What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (Week Recap 11.03 - 17.03) 🌎

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:

• US companies are removing climate references from websites amid AI-driven ‘energy pragmatism’ shift 🇺🇸

• On April 1, a vote will take place on fast-tracking the EU Omnibus proposal 🇪🇺

• US politicians are seeking to shield American companies from EU sustainability reporting rules 🇺🇸

• Swiss bank UBS drops diversity targets and delays climate goals 🏦

• and other news 🌍

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THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS

Regulatory Oversight & Industry Insights

⏪ Major corporations, including Walmart, Kraft Heinz, Meta, and Ford, are quietly scaling back public climate commitments, deleting or rewriting sustainability statements on their websites, and softening net-zero targets in response to shifting political and economic pressures. An FT analysis found that major companies have removed climate-related language from their public statements, mirroring similar actions taken by US government agencies under the Trump administration. Walmart, for instance, deleted a statement describing climate change as “one of the greatest challenges of our time,” while Kraft Heinz reworded its net-zero commitments, citing internal and external challenges. Nonprofits have also adjusted their messaging, removing climate-related references to secure US grants, while companies like Coca-Cola, Ford, and Meta have diluted or removed climate language across their websites.

The “greenhushing” trend reflects a growing reluctance to highlight climate action amid regulatory scrutiny and an intensifying political backlash against corporate sustainability efforts. This shift is unfolding alongside the rise of artificial intelligence, which is reshaping corporate energy priorities as AI-driven data centers fuel a surge in electricity demand. At CERAWeek 2025 in Houston, US, energy executives debated AI’s impact on the energy transition, with some seeing it as a driver of long-term fossil fuel reliance, while others cautioned that demand projections may be overstated.

Executives from TotalEnergies, ADNOC, and BlackRock emphasized the need for stable, dispatchable power, fueling a shift toward “energy realism” that may sideline climate concerns. While some companies remain committed to renewables, energy leaders acknowledge that decarbonization efforts must now account for power security and cost stability in an AI-driven economy. The result is a shift toward “energy realism and pragmatism”, where businesses and policymakers balance long-term sustainability goals with immediate operational and infrastructure needs. Companies are now recalibrating their public positioning on sustainability while maintaining selective climate initiatives internally.

MORE INTERESTING NEWS

Latest developments, reports, insights, and trends

🇪🇺 On April 1, a vote will take place on fast-tracking the EU Omnibus proposal, which includes delaying the CSRD by two years and the CSDDD by one year. The proposal has gained support from EU finance ministers but faces division in the European Parliament. The European Council is expected to approve the delay, though MEPs remain split. France and the Netherlands are pushing for further amendments, including raising the CSDDD company threshold from 1,000 to 5,000 employees.

🇺🇸 Meanwhile, US politicians are seeking to shield American companies from CSDDD compliance by proposing legal action against jurisdictions enforcing due diligence rules. US Senator Bill Hagerty introduced the “PROTECT USA” Act, which aims to exempt American companies from the EU’s CSDDD. The bill prohibits punitive measures against US firms that refuse to comply with the directive and grants affected companies the right to pursue legal action.

🇺🇸 The US EPA also terminated $20 billion in clean energy grants, citing fraud and lack of oversight, prompting lawsuits from nonprofits that say the move threatens climate projects. Democrats defended the program as vital for cutting pollution, while Republicans labeled it a slush fund. The decision aligns with the Trump administration’s rollback of Biden-era climate policies.

🇨🇦 Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, signed an order eliminating the consumer carbon tax, known as the “fuel charge,” effective April 1, 2025, while maintaining carbon pricing for businesses. Introduced in 2019 to incentivize emissions reductions, the tax had become a divisive issue amid high inflation, prompting Carney to pledge its removal during his leadership campaign. While ending the consumer tax, Carney plans to tighten emissions rules for large industrial polluters, while his broader climate agenda includes incentives for green buildings, transport electrification, and consumer investments in clean technology.

🇬🇧 UK financial regulators FCA and PRA dropped plans for new diversity and inclusion (D&I) rules in the financial sector following industry feedback and government recommendations. Initially proposed in September 2023, the rules would have required firms to develop D&I strategies and board oversight. However, concerns over regulatory burdens and duplication with existing initiatives led the regulators to abandon the plans, despite acknowledging D&I’s benefits for governance and competitiveness.

📑 EFRAG and CDP released a correspondence mapping between the European Sustainability Reporting Standard (ESRS E1) and the CDP question bank, highlighting strong interoperability in areas like climate transition plans, emissions reporting, and internal carbon pricing. This initiative aims to simplify corporate climate disclosures, helping ESRS E1 reporters align with CDP requirements and vice versa, reducing complexity and enhancing transparency under the CSRD.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES DOING?

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

🏦 UBS removed diversity hiring targets from its 2024 annual report, shifting its focus to meritocracy amid a broader rollback of DEI programs in the US. Previously, the bank aimed for 30% of director-level roles to be held by women and for ethnic minorities to make up 18.8% of US financial advisors by 2025, but these targets were omitted in the latest report. UBS stated it remains committed to diversity but will prioritize hiring based on merit. Additionally, the bank adjusted its climate goals, delaying its net emissions reduction target from 2025 to 2035 and withdrawing a previous commitment to align 20% of its assets under management with net zero by 2030, citing the integration of Credit Suisse.

