What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (Week Recap 09.09 - 15.09) 🌎

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:

• The US administration keeps on trying to reshape rules and global standards 🇺🇸

• The European Parliament adopted new rules to curb textile and food waste 🇪🇺

• The European Investment Bank launches €17.5 billion plan to support 350,000+ businesses on decarbonization 🇪🇺

• Vanguard finds younger and female investors more likely to back ESG voting 📑

• and other news 🌍

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THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS

Regulatory Oversight & Industry Insights

🇺🇸 The current US administration keeps on trying to reshape rules and global standards - here are last week’s highlights:

EPA moves to scrap GHG reporting

The US EPA proposed ending its mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which requires 8,000 facilities and suppliers to disclose annual emissions, calling it burdensome and irrelevant to health or environmental outcomes. The move, part of President Trump’s deregulatory agenda, would eliminate transparency on emissions from power plants, refineries, chemical facilities, and CO₂ injection sites, though methane data would still be collected from large oil and gas operations subject to a waste fee.

US SEC Chair warns IFRS Foundation on ISSB oversight

US SEC Chair Paul Atkins warned that the Commission may revisit its 2007 decision allowing foreign companies to file US reports under IFRS without reconciling to US GAAP, citing concerns over the IFRS Foundation’s expanded role in overseeing both the IASB and ISSB. Speaking at the OECD Roundtable, Atkins argued that stable, independent funding for the IASB was a key premise of the original rule change and cautioned against IFRS standards being used for “political or social agendas.” He also criticized the EU’s CSRD and CSDDD for applying double materiality, though welcomed recent EU efforts to ease transatlantic trade concerns. The IFRS Foundation responded that the IASB and ISSB remain operationally and financially independent, with a focus on delivering financially material disclosures for capital markets.

US Energy Secretary also warned EU leaders on climate rules

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned EU leaders that climate regulations threaten Europe’s energy security and risk undermining a $750 billion US-EU energy trade pledge. Speaking ahead of meetings in Brussels, Wright argued that ESG and methane rules create costly barriers for US gas exporters seeking long-term contracts needed to finance new LNG terminals. While Europe has relied on US LNG spot purchases since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, US suppliers now push for 20-year deals like those signed by Eni and pursued by ExxonMobil. Brussels resists, fearing such contracts lock in fossil fuels, but faces pressure from both Russian threats and Trump’s pro-fossil stance.

Trump pushes six-month reporting

President Trump proposed allowing US companies to report earnings every six months instead of quarterly, pending SEC approval, in a move he said would cut costs and reduce short-termism. The change would align US disclosure rules with the UK and EU, reversing a mandate introduced in 1970. Supporters, including some fund managers, argue quarterly reporting drives short-term decisions, while critics warn less frequent updates could reduce transparency, increase volatility, and erode the US market premium. Trump pushed a similar idea in 2018 without success; investors remain divided on the potential impact.

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MORE INTERESTING NEWS

Latest developments, reports, insights, and trends

🇪🇺 We’ve also seen a few important updates from Europe this week:

EU Parliament adopts new rules to reduce textile and food waste

The European Parliament adopted new rules to curb textile and food waste, finalizing the revision of the EU’s Waste Framework Directive. The law requires member states to establish extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes within 30 months, making textile producers and fashion brands cover collection, sorting, and recycling costs, with fees tied to product durability and circularity. Covered items include clothing, footwear, linen, and curtains, with optional extension to mattresses. The directive also sets the EU’s first binding food waste targets: a 10% cut in processing and manufacturing and a 30% cut in retail, food services, and households by 2030. Member states have 20 months to transpose the rules into national law.

EIB launches €17.5 billion plan to support 350,000+ businesses

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide €17.5 billion over the next three years, backed by the European Commission, to boost SME energy efficiency and decarbonization. The initiative aims to support 350,000+ businesses with debt and equity tools, working with private partners on platforms dedicated to SME projects. By 2027, it targets over €65 billion in mobilized investment.

EU’s General Court upholds nuclear and gas in EU Taxonomy

The EU’s General Court upheld the inclusion of nuclear energy and fossil gas in the EU Taxonomy, rejecting Austria’s challenge. The court ruled that the European Commission acted within its powers in deciding that, under certain conditions, nuclear and gas can contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation. The Taxonomy, part of the EU’s sustainable finance plan, classifies activities supporting six environmental goals and requires they cause no significant harm to others.

Denmark warns of rising compliance costs

Denmark warned that pending EU regulations could add €124 billion in annual compliance costs for businesses and governments, on top of existing burdens estimated at €150 billion. A Danish government study, circulated ahead of this week’s EU finance ministers’ meeting, calculated €85.9bn in costs for businesses and €38.3bn for public administrations, plus nearly €72bn in one-off business costs. Economy minister Stephanie Lose urged ministers to regularly review incoming regulation, warning Europe risks becoming “the continent of all the rules and the museums” if costs drive companies elsewhere. But critics note Denmark’s analysis ignores potential benefits, a stance seen as unbalanced and short-sighted.

