What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (Week Recap 08.04 - 14.04) 🌎

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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. 🍀

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In this edition, we’ll cover:

• Countries reach landmark deal to cut shipping emissions 🚢

• More executive orders from Trump, while New York proposes regulation to require major emitters to report emissions starting in 2027 🇺🇸

• Germany’s new coalition will scrap the country’s Supply Chain Act, replacing it with the EU’s CSDDD 🇩🇪

• The IFRS Foundation and TNFD formalized a deal to collaborate on integrating nature-related risks into global financial reporting standards 📑

• and other news 🌍

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THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS

Regulatory Oversight & Industry Insights

🚢 The International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved a landmark draft regulation to create a legally binding “IMO Net-Zero Framework,” introducing both mandatory fuel standards and a greenhouse gas (GHG) pricing system for global shipping. Supported by 63 countries—including the EU, China, the UK, and India—the framework requires large ships to gradually reduce their GHG fuel intensity or purchase credits through a new market-based system, with proceeds funding innovation and support for developing nations. The US exited negotiations and warned of retaliatory measures, while 16 countries opposed the deal and 25 abstained. The regulation, applying to ships over 5,000 gross tonnage (responsible for 85% of sector emissions), will be formally adopted in October 2025 and take effect in 2027. It marks the first global framework combining emissions limits and pricing in a single industry, building on the IMO’s 2023 climate goals to reach net-zero emissions around 2050.

🇺🇸 President Trump signed a new executive order, “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach,” directing the US Attorney General to challenge state-level climate laws deemed unconstitutional by his administration. The move targets policies like New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, California’s cap-and-trade program, and Vermont’s emissions fines—measures that hold fossil fuel companies financially accountable for their GHG emissions. Framed as an effort to “unleash American energy,” the order marks a sharp reversal of Biden-era climate initiatives, escalating federal opposition to state-driven ESG and emissions regulations. Trump also signed a series of orders to revive the US coal industry, citing surging electricity demand from AI, data centers, and electric vehicles. His administration will restart federal coal leasing, classify metallurgical coal as a “critical mineral,” and unlock $200 billion in loan financing, including for new coal technologies. Despite the crackdown, governors in the US Climate Alliance vowed to continue advancing clean energy policies.

Meanwhile, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released draft regulations that would require major GHG emitters to begin reporting emissions in 2027, using data from the prior year. Though the rule doesn’t yet mandate reductions, it sets the stage for Governor Kathy Hochul’s cap-and-invest program—a landmark climate policy that would place a declining cap on statewide emissions and force polluters to purchase allowances. The program is expected to raise over $1 billion annually for emissions reduction initiatives and to support vulnerable communities facing higher energy costs. The proposed rule targets a wide range of sources, including power generators, fuel suppliers, landfills, and other infrastructure emitting more than 10,000 metric tons of CO₂e annually.

MORE INTERESTING NEWS

Latest developments, reports, insights, and trends

🇩🇪 Germany’s newly formed coalition government agreed to immediately eliminate the country’s Supply Chain Act (LkSG), replacing it with the EU’s CSDDD, which won’t take effect until mid-2028. The LkSG, in force since 2023, required large companies to annually assess human rights and environmental risks in their supply chains, with penalties of up to 2% of annual revenue. The new coalition—formed by the CDU, CSU, and SPD—said the reporting requirements under the LkSG will be abolished immediately, and enforcement will be suspended except in cases of serious human rights violations. The EU’s CSDDD, adopted in May 2024, introduces broader but less frequent due diligence requirements. The coalition also endorsed the “Omnibus” proposal.

🤝🏻 The IFRS Foundation and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) formalized a new agreement to collaborate on integrating nature-related risks into global financial reporting standards. The partnership will support the IFRS’ International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in incorporating TNFD’s recommendations—centered on 14 key disclosures—into its broader work on sustainability, particularly in areas beyond climate, such as biodiversity and ecosystems. With over 520 organizations already committed to adopting TNFD-aligned reporting, the initiative aims to improve market understanding of nature-related risks and inform capital allocation. The agreement includes shared research, technical collaboration, and joint engagement efforts, reinforcing the push for harmonized, high-quality sustainability disclosures.