⚡️ Amazon, Google, and Meta joined the “Large Energy Users Pledge,” committing to tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050 to support rising electricity demand and clean energy goals. Led by the World Nuclear Association, the pledge aligns with tech giants’ efforts to power AI-driven data centers while maintaining sustainability commitments. Meta received over 50 submissions for its nuclear energy RFPs, Amazon invested over $1 billion in nuclear projects, and Google signed an advanced nuclear deal with Kairos Power for 500 MW of clean energy.

🔋 Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt filed for bankruptcy, marking the collapse of one of Europe’s most ambitious EV battery ventures. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US in November, Northvolt had spent the past few months trying to secure enough investment to stay afloat — but failed, leaving investors to ponder the sector's future. Founded in 2016 with the goal of producing the “world’s greenest battery,” Northvolt raised over $14 billion, including a $5 billion green loan last year, but faced mounting challenges such as declining EV demand in Europe, rising capital costs, geopolitical instability, and supply chain disruptions. The fate of its US operations and its factory in Germany remains uncertain.

🟢 Google launched Carbon Footprint for Google Advertising reports, enabling advertisers to measure and manage the carbon emissions of their marketing activities. The tool provides first-party emissions data across Google’s ad platforms, aligning with sustainability regulations like the EU’s CSRD and frameworks such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Early testers, including L’Oréal and Carwow, found it offers more precise emissions tracking than previous spend-based methods.

🟢 TotalEnergies signed a 15-year agreement with RWE to supply 30,000 tons of green hydrogen annually to the Leuna refinery starting in 2030, supporting its goal to decarbonize hydrogen use in European refineries. The hydrogen will be produced by a 300 MW electrolyzer in Lingen, Germany, and transported via a 600 km pipeline, avoiding 300,000 tons of CO₂ emissions.

⚡️ Rio Tinto signed a long-term deal with Edify Energy to supply low-carbon electricity for its aluminum operations in Queensland, Australia. The agreement secures 90% of the power and battery storage from two new solar power stations, contributing to a total of 2.7 GW of renewable energy for Rio Tinto’s Gladstone aluminum operations. This will supply 80% of the Boyne smelter’s electricity needs and reduce emissions by 5.6 MtCO₂e annually.

EVERYTHING FINANCE

Sustainable finance, funding rounds, acquisitions & private equity deals

📉 Green energy stocks have fallen to five-year lows amid political uncertainty and high interest rates, despite strong sector fundamentals. The S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index has dropped 16% over the past year, underperforming oil and gas stocks, which have benefited from policies favoring fossil fuel expansion. Market pessimism has been exacerbated by US President Donald Trump’s rollback of Inflation Reduction Act funding and withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, as well as policy uncertainty in Europe. However, clean energy investment remains strong, with S&P predicting it will surpass upstream oil and gas spending this year. Some companies, like Iberdrola, have performed well, while others, such as Vestas, have seen significant declines. Analysts note that investors may be overly fixated on interest rates, as some clean energy developers benefit from index-linked returns, and alternative markets, like the Middle East, present better funding conditions for hydrogen companies.

📈 Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) closed its fifth flagship fund, CI V, at over €12 billion ($13.1 billion). The fund targets large-scale renewable infrastructure in low-risk OECD countries, focusing on wind, solar, and battery storage. With structural tailwinds driving demand from AI, data centers, and electrification, CI V has already committed 60% of its capital across 50 projects, expected to add 30 GW of new energy capacity—enough to power 10 million homes.

🏦 Standard Chartered issued its first-ever Social bond, raising €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to support sustainable development in low-income countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The proceeds will finance SMEs and improve access to essential services like healthcare and education, aligning with the bank’s commitment to sustainability. The bond contributes to Standard Chartered’s $5.5 billion social asset pool, addressing urgent financial needs in emerging markets.

📈 BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) launched the Venture and Impact platform within its Private Assets division, consolidating €800 million ($879 million) in venture capital and impact-focused investments. The platform integrates BNPP AM’s Ecological Transition and Impact, Fintech, and the Solar Impulse Venture Fund, with Yann Lagalaye appointed as its head. Additionally, Marinus Oosterbeek and Vincent Baillin have been named Managing Directors at Opera Tech Ventures (OTV), BNP Paribas’ venture capital fund for financial industry transformation.

Funding rounds:

⚡️ Equilibrium Energy, a San Francisco-based energy portfolio management company, raised $28 million in Series B2 funding. The funding will support the expansion of its commercial offerings and the enhancement of its EQ Mission Control™ platform, which integrates AI to optimize power portfolios. The platform provides real-time insights, granular forecasting, and AI-driven decision-making for power companies, with applications in battery storage and renewable energy management.

💧 Capture6, a decarbonization and water technology startup based in California and New Zealand, raised $27.5 million in Series A funding to advance its innovative system that transforms waste brine from water treatment into a carbon removal solvent while recovering fresh water. The technology, which uses less energy than conventional direct air capture, addresses both carbon emissions and water scarcity by mineralizing CO₂ and reducing waste disposal costs.

🟢 Green hydrogen startup Supercritical Solutions raised £14 million ($18 million) in a Series A round. Founded in 2020, the London-based company has developed a high-pressure, membrane-free electrolyzer that reduces energy consumption by 20-30% compared to traditional systems and aims to lower hydrogen production costs to under £1/kgH2 this decade.

🧪 ReSource Chemical raised $15 million to develop a pilot plant for its fossil-free chemical production technology. The company converts CO₂ and agricultural waste into high-performance, renewable chemicals.

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