ESG Today: Week in Review

This week in ESG news: Sustainable funds outperforming, reaching record AUM in 2026; Over 700 companies sign on to Climate Pledge to reach net zero by 2040; EU to enable integration of sustainability criteria in €2.5 trillion public procurement market; BlueOrchard raises $250 million for emerging markets climate finance fund; Trump administration repeals rules limiting GHG emissions from power plants; U.S. SEC proposes eliminating rule enabling shareholders to bring voting proposals to annual meetings; Santander hits 85% of sustainable finance goal; Google signs record carbon and methane removal deal; Greenly acquires Normative as carbon accounting consolidation continues, 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

Climate Pledge Tops 700 Companies Committing to Net Zero by 2040

Ineos Starts Up EU’s First Full-scale CO2 Storage Site

Oracle Signs Over 1.7GW of Clean Energy Deals in Bid to Match Data Centers with 100% Carbon-Free Energy

Hitachi Vantara Commits to Net Zero Across the Value Chain by 2040

Google Signs Green Steel Deal with Stegra to Address Data Center Emissions

When the ESG Label Fades, the Work Doesn’t

Google Signs Record Carbon and Methane Removal Deal with Terradot

FedEx Secures More than 20 Million Gallons of SAF for U.S. Operations

Salzgitter Signs Clean Energy Deal with Zelestra to Power Green Steel Production

Oracle to Launch Public Dashboard with Emissions, Water Use Data for New Hyperscale Data Center

Kanadevia Inova Acquires Dutch Clean Fuels Platform BioValue

Government & Regulators

SEC Proposes Eliminating Key Rule Enabling Shareholders to Bring Proposals for Proxy Voting

Accenture to Pay $25 Million to Settle Latest U.S. DOJ Anti-DEI Case

EU Parliament Votes to Expand Product List, Close Loopholes in CBAM Carbon Import Tax

Trump EPA Repeals Biden-Era Rules Limiting GHG Emissions from Power Plants

EU to Enable Integration of Sustainability Criteria in €2.5 Trillion Public Procurement Market

Sustainability Reporting

What UK SRS Means for Companies Making Sustainability Claims

ESG Services and Tools

Verra Launches Scope 3 Standard to Verify Value Chain Climate Projects

ICE Invests in Industrial and Environmental Markets Certification Platform Isometric

TrusTrace Launches New Platform to Help Companies Identify, Act on Supply Chain Sustainability Gaps

Greenly Acquires Normative as Carbon Accounting Consolidation Accelerates

Sustainable Finance

BlueOrchard Raises $250 Million for Emerging Markets Climate Finance Fund

Santander Surpasses 85% of 2030 Green Finance Goal

BlackRock’s Skyborn Renewables Secures Over $2.4 Billion for Major German Offshore Windfarm

Sustainable Investing

LOIM Launches New U.S. and Japan Net Zero Equity Funds

Sustainable Funds Outperform, Hit Record AUM in H1 2026: Morgan Stanley

Private Equity & Venture Capital

“Superhot” Geothermal Startup Mazama Raises $135 Million

Kanin Raises $100 Million to Turn Industrial Waste Heat into Carbon-Free Power

Planted Raises $31.8 Million to Build Solar Projects with Robots

Exec Moves

Hamilton Lane Appoints Angelica Nikolausson as Managing Director Sustainability and Impact

HSBC Appoints Mik Breiterman-Loader as Head of US Sustainable Finance and Transition