Today’s ESG Updates
- Protests’ Strategies Change Amidst Banks’ Inaction: Wall Street fossil fuel deals push climate groups to shift tactics, targeting expansion financing and tougher transition risk standards.
- Amazon, Meta, Google and Microsoft Buy Half of Green Energy Worldwide: The companies account for half of global clean energy deals in 2025, reshaping renewables and AI-driven power demand.
- EU Campaigners Call for New Regulations on Company Cars: EU lobby group calls for tighter corporate car emission rules, urging stricter fleet CO₂ targets to speed electric vehicle adoption.
- DHL Has Introduced a Range of Shipping Decarbonization Services: DHL launches shipping decarbonization services using SAF, biofuels and EV transport to cut corporate supply chain emissions.
Wall Street banks are in the middle of oil controversy
In the summer of 2024, large protests were unravelling against Citigroup’s investments in fossil-fuel companies. More than a year later, the Wall Street strategy seems to remain unchanged. In 2025, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo spent more on oil, gas, and coal loans and bonds than the year before.
As banks increasingly commit to sustainable finance, the profits from oil, gas, and coal projects remain undeniable, making the decision tough.
The response from climate groups is shifting the tactics. For climate groups, data-driven insights, specific deal structures, and governance decisions are increasingly the focus rather than attention-grabbing mottos or broad divestment demands. This evolution signals a new phase for climate activism related to finance. It is less symbolic and focuses on concrete, detailed evidence to make a point and encourage change. It does not make sense to seek immediate withdrawal from fossil fuels, but restricting it so investments decline gradually is totally reasonable.
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Further reading: Wall Street’s Oil Deals Have Climate Activists Resorting to New Tactics
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Largest tech companies purchase half of global clean energy
Technology giants such as Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft accounted for roughly half of all global corporate clean energy purchases in 2025, according to a new BloombergNEF report. Globally, purchase agreements fell by 10% in 2025 to 55.9 GW, allowing big tech to take a larger part of the market. The surge is a result of a combination of tech companies’ ambition to be on top of sustainable development, while electricity demand is exploding, due to AI infrastructure needs, data centers specifically. To balance the two goals, tech firms are increasingly relying on renewable energy, reshaping the sector. Large-scale purchase agreements are the main provider of certainty for renewable developers, and they also finance grid decarbonisation. The downside is reliance on big tech, putting them in a position of power in negotiations, which can lead to reduced margins for energy providers.
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Further reading: Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft Account for Half of Global Clean Energy Purchase Deals in 2025: Report
EU proposes stricter standards for corporate vehicles
A European environmental lobby proposes stricter emissions standards for corporate vehicle fleets. The lobby considers company cars an under-regulated source of carbon emissions. Across the bloc, corporate fleets take up a significant amount of new car registrations. The proposal builds on the fact that there is no differentiation between private and corporate purchases, and company vehicles need replacement more frequently. This signals a potential missed opportunity to drive electrification in the corporate world.
Despite great progress in power generation and heavy industry, road traffic emissions are not declining by much. Industry representatives argue against rough regulations that would have a huge negative effect on corporate budgets. The whole debate shows a bigger regulatory trend in Europe: policymakers move past general goals and start targeting sectors specifically.
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Further reading: EU lobby group calls for tighter emission rules for corporate cars
DHL helps shippers decarbonise with its new portfolio offerings
To help corporate customers adapt to the increasing responsibility for Scope 3 climate impacts, DHL has introduced a range of shipping decarbonization services. The option for customers to choose installing transport services with DHL to reduce the carbon footprint of the shipment is also available to customers. This is a result of the multiple ways in which they are able to reduce the carbon footprint of the shipment. Within the DHL network, emissions reductions are verified and are consequently available for purchase.
The growing demand among multinational customers for measurable emissions reductions in transport and logistics is demonstrated in large part by the decarbonization of the described service. The emissions of transport and freight are among the most difficult to decarbonize, as they make up a significant proportion of the value chain of many companies, especially in the retail, manufacturing, and e-commerce sectors. With increasing regulatory pressure from new global and European Union disclosure rules, the logistics sector has to offer better decarbonization methods for emissions reductions.
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Further reading: DHL Launches New Suite of Shipping Decarbonization Services
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: Eelco Böhtlingk
