Latest news with #Systemiq
Indianapolis Star
a day ago
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Stop the Corporate Rhetoric – SMX Makes Decarbonization Measurable, Not Marketing
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire Europe is reaching a pivotal moment in its industrial transformation. And Systemiq's latest report, Fossil-Free Plastics: Driving Clean Industrial Leadership in Europe, commissioned by Vioneo, presents a compelling roadmap for reducing carbon emissions from plastic production by accelerating green methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and other fossil-free pathways. It's a vital piece of the puzzle. But there's a critical missing layer-one that can't be filled by chemistry or policy alone. That missing layer is infrastructure-not of pipes and plants, but of trust and traceability. Because scaling fossil-free plastics isn't just about making new materials or announcing new targets-it's about proving what something is, where it came from, and where it ends up. That's no small feat. But it's exactly what SMX Ltd. (NASDAQ: SMX) enables. In fact, it does all of that-and more. The Systemiq report rightly emphasizes accelerating MTO as a viable, cost-competitive drop-in solution for polyethylene and polypropylene. It also identifies four essential drivers to achieve market readiness: early adopter customers, alignment with EU frameworks, harmonized carbon accounting, and smart public funding. SMX Can Be the Digital Backbone of Circularity What the report doesn't mention-but urgently should-is that none of those initiatives can succeed without a verifiable way to track, audit, and certify materials from origin to shelf to end of life. That's where SMX changes the game. It's not just a breakthrough-it's the enabling technology that ties it all together. And the best part? SMX technology isn't speculative. It's operational right now for any company serious about turning circular economy goals into real, measurable action. In this space, SMX may be the only fully scalable platform that connects intention with accountability at the molecular level. By permanently marking materials, including green methanol-based plastics, SMX enables seamless, end-to-end tracking across the entire supply chain. From production to post-consumer recovery, every link is traceable, transparent, and verifiable. Imagine a polymer produced from forestry waste, converted through MTO, and encoded with a forensic signature at its origin. That material can then be audited in real time by brand owners, regulators, and recyclers at any stage of its lifecycle. It's not just about compliance. It's about building confidence. And unlike outdated chain-of-custody systems, SMX provides tamper-proof verification. No guesswork. No greenwashing. Just proof. Meeting the Market Where It's Headed Systemiq's analysis makes one thing clear: even if Europe hits every recycling, reuse, and reduction target, the continent will still need around 28 million tonnes of virgin plastics annually by 2050. The solution isn't to cut demand-it's to decouple virgin production from fossil fuels. This means leveraging biomass, captured CO₂, and other renewable resources to meet demand while reducing emissions. It's a valid vision. But visions don't raise capital. Data does. To unlock the billions in projected investments and demand-side commitments, this transition needs more than ambition. It needs infrastructure investors can trust. SMX delivers that. Its PCT system lets companies permanently mark, register, and monetize plastic on an open platform-turning environmental claims into certified, tradable assets. Think of it as carbon credits 2.0, only grounded in physical reality. This is especially timely as EU frameworks like the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) begin requiring exactly this level of verifiable visibility. Building Trust in a Low-Trust Transition Let's not forget: Europe's shift to fossil-free plastics is as much a credibility challenge as a technical one. Green methanol producers, polymer converters, and brand owners won't just need to say their materials are sustainable-they'll need to prove it. SMX gives them that power. With real-time, tamper-proof traceability, every player in the value chain can operate with confidence. That's how early-stage investments get de-risked. That's how high-spec offtake agreements in food packaging and healthcare get signed. And that's how entire markets get built, not just imagined. Policy Can't Carry the Load Alone Systemiq's recommendations for demand-side targets, harmonized metrics, and regulatory clarity are spot on. But they're not enough. Without standardized, verifiable systems to track compliance, even the best-intentioned regulations become bottlenecks instead of catalysts. Europe has the ambition. MTO and similar innovations have the chemistry. But only SMX offers the infrastructure to make both scalable, provable, and investable. If Europe wants to lead in fossil-free plastics, it must also lead in how those materials are verified, measured, and trusted. Traceability isn't optional-it's foundational. SMX has already built the infrastructure. It's proven. It's available. The time for rhetoric is over. With SMX as an ally, time and words are better spent on implementation. About SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited Company As global businesses face new and complex challenges relating to carbon neutrality and meeting new governmental and regional regulations and standards, SMX is able to offer players along the value chain access to its marking, tracking, measuring and digital platform technology to transition more successfully to a low-carbon economy. