What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (14.04 - 20.04) 🌎

This week’s read time: 8 minutes

Welcome to this edition of Green Digest, where you will get updated about everything happening in the Sustainability & ESG space in less than 10 minutes. 🌎

We go through tons of articles and data from the most reliable sources, filter & simplify them, and serve them to you in bite-sized chunks every week. 🍀

In this edition, we’ll cover:

• ISSB staff recommend Practice Statement for nature reporting instead of standard 📑

• Renewable energy overtook coal as the world’s largest electricity source in 2025 ⚡️

• ISO released ISO 14001:2026, an update to its global environmental management standard 📑

• Microsoft’s pause in carbon removal purchases may reflect a strategic recalibration rather than a retreat 🧮

• The European Banking Authority proposed major changes to simplify ESG reporting for banks 🏦

• and other news 🌍

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS

Regulatory Oversight & Industry Insights

📑 Staff at the ISSB have recommended to the Board that nature-related disclosures be addressed through a non-mandatory “Practice Statement” rather than a standalone standard. The proposal aims to avoid disrupting the ongoing rollout of IFRS S1 and S2 while still signaling the importance of nature-related financial information. The Practice Statement would provide guidance to help companies disclose nature-related risks within the existing sustainability framework.

The ISSB was launched in November 2021, with the goal to develop IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards to provide investors with information about companies’ sustainability risks and opportunities. The IFRS released the inaugural general sustainability (IFRS S1) and climate (IFRS S2) reporting standards in June 2023. The recommendation follows earlier plans to develop nature-related disclosure requirements, with multiple approaches considered, including integrating guidance into existing standards or creating a new dedicated standard. While a standalone standard could elevate the importance of nature, ISSB staff warned it could create siloed reporting and complicate the adoption of current standards. The Practice Statement approach, they argue, offers flexibility while maintaining coherence across sustainability disclosures.

Some sustainability leaders don’t agree

A group of sustainability leaders, including former Unilever CEO Paul Polman and leaders of organizations including WWF and Conservation International, urged the ISSB to introduce a dedicated nature reporting standard, warning that failing to act would ignore growing scientific evidence, investor demand, and global policy momentum. In an open letter ahead of the April 22 Board meeting, they stressed that nature loss is financially material and closely linked to climate risk, making it essential for corporate and investor decision-making.

They called for a standalone standard aligned with TNFD to provide consistent, decision useful disclosures and improve capital allocation. Without it, they argued, the ISSB risks delaying progress and falling out of step with the accelerating integration of nature into financial and corporate reporting.

MORE INTERESTING NEWS

Latest developments, reports, insights, and trends

⚡️ Renewable energy overtook coal as the world’s largest electricity source in 2025, according to Ember, marking a historic shift driven by rapid growth in solar and wind. Solar generation surged 30%, adding a record 636 TWh and meeting 75% of demand growth, while wind added 205 TWh. As a result, fossil fuel generation fell by 0.2% for the first time due to structural clean energy expansion, and coal’s share dropped below one-third of global electricity.

Despite global electricity demand rising 2.8%, emissions declined, highlighting a decoupling enabled by clean power growth. Emissions intensity fell to 458gCO₂e per kWh, while EV adoption displaced 1.8 million barrels per day of oil demand. Falling battery costs and rising storage capacity are expected to support continued renewable expansion, pointing toward a longer-term decline in fossil fuel generation.

🚗 In related news, electric car sales in Europe rose sharply in early 2026, with battery electric vehicle registrations up 29.4% year on year to nearly 560,000. March alone saw a 51.3% increase, with electric vehicles making up 21.2% of new car sales across key EU and EFTA markets, while major countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Poland recorded growth above 40%.

📑 ISO released ISO 14001:2026, a major update to its global environmental management standard. The new version strengthens focus on climate, biodiversity and resource efficiency, while improving governance, transparency and usability. Used by over 670,000 organizations, the standard provides a framework to manage environmental impacts, ensure compliance and drive continuous improvement across operations and value chains.

🇺🇸 The US Department of Energy reinstated funding for major carbon removal projects, including two flagship direct air capture (DAC) hubs in Texas and Louisiana. Initially targeted for cancellation, the projects, such as the South Texas DAC Hub and Project Cypress, will retain part of the $1.2 billion awarded under the Biden administration, after a federal review deemed them viable. At full scale, the hubs could remove over 2 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, with some captured carbon used for fuels.

🇪🇺 The European Commission approved €5 billion in climate state aid, including €1.3 billion from Germany to restore peatlands and €3.7 billion from Czechia to boost biomethane production. The measures aim to cut emissions, strengthen carbon storage, and expand clean energy capacity, supporting EU climate goals while targeting agriculture and energy sectors.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

Corporate sustainability, new tools and services & companies in the news

🧮 Microsoft’s reported pause in carbon removal purchases may reflect a strategic recalibration rather than a retreat, as the company has already built a large pipeline of future credits. The company has contracted more than 70 million tonnes of carbon removal, most of which will be delivered between 2030 and 2050, while current retirements remain relatively low. Based on its own projections, Microsoft expects to retire around 6 million tonnes in 2030 to achieve its carbon negative goal, suggesting its existing portfolio could sustain carbon neutrality for several years beyond that target. Addressing reports of a pause, Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa said the program has not ended, but that the company may adjust the pace and volume of purchases as it “continues to refine” its approach toward its sustainability goals. Microsoft remains the dominant buyer in the market, accounting for the majority of global carbon removal purchases, while industry participants note the need for a more diversified buyer base as the market scales beyond reliance on a single player.

