ESG Post

The Council of the European Union has formally approved its conclusions on the new EU maritime industrial strategy, establishing a structured framework to protect European shipping and shipbuilding against intensifying global competition and market distortions. The strategy underscores the sector’s role in European competitiveness, defence readiness, and decarbonisation, particularly noting that European shipyards currently construct 97% of the world’s cruise ship fleet.

DHL Group has announced plans to invest approximately €160 million in its French operations between 2026 and 2027, focusing on capacity expansion, infrastructure upgrades, and emissions reduction across its domestic divisions. The upcoming expenditure brings the company’s total capital commitment in France to nearly €900 million over the 10-year period spanning 2018 to 2027.

Autonomous driving technology company Waymo, formerly the Google self-driving car project, has launched an electric vehicle battery repurposing programme in partnership with B2U Storage Solutions, aiming to convert retired batteries from its driverless fleet into grid-scale energy storage systems.

National Bank of Kuwait has officially launched an updated Sustainable Financing Framework, expanding its capacity to issue green, social, blue, and sustainability-linked financial instruments. The revised framework has received an “Excellent” rating from Sustainable Fitch via an independent Second-Party Opinion.

Dutch banking giant ING has announced the appointment of Andrea Cesaroni as its new Group Chief Risk Officer, following a successful tenure as the firm’s interim risk head. Cesaroni, who has served as the Head of Integrated Risk at ING since 2022, took on additional responsibilities as interim Head of Risk on 24 February 2026.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has officially opened applications for pivotal leadership roles across four of its core governance bodies. The global recruitment campaign is seeking highly experienced professionals to help steer the organisation’s future strategic direction, standard-setting priorities, and overall governance.

Investment firms could claw back an estimated £20 million a year under newly unveiled proposals from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) aimed at slashing red tape and simplifying climate reporting. The city regulator intends to deliver these substantial savings by dismantling the currently mandated, highly detailed product-level reports.

Alt Carbon has announced the generation of 9,566 tonnes of verified carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits, establishing the firm as the largest Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) company globally by volume of issued credits. The milestone marks the completion of third-party verified deliveries to a consortium of international buyers.

JPMorgan Chase has expanded its carbon dioxide removal (CDR) agreement with climate solutions provider Charm Industrial, purchasing an additional 61,500 tonnes of carbon removal credits. The agreement represents the second major transaction between the two organisations, bringing JPMorgan Chase’s total carbon removal commitment with Charm Industrial to 90,000 tonnes.

Nest, the UK’s largest pension scheme by membership, has committed £200 million ($269.3 million) to a next-generation climate technology strategy through a partnership with global infrastructure specialist IFM Investors (IFM). The infrastructure credit mandate is designed to target growth-stage industrial and infrastructure-oriented businesses requiring scale-up capital, particularly across developed markets and the UK.