Inside: Where are the women in private equity? These are the hottest board seats in America. A major political force for coal heads toward default. Plastic economics. — by Eric Roston and Emily Chasan

Sustainable Finance

PepsiCo issued a $1 billion sustainable bond, with plans to invest the proceeds in sustainable development goals-related investments, such as eco-friendly plastic and cleaner transportation. The deal was led by Morgan Stanley, which said earlier this year it wants to carve out a niche as the banker for the global plastic cleanup. 

Purpose Investments, a $5.8 billion Toronto-based investment firm, will assign ESG scores to each of its participating funds and post them to the company's website to encourage long-term thinking. The joins State Street and BlackRock in looking for ways to bring ESG into their products.

Macquarie's Green Investment Group chief is all in on offshore wind projects. "I love offshore wind," Mark Dooley told Bloomberg News. "We get to write big checks."

Murray Energy, the U.S. coal giant that had pressed the Trump administration for help averting bankruptcy, may be headed toward default.

In Brief

• Green bonds are branching out into tree conservation. 
• Chevron has set new targets for cutting the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions from its upstream operations.
• Western utility PacifiCorp is speeding up its abandonment of coal-fired power.
• Pennsylvania, a major coal and steel state, has joined the Northeast's regional carbon market.

Environment

Beef is bad for the climate, but not that bad, writes Justin Fox of Bloomberg Opinion. Why do estimates of greenhouse gas emissions related to beef production vary so much? A lot depends on how the cattle are raised.

Millions of people may lose power as PG&E shuts down service during dangerously hot and dry weather. It could take several days to completely restore power to customers after the weather passes and safety inspections are conducted. 

The European Union is coming closer to setting a date for the elimination of greenhouse-gas emissions, with a deal possibly in sight by the end of the year. The EU also wants to bring trade policy into the fight against climate change, a move that would unleash a major policy weapon and may well be too politically controversial to work.

Shell is looking at its vast network of refineries and chemical plants in and around Houston to test carbon capture and storage technologies. Chevron has set new targets for cutting the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions from its upstream operations.

Unilever pledged to halve its use of newly-made plastic. Bottle-makers' commitment to recycled plastic, however, could face a test as the price of recycled plastic used in bottles recently climbed above the price of virgin material, writes Bloomberg Opinion's Julian Lee.  

Social 

If private equity dealmakers are a tiny economic elite, they are a narrow one, too. A Bloomberg analysis found that women fill only 8% of senior investment roles globally at the 10 largest firms that use debt to buy companies. 

The Houston Rockets' general manager created a tempest by tweeting and deleting support for Hong Kong protesters. Brooklyn Nets owner and Alibaba Group co-founder Joe Tsai responded with an open letter to NBA fans explaining why many Chinese consider the comments so offensive. 

Time's Up, the advocacy organization born out of the #MeToo movement, named a new CEO. Tina Tchen is a founding member of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund and former chief of staff to Michelle Obama.

A pay raise for low earns is the centerpiece of U.K. Chancellor Sajid Javid's policy plans. In reality, the increase might not be as glitzy as it seems and small firms warn it could lead to job losses. 

Governance

Companies with the most prestigious board seats are changing. It's no longer IBM or GE. The hot companies for board members are companies like Apple, Nike and Walt Disney. 

A leadership struggle at embattled Nissan Motor has resulted in an uneasy compromise, as directors tapped Makoto Uchida to be CEO. Uchida had been the head of the carmaker's China joint venture.  

Nearly half of directors say at least one director on their board should be replaced, according to a PwC report. It’s the highest rate of director disapproval since 2012. 

Note: Please send tips, suggestions and feedback to Emily Chasan at echasan1@bloomberg.net.

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