🌾 The Rainforest Alliance launched a new Regenerative Agriculture Standard to support coffee farmers and restore ecosystems in tropical regions. Active in 62 countries, the nonprofit partners with nearly 8 million farmers and over 7,800 businesses, with its “green frog” seal already on 40,000+ products from brands like Starbucks, Nestlé, and Lipton. The new seal, debuting in 2026, will certify farms using regenerative practices to improve soil, biodiversity, water management, climate resilience, and livelihoods, verified through independent audits.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

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

📊 Novata expanded its collaboration with S&P Global Sustainable1 to integrate sustainability intelligence with Novata’s data management platform, helping corporates and investors manage ESG data and reporting. The partnership combines Novata’s tools, including its Carbon Navigator, with S&P Global’s Trucost carbon dataset, sustainability reporting services, and Corporate Sustainability Assessment framework. Clients can now calculate and manage Scope 1–3 emissions, prepare audit-ready regulatory disclosures, and benchmark performance more effectively.

📊 ServiceNow and Socialsuite launched a joint AI-powered solution to integrate sustainability and risk management workflows and streamline ESG compliance. The collaboration combines Socialsuite’s double materiality and stakeholder engagement platform with ServiceNow’s ESG and risk management tools, enabling automation of CSRD and IFRS reporting requirements. ServiceNow customers will gain access to Socialsuite’s materiality software, while Socialsuite users can deploy ServiceNow’s ESG and Integrated Risk Management solutions.

📊 Workiva launched Intelligent Finance, GRC, and Sustainability, expanding its platform with agentic AI to help teams streamline workflows and extract insights from data. The release includes Workiva AI and new sustainability capabilities such as materiality assessments, peer benchmarking, disclosure analysis, and automated drafting aligned with ISSB and ESRS. Features include an ISSB disclosure creator, peer goal analysis, and tools to evaluate reports for accuracy, consistency, and completeness.

EVERYTHING FINANCE

Sustainable finance, funding rounds, acquisitions & private equity deals

📈 Vanguard reported results from its Investor Choice proxy voting pilot, showing younger and female investors are far more likely to adopt ESG-focused voting policies. Now covering 12 equity index funds with over $1 trillion in assets and 82,000 participants, the program lets investors choose policies such as Glass Lewis’s ESG policy, Vanguard’s stewardship policy, or the new Egan-Jones wealth-focused policy, which rejects ESG proposals unless tied to revenue. In 2025, 23% selected the new Egan-Jones policy, while ESG policy adoption fell to 18% overall. However, 42% of investors under 45 and 28% of female investors chose ESG, compared with only 17% of older and 16% of male investors, who favored Egan-Jones at 26%. Vanguard said the findings highlight growing interest in voting choice and diverse perspectives on ESG.

📈 Robeco secured €15.4 billion ($18.1B) in mandates from PGGM on behalf of Dutch pension fund PFZW, replacing prior mandates with BlackRock and LGIM. Under PFZW’s 2030 policy, investments must meet minimum sustainability standards, align with the UN SDGs and Paris Agreement, and deliver measurable social value in areas like climate, health, and biodiversity. 

Robeco also launched the Climate Euro Government Bond ETF, its first fixed income ETF, offering exposure to euro government bonds with a climate transition focus. The fund’s benchmark adjusts country weights based on climate scores and green bond issuance, channeling capital toward nations with credible decarbonization strategies and green infrastructure financing.

🇩🇰 Denmark announced plans to issue up to DKK 10 billion ($1.6 billion) in green bonds, set to be the first sovereign issuance under the new European Green Bond (EuGB) standard. Adopted in 2023, the EuGB requires proceeds to align with the EU Taxonomy, allows a 15% flexibility pocket, and mandates strict transparency and transition plan reporting. Denmark’s 10-year bond will launch in the second half of 2025 via syndication, then be auctioned regularly.

🇸🇬 The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the first close of the Green Investments Partnership (GIP), raising $510 million to fund sustainable infrastructure in Southeast and South Asia. Managed by Pentagreen Capital, the fund will provide debt financing for marginally bankable projects in renewable energy, EV infrastructure, sustainable transport, water, waste, and other energy transition sectors.

Funding rounds:

📈 Fourteen major VC and growth equity firms launched the “All Aboard Coalition” and a new collaborative fund to scale clean energy and decarbonization startups past the funding “valley of death.” Spearheaded by TED curator Chris Anderson, the coalition — managing over $60 billion in assets and including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Energy Impact Partners — plans to raise $300 million by October. Target sectors include long-duration storage, geothermal, nuclear, carbon capture, clean hydrogen, and marine decarbonization. Leaders said the goal is to create “the Microsofts and Nvidias of the climate era” through collective action and collaborative investing.

⚡️ GreenIT, a renewable energy JV of Eni’s Plenitude and CDP Equity, secured €370 million in project financing to develop new onshore solar and wind projects across Italy. Established in 2021, GreenIT targets 1 GW of capacity by 2030 through greenfield plants, repowering projects, and public-sector-linked sites.

🟢 Nitricity raised $50 million in Series B funding to scale its low-emission organic nitrogen fertilizer technology. Founded in 2018, the startup produces its flagship “Ash Tea” fertilizer from air, water, renewable energy, and almond shells, cutting emissions by 92% compared to conventional fertilizers while offering efficiency, pathogen-free safety, and cost competitiveness.

⚡️ Sapphire Technologies raised $18 million in Series C funding to expand its clean energy business and scale deployment of its FreeSpin turboexpander technology. Founded in 2021, the California startup converts wasted pressure in systems like natural gas wells and pipelines into zero-emission electricity, with applications ranging from kilowatt to megawatt scale.

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