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this press release includes 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'contemplate,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'forecast,' 'intends,' 'may,' 'will,' 'might,' 'plan,' 'possible,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'project,' 'should,' 'would' and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, for example: matters relating to the Company's fight against abusive and possibly illegal trading tactics against the Company's stock; successful launch and implementation of SMX's joint projects with manufacturers and other supply chain participants of steel, rubber and other materials; changes in SMX's strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects and plans; SMX's ability to develop and launch new products and services, including its planned PCT; SMX's ability to successfully and efficiently integrate future expansion plans and opportunities; SMX's ability to grow its business in a cost-effective manner; SMX's product development timeline and estimated research and development costs; the implementation, market acceptance and success of SMX's business model; developments and projections relating to SMX's competitors and industry; and SMX's approach and goals with respect to technology. These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing views as of any subsequent date, and no obligation is undertaken to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the ability to maintain the listing of the Company's shares on Nasdaq; changes in applicable laws or regulations; any lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMX's business; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; the risk of downturns and the possibility of rapid change in the highly competitive industry in which SMX operates; the risk that SMX and its current and future collaborators are unable to successfully develop and commercialize SMX's products or services, or experience significant delays in doing so; the risk that the Company may never achieve or sustain profitability; the risk that the Company will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that the Company experiences difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations; the risk that third-party suppliers and manufacturers are not able to fully and timely meet their obligations; the risk that SMX is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; the possibility that SMX may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties described in SMX's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The post Stop the Corporate Rhetoric – SMX Makes Decarbonization Measurable, Not Marketing appeared first on DA80 Hub.
Forbes
14-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The $87 To $1 Gap: Why Markets Undervalue Resilience
Despite escalating climate and nature shocks, global markets still behave as if the world were stable, pouring capital into assets designed for a cooler, more predictable era. At the same time, investments in resilience remain marginal, underfunded, and misunderstood. This isn't just a policy failure, it's a market failure. Guido Schmidt-Traub, a partner at Systemiq puts it plainly, 'Most investors and finance ministries are flying blind on physical climate risk. They don't have the tools, and they don't have the data to price it in properly.' According to Systemiq's report Returns on Resilience, such shocks have displaced over 20 million people in the past two decades, erased $525 billion in value across emerging markets, and inflicted $28 billion annually in losses on the EU's agriculture sector. Yet these losses remain largely invisible in how capital is allocated, not due to a lack of data but because current financial systems can't internalize it. Capital Allocation In A Warming World Schmidt-Traub explains: 'The heart of the problem is an asymmetry in how the risks and returns of investment decisions are evaluated. Risk is often penalized, but returns on resilience are ignored.' Risk assessments embedded in bond ratings, insurance underwriting, and infrastructure planning tend to draw from historical averages, ignoring how climate change has rendered the past an unreliable predictor of the future. That gap between risk and reality has led to what Schmidt-Traub calls 'a fundamental misallocation of capital.' The research shows that for every dollar spent on climate-resilient infrastructure, $87 goes toward infrastructure with no resilience considerations at all. This isn't just inefficient, it's potentially dangerous. It locks in exposure, deepens systemic fragility, and amplifies the potential for cascading failures, from food systems and energy grids to labor productivity and real estate markets. Credit rating agencies routinely downgrade countries for climate vulnerability, but rarely credit them for resilience investments. This punishes exposure but doesn't reward preparedness. As Schmidt-Traub explains, 'Our economic models were designed decades ago, before resilience was even a concept. If a government is investing in resilience to reduce economic volatility and protect productive capital, these investments should be factored into its creditworthiness. But they are not.' The private sector shows similar distortions. Developers still build in flood-prone areas, while insurers use outdated maps and investors chase short-term yield without factoring in rising physical risks like extreme heat, water scarcity, or supply chain fragility. Why Risk Alone Isn't Moving Capital For decades, climate policy has focused on emissions reductions. More recently, attention has turned to managing risk through blended finance, insurance tools, and diversified supply chains. But the current risk-based framing has not been enough to realign financial flows at scale. Investors aren't negligent but constrained by outdated models, poor data, narrow disclosures, and misaligned incentives. Even when risks are acknowledged, they are often treated as one-off events to insure against, not as structural forces that reshape entire markets. That misunderstanding is now beginning to show up in macroeconomic indicators. Allianz's Global Boiling report warns that heatwaves alone could subtract 0.5 percentage points from Europe's GDP in 2025, with Spain facing losses as high as 1.4%. In the UK, the Office for Budget Responsibility recently revised its projections showing that long-term climate