What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (21.07 - 28.07) 🌎

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:

• California unveils SB 253 reporting framework for 2027 🇺🇸

• EFRAG released draft sustainability reporting standards for non-EU companies under the CSRD 🇪🇺

• The European Central Bank plans to extend its climate-adjusted collateral framework to corporate loans 🏦

• CDP launched a new disclosure tool to help organizations prepare environmental reports faster and with higher quality 📑

• and other news 🌍

📣 This is our final edition before a short summer break. We’ll be taking the next two weeks off and will be back in your inbox with our main newsletter on Tuesday, 18 August.

Thank you, as always, for reading Green Digest. We hope you have a chance to slow down, recharge, and enjoy the rest of the summer. See you again soon!

- Green Digest team

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS

Regulatory Oversight & Industry Insights

🇺🇸 The California Air Resources Board (CARB) outlined its proposed SB 253 reporting and assurance framework from 2027, requiring companies to report greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, obtain limited third-party assurance for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and initially disclose five Scope 3 categories. The proposal remains at the pre-proposal stage and will be released for a 45-day public consultation before being considered by the CARB board.

Scope 3 reporting would initially be limited to purchased goods and services, fuel and energy-related activities, waste generated in operations, business travel and employee commuting, while companies could voluntarily report the remaining categories. Companies would also be required to disclose the percentage of Scope 3 emissions calculated using primary supplier data, report their methodologies, organizational boundaries, missing data and uncertainty, explain any excluded emissions, and recalculate prior year emissions if methodological or structural changes alter reported emissions by more than 5%.

For the initial 2026 reporting year, CARB confirmed that the reporting deadline has been extended to November 10 and that companies may rely on information available under its December 2024 enforcement notice rather than collecting entirely new data. Additional guidance, including an optional reporting platform, is expected by September 1.

CARB is also proposing November 10 as the recurring annual reporting deadline from 2027 onward, while continuing to seek feedback on key aspects of the framework through a public consultation and industry listening sessions.

MORE INTERESTING NEWS

Latest developments, reports, insights, and trends

🇪🇺 EFRAG released draft sustainability reporting standards for non-EU companies under the CSRD, setting out the reporting requirements for large international companies with significant operations in the EU. Unlike the ESRS for EU companies, the draft focuses solely on companies’ environmental and social impacts, excluding broader sustainability risks, opportunities and resilience considerations. Following the EU Omnibus proposal, the number of non-EU companies expected to fall within scope has also been reduced from around 10,000 to approximately 1,200. The proposal also introduces an option allowing companies to report either on global impacts or only EU-related impacts, a move requested by the European Commission but criticized by several EFRAG members over concerns about comparability and potential greenwashing. The draft is now open for a 100-day public consultation, with the final standard expected in early 2027 before adoption by the European Commission.

🇸🇬 Singapore released draft sustainability disclosure standards based on the ISSB framework, forming the basis for mandatory climate reporting and voluntary broader sustainability reporting for companies. The proposed standards adopt a climate-first approach, making Scope 1 and 2 emissions reporting mandatory while keeping Scope 3 and broader sustainability disclosures voluntary for most companies during the initial rollout.

🇺🇸 A coalition of 19 US state Attorneys General joined a lawsuit against the Department of Defense, accusing the agency of unlawfully blocking more than 100 wind energy projects by halting required national security reviews. The states argue that the freeze, which has stalled nearly 30 GW of wind capacity, threatens energy supply, grid reliability, jobs and tax revenues, and are asking the court to order the DoD to resume the review process.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

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

🚗 Tesla set its first company wide net-zero target, committing to reach net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2040, while continuing to argue that conventional climate target frameworks fail to recognize the emissions avoided through its products. Although the company has increased climate disclosures and pledged to align its reporting with IFRS standards, it has not published a climate transition plan or near term emissions targets, despite rising operational and value chain emissions.

🛢️ TotalEnergies will appeal a French court ruling requiring it to include Scope 3 emissions in its climate risk plan, arguing that it should not be held responsible for emissions generated by customers using its oil and gas products. The ruling, issued under France’s duty of vigilance law, ordered the company to update its climate risk mapping and disclose measures to address emissions linked to the use of its fossil fuel products.

📊 Salesforce expanded the AI model cards for several of its AI models to include energy consumption and carbon emissions data, becoming one of the first enterprise software companies to disclose the environmental impact of its AI systems. The new metrics, calculated using Hugging Face’s open source AI Energy Score, aim to improve transparency around AI sustainability and will be rolled out to additional models as measurement methods evolve.

🛩️ Air Canada and Airbus launched a series of initiatives to accelerate the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in Canada, including a jointly funded co-investment platform with up to US$10 million to support commercial-scale SAF production. The partnership will also help advance a Canadian SAF project toward a final investment decision, while Airbus has committed to purchasing SAF environmental attributes through Air Canada’s Leave Less Travel Program to help stimulate both the supply and demand for lower carbon aviation fuel.

⚡️ DHL Group partnered with solar technology company LONGi to deploy distributed solar solutions across its European logistics facilities and expand collaboration on sustainable logistics. The partnership will focus on installing solar and energy storage systems, exploring renewable hydrogen, and supporting DHL’s goal of becoming the “green logistics of choice” while accelerating LONGi’s global expansion.

Solutions

📑 CDP launched a new disclosure tool to help organizations prepare environmental reports faster and with higher quality. The new feature, developed with Briink, analyzes existing corporate documents to generate suggested responses to CDP questionnaires, reducing reporting time by 40% on average while improving response completion and coverage.

