Sustainability analyst Will Richardson breaks down ten trends reshaping business in 2026, from AI's exploding energy demands to board-level biodiversity risk and net-zero fatigue. He shares three environmental facts: Winter Olympics rely almost entirely on artificial snow, 6.9 million Australians live near fire-prone grasslands, and wetlands store 30% of global soil carbon on just 6% of land.
Chapters
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. Hey, Welcome to this week's Top 10 Weekly Insights. I've got some exciting stuff at the end. I've pulled out 3 of the most mind-blowing facts that I've seen this week. Stay to the end to watch. Number 1, AI's energy and water demand is exploding. Highly relevant to food, beverage, and media businesses. One of the biggest sustainability stories now is how fast-growing AI and data centres are driving up electricity use, grid stress, and water demand, forcing governments and tech firms towards pacts, new tariffs, and location strategies. Number 2: Corporate risk and insurance-style thinking. This is highly relevant to food, beverage, and media businesses. Utilities, fashion, and other sectors are being pushed to treat climate risk like core business risk, using dense data, AI models, and hard governance to decide when to shut off power, redesign assets, and reprice products. Number 3, waste circularity and looming regulation. This is really relevant to food, beverage, and and consumer-facing advertisers. Global waste is projected to rise sharply by mid-century, with NGOs and policymakers calling for circular economy while brands face scrutiny over packaging, food waste, energy contracts, and greenwash. Number 4: Nature, biodiversity as a board-level risk. Core issues for food, drink, and land-linked brands. New work on biodiversity frames nature loss as systemic risk, with institutions piloting science-based nature and water targets that will reshape sourcing, land use, and disclosure expectations. Number 5, regenerative and low-impact agriculture in practice. Directly relevant to agrifood portfolios and Scope 3 sector leaders are scaling regenerative agriculture, nitrogen optimisation, and lower input systems as practical routes to cut emissions, protect soils, and build resilience in key crops. Number 6: Sustainability reporting and standards tightening. This is critical for £50 million turnover organizations and above. The UK's shift towards new sustainability reporting standards and updated GHG guidance is raising expectations on climate and nature data assurance and decision-useful disclosures. Number 7, corporate activism. ESG value and media narratives crucial for media marketing and advertising leaders. Brands are reframing ESG from virtue signaling to value creation while navigating misinformation, trust issues, and backlash that demand campaigns be rooted in real operational change. Number 8: Clean energy buildout and storage innovations. This is important for large sites, factories, and studios. Rapid innovation in solar storage and local energy planning is opening new options for PPAs, behind-the-meter assets, and regional partnerships to cut costs and emissions. Number 9: Food systems, meat, and alternative proteins. Economics. Strategic for food and beverage portfolio planning. There are shifts in subsidies alone are unlikely to flip meat economics, keeping the pressure on innovation, scale, and consumer appeal for low-impact and alternative proteins. Public mood. Climate politics and net-zero fatigue. Does that resonate? Key context for business leaders' messaging. Even as climate impacts intensify, support for net zero is becoming more fragile. So framing action around jobs, resilience, innovation, and fairness is essential to maintain ambition. As promised, top 3 mind-blowing environmental facts. The Winter Olympics now rely almost entirely on fake snow. Beijing in 2022 used 100% artificial snow for the first time ever amid temperatures making natural cover unreliable. Cortina 2026 follows suit as climate change shrinks reliable snow odds globally. 6.9 million Australians live next to bomb-ready grasslands. Homes that adjoin highly flammable grasslands, priming the continent for LA-style megafires, has arid winters ramp up risk. It's awful. Wetlands, tiny but store 30% of soil carbon. Vanishing fast. Despite covering just 6% of Earth's land, they're critical for biodiversity, water, food security, and climate resilience, yet face rapid global loss demanding urgent restoration. And that's it for this week from 51 to Carbon Zero's Weekly Insights. If you'd like to learn more, contact me, DM me, Or come and join our referral program and earn 10% or more on commission. Join a really vibrant, amazing community of like-minded sustainability experts like you to understand what's going on in the world. Grow your prestige and your recognition around sustainability with us. And join forces and work with us as well. What's more to love? Thank you for listening, watching, or whatever your medium was. Thank you.
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.