damage could be 60% worse than previously forecast. Yet financial systems still treat these disruptions as anomalies, not as a new baseline. The Data Deficit At the heart of the problem lies a persistent data gap. Only 5% of companies assess their environmental impacts, fewer than 1% understand their dependencies on nature. In the banking system, the Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority found that no British lenders could fully quantify how climate change will affect their activities, while most do not consider the issue a material danger beyond 'reputational risk'. Nationally, four out of five finance ministries lack the capacity to evaluate physical climate risks, and more than half use no dedicated modelling tools at all. Without reliable, forward-looking risk data, capital markets cannot price climate exposure, or resilience, accurately. This absence of insight reinforces inertia and mispricing, deepening the divide between capital flows and climate reality. Resilience as a Growth Thesis The solution, Schmidt-Traub argues, isn't just better risk management. It's a fundamental reframing. He says, 'We need to shift the narrative from risk management to productive investment in resilience. Resilience is infrastructure. It's growth. It's stability. It's competitiveness.' This shift reframes resilience as a source of growth and stability. When a government builds flood defenses or when a business invests in adaptive infrastructure, those actions reduce volatility, preserve output, and enhance long-term value. Yet these benefits rarely appear in models or credit metrics and this oversight fuels overinvestment in fragile systems and underinvestment in resilience. Resilience As Core Finance To realign markets with climate reality, resilience must move from the margins of ESG reports into the center of financial decision-making. That will require systemic changes across the financial value chain. A key step is developing standardized resilience taxonomies, clear, cross-sector definitions that allow investors, regulators, and institutions to evaluate adaptation investments on a common basis. Without shared criteria, resilience remains difficult to benchmark, verify, or scale. Governments must embed climate risk in macroeconomic planning. That means incorporating physical risk into debt sustainability analyses, sovereign credit assessments, and national investment strategies. This oversight is not just incomplete, it's economically flawed. As Schmidt-Traub puts it, 'Our models were designed decades ago, before resilience was even a concept. This is simply bad economics, driven by outdated assumptions that fail to recognize resilience as a productive asset.' Even the International Monetary Fund agrees. The Bridgetown Initiative has called for treating resilience like other productive infrastructure, with growth and stability priced in. Climate and nature shocks create volatility in national economies, leading to unpredictable swings in output, prices, and public finances. Governments are compelled to spend heavily in response to floods, droughts, and storms, often while tax revenues are falling. The result: more borrowing, crisis loops and eroded development. By absorbing shocks and preserving productive capacity, resilience investments reduce the severity and duration of economic losses. For example, flood-resistant roads are less likely to be destroyed during a storm, and early-warning systems enable faster recovery. They protect assets and preserve fiscal space. These shifts are increasingly quantifiable. A recent analysis found that a 10-point improvement in a country's ND-GAIN score, which measures climate readiness and exposure, correlates with a 37.5 basis point reduction in bond spreads. That's not charity or aid, that's margin. Resilience Is Already Paying Off While systemic reform is essential, the market is already beginning to recognize the value of resilience. Several companies are demonstrating that climate adaptation can enhance performance, stability, and creditworthiness. In 2025, PG&E earned a credit upgrade for wildfire-proofing, while McCain increased potato yields by 25% in New Zealand through regenerative agriculture. In the U.S., a study found that homes built to updated wind-resilient building codes had 50% lower mortgage delinquency rates after hurricanes compared to older homes. These examples point to a larger trend. Global demand for resilience solutions is expected to reach between $500 billion and $1.3 trillion by 2030, as investors and insurers increasingly recognize the business case for future-proofing assets, operations, and supply chains. COP30: A Financial Inflection Point The upcoming COP30 summit in Brazil offers a rare window to mainstream resilience in financial reform. Schmidt-Traub and his colleagues are working with the COP30 Presidency to support what they call a 'breakthrough on resilience', embedding it not just in rhetoric, but in the core structures that govern investment. 'Embedding resilience into fiscal frameworks, credit ratings, financial disclosures, and monetary policy could unlock trillions in capital,' he says. At this year's climate meeting in Bonn, global leaders laid the foundation for this shift. What's needed now is execution: a clear policy mandate and financial innovation to build markets that reward climate preparedness rather than penalize vulnerability. From Risk Management To Growth Strategy At present, our financial system penalizes the exposed but fails to reward the prepared. That asymmetry discourages investment in the very strategies that could build long-term economic resilience and that needs to change. As climate shocks intensify and global borrowing costs rise, countries and companies will face a choice: keep betting on a past that no longer exists or invest in systems built for the future. 'Countries that invest in resilience today,' says Schmidt-Traub, 'will be the growth leaders of tomorrow.' It's time to stop treating resilience as a sunk cost and look at it as a catalyst for stability, advantage, and future returns.