🇪🇺 European regulators are recommending reforms to simplify ESG disclosure rules for financial benchmarks, following a compliance review that uncovered inconsistent and unclear reporting practices. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) found that a lack of guidance on defining and calculating ESG factors led to divergent methodologies, making it difficult for investors to compare benchmarks and potentially enabling greenwashing. To address these issues, ESMA’s report offers new guidance on definitions and methodologies, highlights good practices, and proposes streamlining disclosure requirements to ease compliance while preserving transparency. The regulator plans to work with national authorities and EU policymakers to support consistent ESG supervision.

📑 B Lab, the nonprofit behind the B Corp certification, unveiled a major overhaul of its standards to address mounting criticism of greenwashing and inconsistent sustainability credentials among certified companies. The new framework, set to take effect in 2025, replaces the current points-based scoring system with mandatory minimum requirements across seven core areas, including climate action and human rights, meaning companies can no longer compensate for weak performance in one area with strength in another. Larger companies will face stricter rules, particularly around supply chains and tax transparency, and all certifications will require third-party verification, aligning with new EU regulations. The move is a response to concerns that the B Corp badge has become diluted as it scaled to nearly 10,000 members, with critics — including former member Dr Bronner’s — arguing that some multinationals with troubling records have undermined the label’s credibility.

PRESENTED BY BESIRIUS

beSirius just raised €3M to turn sustainability data from overhead into business intelligence

beSirius just raised €3M to tackle a problem that’s holding back sustainability teams: broken ESG workflows. In heavy industries, where stakes are high and complexity is the norm, most sustainability data still lives in spreadsheets — fragmented, retrospective, and disconnected from real business decisions.

Founded by industry insiders who’ve lived the pain firsthand, beSirius was built to change that. Its “Sustainability Twin” turns raw ESG inputs into live, structured intelligence that companies like ArcelorMittal and Freeport-McMoRan already use to respond instantly to requests from regulators, investors, and customers. With fresh backing from NAP, Techstars, and others, beSirius aims to become the system of record for sustainability data in critical industries.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

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

🟢 Occidental and its carbon removal subsidiary 1PointFive received the first-ever US EPA permits to sequester CO₂ from a Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility, marking a major milestone for the emerging climate technology. The permits allow the companies to store CO₂ from their Texas-based STRATOS project—expected to be the world’s largest DAC plant—via Class VI injection wells that protect underground drinking water. Once operational in 2025, STRATOS will capture 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

🟢 Microsoft signed a deal for what it says is the world’s largest permanent carbon removal project, aiming to eliminate 6.75 million metric tons of CO₂ over 15 years through a Louisiana-based bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) facility. Developed by AtmosClear, a subsidiary of Texas-based Fidelis, the project will use organic materials like sugarcane waste and forest trimmings to generate energy while capturing and storing emissions underground. The agreement supports Microsoft’s 2030 carbon-negative goal but comes amid growing uncertainty, as the Trump administration considers rolling back key decarbonization incentives like the 45Q tax credit, which the project is currently relying on. With $800 million in projected investment and hundreds of jobs at stake, Louisiana officials are lobbying to preserve federal climate funding.

Microsoft also signed one of the largest engineered carbon removal deals to date, agreeing to purchase 3.7 million tonnes of CO₂ removals over 12 years from CO280. The project will capture and permanently store biogenic emissions from a pulp and paper mill on the US Gulf Coast, using technology provided by SLB Capturi. CO280, a Vancouver-based developer specializing in biomass carbon removal and storage, is scaling a network of similar projects across the industry.

