This week in ESG news: SBTi passes milestone 10,000 companies with science-based climate goals; ECB to intensify monitoring banks’ climate risk, transition planning; U.S.’ Hegseth to “sledgehammer” small business assistance program over DEI; EY appoints Chief Global Sustainability Strategist to integrate sustainability across firm’s services; TotalEnergies to reduce clean fuels investments over regulatory uncertainty in EU; AllianzGI launches $1 billion emerging markets climate finance fund; UK to invest £15 billion to upgrade homes with clean energy tech; SLR acquires sustainability consultancy WAP Sustainability; Microsoft reports record 45 million tonnes of carbon removal deals signed in 2025, and more.
See below for the highlights of the past week, and get all your ESG news at ESG Today:
Sustainability Goals, Initiatives and Achievements
SBTi Passes 10,000 Companies with Validated Science-Based Climate Targets
TD Bank Purchases 44,000 Tonnes of Carbon Removal from Charm Industrial
Engie to Build New $95 Million UK Biomethane Plant After Supply Deal with PepsiCo
TotalEnergies CEO Says Company will Reduce Investment in Clean Fuels on Expectation that EU Will Water Down SAF Mandate
Microsoft Doubles Carbon Removal Agreements to 45 Million Tonnes in 2025
AI and the Evolving Role of the Chief Sustainability Officer: Guest Post
eBay Releases Plan to Reach Net Zero Across Value Chain by 2045
Rio Tinto Supplies New Breakthrough Low-Carbon Copper for Amazon Data Centers
Government & Regulators
UK Invests £15 Billion to Upgrade Homes with Solar Panels, Heat Pumps
Texas AG Outlaws DEI
U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth Pledges to “Sledgehammer” Small Business Assistance Program Calling it Government’s “Oldest DEI Program”
ECB to Intensify Monitoring of Physical Climate Risk Impact, Transition Plans for Banks
Sustainability Reporting
GRI Appoints Susanne Stormer as Chair of Global Sustainability Standards Board
ICC, Carbon Measures Form Expert Panel to Launch a Global Carbon Accounting Framework
ESG Services and Tools
SLR Acquires Sustainability Consulting and Solutions Provider WAP Sustainability
Lune Merges with gryn to Create Supply Chain Carbon Data Platform for Shipping and Logistics
Schneider Electric Launches New AI-Powered Energy and Sustainability Solutions Platform
Sustainable Finance
AllianzGI Launches $1 Billion Emerging Markets Climate Finance Fund
Mexico Issues Record €4.75 Billion Sustainable Bonds Linked to UN SDGs
Davos 2026 – The Urgent Imperative of Private Climate Finance: Guest Post
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Ananda Raises €73 Million for New Impact Venture Fund
Geothermal Startup Zanskar Raises $115 Million to Find and Develop Carbon-Free Energy Using AI
Cloover Raises $1.2 Billion to Scale Residential Clean Energy Fintech Platform
responsAbility Raises $460 Million for Asia-Focused Climate Tech Fund
Exec Moves
Wolters Kluwer Appoints Maria Montenegro as New CEO of Corporate Performance & ESG Unit
EY Appoints Velislava Ivanova as Global Chief Sustainability Strategist
Partners Group Appoints Oliver O’Bryan as New Head of Sustainability
Climate Consultancy The Carbon Trust Appoints Wei Mei Hum as New Head of Asia