🏭 Stegra secured €1.4 billion to complete the world’s first large-scale green steel plant in Sweden. The funding enables construction to resume on the Boden facility, which aims to produce 5 million tonnes of low-carbon steel annually using hydrogen and renewable energy, though timelines are now under review amid a tougher clean tech financing environment.

✈️ Delta Air Lines pushed back on reports it dropped its SAF target, confirming it still aims for 10% sustainable aviation fuel use by 2030, despite removing it from its website. The airline acknowledged slow technology progress and supply constraints as risks to decarbonization, but reaffirmed SAF as a core strategy. Usage rose 80% in 2025, though SAF still represents a small share of total fuel, highlighting ongoing scale and cost challenges.

✈️ DHL and IAG Cargo signed a five-year deal to scale sustainable aviation fuel use, covering around 40 million liters annually and reducing emissions from DHL cargo flights by up to 640,000 tons of CO₂e. The agreement, centered at Heathrow and supported by a broader framework, could exceed one million tons of reductions, as both companies push toward SAF targets and net zero goals.

🔋 Redwood Materials and Rivian partnered to deploy second-life EV batteries as energy storage at Rivian’s Illinois plant, starting with a 10 MWh system using over 100 battery packs. The project aims to cut energy costs and ease grid pressure, showcasing how repurposed EV batteries can provide scalable, low cost storage and support growing electricity demand.

🌲 Mast Reforestation sold out all 4,277 carbon removal credits from its Montana biomass burial project within six weeks, with buyers including Bain & Company and BMO. The project, which buries fire-damaged trees instead of burning them, marks one of the fastest carbon removal developments globally and uses credit revenues to fund post-wildfire restoration, with plans to scale similar projects across North America.

Solutions

📊 Glass Lewis launched Climate Intelligence, a new tool to help investors assess the credibility and financial impact of companies’ climate transition strategies across 4,000 firms. The product focuses on forward looking risks and opportunities, moving beyond emissions data to evaluate how climate decisions affect long term value, as the firm expands beyond traditional proxy advisory services.

🤖 Carbon+Alt+Delete launched its MCP, enabling users to connect carbon accounting data directly to LLM tools like ChatGPT and Claude. The tool allows automated tasks such as generating summaries, building mitigation plans, and running SBTi readiness checks, while offering flexibility across platforms and the ability to combine workflows with other data sources like finance.

EVERYTHING FINANCE

Sustainable finance, funding rounds, acquisitions & private equity deals

🏦 The European Banking Authority proposed major changes to simplify ESG reporting for banks, including removing some EU Taxonomy templates and introducing lighter requirements for smaller institutions. The update includes a three-tier framework, with large banks still facing detailed disclosures while smaller banks report only limited climate risk data. The move aligns with the EU’s broader push to reduce regulatory burden while maintaining oversight, with the new rules under consultation until July 2026 and expected to apply from September 2027.

📉 Shareholder ESG proposals at US companies dropped sharply to 184 this proxy season, roughly half of last year’s 355, as regulatory and political shifts reshape investor influence. According to Proxy Impact CEO Michael Passoff, stricter rules under the Trump administration, including limits on activist tools and greater flexibility for companies to avoid votes, have made filings less effective, pushing more engagement behind closed doors. Proposals continue to focus on issues like carbon disclosure, AI data center governance, and lobbying transparency, but overall support has declined, with some investors citing progress already made, while critics argue companies are stepping back from climate and diversity commitments.

M&A

🌍 London-based assurance services provider LRQA acquired Partner Africa to expand its responsible sourcing and social auditing capabilities across Africa. The deal adds deep regional expertise and strengthens LRQA’s growing portfolio of supply chain, climate, and risk services. Partner Africa clients will gain access to LRQA’s broader tools and infrastructure as demand for transparent, resilient supply chains rises in the region.

🤖 Diginex announced an all-share acquisition of AI firm Resulticks, expanding into customer intelligence and enterprise AI solutions. Resulticks reported around $150 million in 2025 revenue and projects up to $280 million by 2027, with the deal expected to close within 30 to 45 days, subject to conditions.

Funds

🌳 BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group raised $370 million for a new Latin America timberland strategy, targeting $1.5 billion in sustainable forest investments across Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil. The strategy focuses on large scale timber assets and natural climate solutions, leveraging strong regional conditions and growing investor demand for nature-based and inflation-resilient assets.

Startup funding rounds

🔋 Renewable Metals raised $12 million to scale its low-cost battery recycling technology, achieving over 95% recovery of critical minerals from lithium-ion batteries. The funding will support operations, plant development, and global expansion, with a modular process that handles multiple battery types without pre-sorting, improving economics and enabling scalable, distributed recycling infrastructure.

🏗️ MAECONOMY raised €1.5 million to develop a platform that turns building materials into tradable circular assets. The startup digitizes material data to capture value from construction waste, enabling reuse and supporting compliance with EU sustainability frameworks like CSRD and the EU Taxonomy, targeting inefficiencies in the built environment.

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