⛴️ Viking Cruises unveiled plans for the world’s first hydrogen-powered cruise ship, the Viking Libra, set to launch in late 2026. Built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, the vessel will use liquefied hydrogen and fuel cells for both propulsion and onboard electricity, enabling zero-emission operations. With 499 staterooms for 998 guests, the Libra will mark a major milestone in sustainable maritime transport.

⚡️ Norway’s Equinor is merging its renewables, gas-to-power, and energy storage operations to strengthen its electricity business amid rising global demand for power driven by AI, data centers, and the green transition. The move aims to enhance Equinor’s competitiveness by integrating intermittent renewable sources with flexible power solutions to ensure stability and reliability in the grid. The strategic realignment underscores a broader industry trend toward hybrid energy models that balance renewables with dispatchable power.

🤝🏻 CF Industries partnered with Japan’s JERA and Mitsui & Co. to build one of the world’s largest low-carbon ammonia production facilities in Louisiana, US, investing approximately $4 billion. The joint venture will construct an autothermal reforming (ATR) plant capable of producing 1.4 million tons of low-carbon ammonia annually, with operations expected to begin in 2029. The facility will sequester about 2.3 million metric tons of CO₂ per year, and will utilize Occidental’s 1PointFive for CO₂ transport and storage.

EVERYTHING FINANCE

Sustainable finance, funding rounds, acquisitions & private equity deals

⚡️ Excelsior Energy Capital closed its second fund, Excelsior Renewable Energy Investment Fund II, with over $1 billion in capital commitments. Fund II focuses on equity investments in US-based solar, wind, energy storage, and other energy transition infrastructure, and is already over 50% deployed across 15 projects totaling 2.25 GW of capacity. The firm also launched its first portfolio company under the fund, Lydian Energy, to develop utility-scale clean energy projects.

📈 JP Morgan Asset Management’s Campbell Global closed its Forest & Climate Solutions Fund II at $1.5 billion, bringing total capital raised for its timberland strategy to $2.3 billion with additional mandates. The fund focuses on responsible forest management that combines timber production with carbon sequestration, biodiversity enhancement, and climate benefits. Launched in 2022, it currently holds 212,000 acres of sustainably managed timberland, aiming to provide income, long-term value, and nature-based carbon removal.

📈 Carbon Equity closed its third climate tech fund of funds, Climate Tech Portfolio Fund III, with €107 million in commitments. The Amsterdam-based platform, founded in 2021, enables individuals to invest in top-tier climate-focused private equity and venture capital funds. Fund III, launched in March 2024, targets investments in at least 150 climate tech companies across sectors such as green hydrogen, zero-emission cement, iron-air batteries, and alternative proteins.

🔋 Volkswagen-owned truckmaker Scania finalized the purchase of Northvolt’s bankrupt battery pack division for heavy industry. The acquisition, confirmed Friday, marks the first asset sale from Sweden’s Northvolt after its bankruptcy and includes a 260-employee unit with operations in Poland and an R&D center in Sweden. Scania, a stakeholder and customer of Northvolt, said the move aligns with its strategy to enhance electrification for off-road applications, and that the acquired operations will continue as normal.

Funding rounds:

👚 Paris-based sustainable fashion tech startup Fairly Made raised €15 million in a Series B round to expand its supply chain traceability and impact measurement platform. Founded in 2018, Fairly Made helps fashion brands assess the environmental and social footprint of their products by tracing raw material origins and manufacturing processes.

📊 Tracera, a New York-based sustainability data platform, raised $12 million in Series A funding to scale its solution for ESG reporting compliance. Founded in 2022 and formerly known as ESG Flo, Tracera automates the collection, verification, and auditing of sustainability data to help businesses meet regulatory requirements and back up their ESG claims with traceable data.

🏢 Toronto-based building optimization startup Adaptis raised $4 million in seed funding to scale its platform across the US and Canada. Founded in 2022, Adaptis helps building owners and operators simplify capital planning and sustainability decisions by integrating financial, operational, and carbon data. Its platform enables data-driven retrofits and long-term cost and carbon optimization, reportedly delivering 20% average capex savings across its 350 active buildings.

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