Will Richardson ranks the week's top climate business stories, from Big Oil's half-trillion-dollar profit to CDP's AI tool cutting reporting time by 40%. He also covers three environmental facts: $438 billion in weather-disaster costs since 1980, a cooling technology that dropped roof temps 33 degrees Celsius, and a coal-to-building-material innovation that saves 2 tonnes of CO₂ per unit.
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Hey, thanks so much for listening. I would love to be able to help you more on what it is that you are listening to and why you're listening to, to me. If you could click on the link in the show notes, that would be awesome because it will help me define what it is that we should be talking about on this podcast. Before we start, stick around because Because there's a coal technology in this week's news that does something you wouldn't expect. It cuts emissions instead of adding them. This week in sustainability, here are your top 10 stories ranked by what the world is talking about most. Number 10: Big Oil's record windfoil. This one's broad. It's relevant to any company that's over £100 million turnover. Because energy costs affect every business, whatever sector you're in. Big Oil is bracing for close to half a trillion dollars in profit this year, driven by the ongoing energy crisis. Most companies are sitting on the cash rather than reinvesting it, which says a lot about how uncertain even the winners feel right now. Number 9. Tesla and TotalEnergies split on Scope 3. Tesla set its first company-wide net-zero target for 2040. TotalEnergies, meanwhile, is appealing a French court ruling that it must include Scope 3 emissions in its climate risk plan. Same question, 2 very different answers. Number 8: DHL and Longi go solar. This is directly relevant to food and beverage logistics and cold chain, as they are often the most— the biggest slice of your Scope 3. DHL Group has partnered with Longi Solar to roll out distributed solar across its European logistics sites. It's a live example of major logistics partner actually doing the work. Number 7, Verra and S&P Global launch a new carbon registry. This is relevant if your net-zero plans includes offsets. Hmm. 1.4 billion existing carbon credits and 5,900 projects have just moved onto one new platform built for far more traceability than before. It's gotta be a good thing, I guess. Number 6, the ECB extends climate risk pricing to corporate loans. This is a quiet but important for any EU-facing £100 million turnover business or above. From the end of 2027, banks pledging business loans as collateral to the ECB will see the value cut by up to 5% if the borrower carries climate transition risk. Climate data just became a finance conversation, not just a sustainability one. Number 5: California's SB 253 framework takes shape. This is directly relevant if you do business in California. Large companies will need third-party assured Scope 1 and 2 reporting plus 5 Scope 3 categories from 2027. This year's deadline has moved to the 10th of November. Number 4, GHG Protocol and ISO merge their standards. Foundational relevance for anyone doing carbon accounting. 2 of the world's main carbon accounting methodologies are becoming one single global standard with a consultation due in 2027. Less admin, and finally, numbers everyone can compare on the same terms. Number 3: EFRAG narrows CSRD for non-EU companies. This is good news for mid-sized food and beverage and MMA groups with a smaller EU footprint. The number of non-EU companies expected to fall into scope has dropped from around 10,000 to roughly 1,200, with reporting narrowed to environmental and social impacts. Number 2, Singapore drafts mandatory climate disclosure. This is relevant to anyone with APAC operations or suppliers. Scope 1 and 2 reporting will become mandatory for large listed companies this year based on the ISSB framework, while Scope 3 stays voluntary for now. And number 1: CDP's AI tool arrives as disclosure numbers fall. This story that ties this whole week together. CDP just launched an AI tool that cuts disclosure time by 40%, right after selling a majority stake to Permira and splitting its 2 organizations. And yet fewer companies disclosed this year than last. The tools are getting better. The question is, why are fewer people picking them up? And the top 3 mind-blowing environmental facts from this week. The world has had $438 billion weather disasters since 1980, and 2026 is already one of the worst starts on Record, 12 events in 6 months, $31.9 billion in damage. A cooling technology that uses zero electricity has dropped roof temperatures by almost 33 degrees in real-world school pilots. A new technology turns coal into building material instead of burning it, cutting roughly 2 tonnes of CO2 for I hope you've enjoyed this weekly sustainability news. Let me know what you think, and please do get in contact.
Grab free access to Will's Substack while it lasts! Every week, we pull together the top sustainability stories from dozens of trusted sources. Then he breaks down the big issues facing business right now in plain, practical terms. Link in the description.