📊 Verra launched a new registry, powered by S&P Global Energy, to improve the tracking and management of carbon, water and biodiversity credits throughout their lifecycles. The platform has migrated more than 5,900 projects, 10,500 account holders and 1.4 billion credits, offering greater transparency, traceability and streamlined workflows for carbon market participants.

👩‍💻 EcoVadis expanded access to its sustainable supply chain collaboration platform, Community, making it available to all procurement organizations and sustainability professionals, including non-EcoVadis customers. The platform enables users to share best practices, exchange advice and collaborate on supply chain challenges.

📈 BlackRock partnered with PCG Impact to launch a new offering that helps institutional investors build and manage impact investment portfolios targeting measurable sustainability outcomes alongside financial returns. The collaboration combines BlackRock’s portfolio construction and risk management capabilities with PCG Impact’s research covering more than 3,000 impact fund managers, enabling investors to access a broader range of impact opportunities with integrated reporting and portfolio oversight.

EVERYTHING FINANCE

Sustainable finance, funding rounds, acquisitions & private equity deals

🏦 The European Central Bank plans to extend its climate-adjusted collateral framework to corporate loans, expanding measures that reduce the value of assets pledged by banks based on their exposure to climate transition risks. The new climate factor, which could reduce collateral values by up to 5%, is expected to be introduced by the end of 2027 and aims to strengthen the ECB’s risk management against climate-related financial uncertainties.

📈 Nordea Asset Management launched three new sustainable equity funds, expanding its BetaPlus index range as assets under management surpassed €100 billion. The new funds focus on Eurozone and European and US small cap equities, offering investors index-based exposure while adhering to high ESG standards and Paris Aligned Benchmark requirements.

📈 Pictet Alternative Advisors raised $253 million for its first dedicated environmental co-investment fund, exceeding its $200 million target to invest in private companies developing solutions for climate and environmental challenges. The fund will co-invest alongside leading private equity firms in areas including greenhouse gas reduction, pollution control, the circular economy and sustainable technologies, with around half of its capital already deployed across eight investments.

M&A

🔋 Brookfield Asset Management acquired North America’s largest standalone battery storage developer, Aypa Power, from Blackstone in a deal valuing the company at $7 billion. The acquisition strengthens Brookfield’s battery storage business, adding a platform with 6.5 GW of operating, under construction and contracted capacity and a development pipeline exceeding 20 GW.

🤝🏻 TÜV SÜD acquired climate verification platform SustainCERT to strengthen its digital carbon verification capabilities and expand its position in global carbon markets. The acquisition combines TÜV SÜD’s assurance expertise with SustainCERT’s digital measurement, reporting and verification technology, aiming to improve the transparency, credibility and efficiency of carbon credit verification and Scope 3 decarbonization projects.

⚡️ Iberdrola acquired an 80% stake in Finland’s largest electricity distribution company, Caruna, in a deal valuing the business at €5 billion, marking the energy group’s entry into the Finnish market. The acquisition supports Iberdrola’s strategy to expand its electricity networks business, with Caruna expected to invest €200 million to €300 million annually to strengthen and digitalize its grid.

⚡️ MN8 Energy acquired Greenbacker Renewable Energy in a cash and equity deal valued at up to $375 million, creating one of the largest clean power platforms in the US. The combined company will have more than 6 GW of operating and under-construction renewable capacity across 33 states and a 9.3 GW development pipeline.

📊 Asuene acquired supply chain carbon management platform Secaro for $37 million to strengthen its presence in the UK, European and US sustainability markets. The acquisition expands Asuene’s supply chain emissions capabilities as demand for Scope 3 reporting grows.

Funding rounds

🟢 UK AI materials discovery startup CuspAI raised $450 million in a Series B funding round. The funding will support global expansion and the launch of its AI Materials Foundry, helping accelerate the discovery of new materials for clean energy, semiconductors, carbon capture and water treatment.

 📊 Asuene raised $87 million in a Series D funding round. The funding will support the company’s M&A strategy, AI and product development, and expansion of its sustainability platform, which helps businesses manage emissions, supply chains and regulatory reporting in response to growing disclosure requirements such as the CSRD and CBAM.

⚡️ Mirova invested €150 million in Australian renewable energy developer Yanara to accelerate the development of its utility-scale renewable energy portfolio. The funding will support more than 2 GW of hybrid solar, wind and battery storage projects across Australia, including the flagship Mortlake Energy Hub, which is expected to generate enough clean electricity to power around 200,000 homes while avoiding approximately 880,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.

⚡️ Constellation Energy’s venture capital arm made a strategic equity investment in modular nuclear developer Blue Energy. The funding will support the deployment of advanced nuclear power plants designed to reduce construction time and costs, with Blue Energy aiming to begin early site work on its first Texas project this year and deliver reliable zero-emissions power within 48 months.

⚡️ PCG Global raised a Pre-Series A funding round led by GenZero to accelerate the expansion of its renewable energy business across Southeast Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. The funding will support the development of integrated solar, energy storage and smart energy projects, building on the company’s experience operating more than 2 GW of renewable energy capacity.

🟢 Eurodia Industrie raised €18 million to accelerate its international expansion and scale industrial decarbonization technologies. The funding will support projects focused on resource efficiency, electrifying chemical processes, direct lithium extraction and CO₂ capture, building on the company’s rapid growth, with revenues increasing from €34 million in 2023 to €80 million in 2025.

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