively opposed such programs. Barclays had previously aimed for women to hold 33% of director and managing director positions and to increase ethnic minority representation in executive roles by 50% by the end of 2025, but these goals will no longer apply to its US operations, although they’ll remain in place for its global workforce.

The decision follows a review initiated in late 2024, with Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan stating that the bank must adapt to the "changed environment" in the US while adhering to local regulations. Despite this shift, Barclays emphasised its continued commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace culture globally. The bank’s latest diversity report showed that women occupied 30% of executive roles globally as of 2023, with underrepresented minorities comprising 21% of its US workforce.

Barclays’ policy change aligns with similar actions by other financial institutions like Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, which have scaled back DEI efforts in response to political opposition. Critics argue that such rollbacks undermine progress toward workplace equity and inclusivity. While Barclays maintains its DEI goals outside the US, the decision reflects growing tensions between corporate diversity commitments and shifting political climates in key markets.

Barclays holds an impressive social score of 85/100, ranking 159th out of 875 banking peers. The bank also has an excellent DEI rating of 89/100, so it will be interesting to see if the abandonment of its DEI targets will bring this score down.