Canada’s financial companies could make annual revenues of $110 billion by 2025 by targeting firms and projects that reduce or have lower greenhouse gas emissions, a trio of public and private groups said Sept. 17.

Taking advantage of the estimated opportunity, which was measured by Corporate Knights Research, requires a coordinated strategy between governments and companies, public-private partnership Toronto Finance International and financial services firm Ernst & Young Canada, two other members of the group, said.

Brainstorming unorthodox solutions for “recharging” Lake Chad was on the agenda at the International Conference on Lake Chad (ICLC) hosted by Nigeria in February.

The West African lake, once the fourth largest on the continent, has lost 90 per cent of its water mass over the past 50 years due to a combination of population growth, irrigation withdrawals and climate change.

This has threatened the livelihoods of over 40 million people in the region who depend on resources from the lake for crop and livestock farming, trade and fishing, according to UNESCO officials. Lake Chad’s current basin covers portions of Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.

The University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law will soon launch Canada’s first joint common law and Indigenous law program, as long as it secures final quality assurance approval from the provincial government.

Up to 25 students will begin the four-year program in September, which will combine a common law education with Aboriginal legal principles. Graduates are awarded degrees in both Canadian Common Law (Juris Doctor) and Indigenous Legal Orders (Juris Indigenarum Doctor).

Popular British supermarket chain Iceland Foods is planning on eliminating all plastic from its own-brand products by 2023, according to a recent announcement by managing director Richard Walker.

“A truckload [of plastic] is entering our oceans every minute, causing untold damage to our marine environment and ultimately humanity – since we all depend on the oceans for our survival,” wrote Walker in a letter to customers. “The onus is on retailers, as leading contributors to plastic packaging pollution and waste, to take a stand and deliver meaningful change.”

The largest pension fund in the U.S., the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), is studying how the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be integrated into its $357 billion (U.S.) investment portfolio. CalPERS has long been seen as a trendsetter on environmental, social and governance issues.

In late 2015, the United Nations adopted the SDGs, a set of aspirations for the world to realize by 2030. This set of goals, targets and indicators is intended to frame global efforts to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all.