Weekly Recap: Overview of Recent Events From Our News outlet

Weekly Recap: Overview of Recent Events From Our News outlet

In 2025, the global business landscape witnessed significant advancements in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting standards, regulations, and initiatives, aiming to enhance transparency, comparability, and accountability.

One of the most notable developments occurred in the European Union with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Starting from the financial year 2024, over 50,000 companies (an increase from 11,600 under the previous directive) will be required to report sustainability information following European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The CSRD mandates a standardised report format, broader company scope including some non-EU firms, requires double materiality assessments, digital tagging (iXBRL), and third-party limited assurance to ensure credibility. Reports are due in 2025, signalling a major expansion and deepening of sustainability reporting in the EU[1].

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) also released updated climate and energy standards in June 2025. The new standards enable companies to disclose more comprehensive climate-related data, including requirements to report on just transition principles, impacts on workers, communities, and vulnerable groups, and details on transition plans for climate mitigation such as policies, scientific alignment, fossil fuel phase-out targets, and progress. This reflects growing stakeholder demands for transparency beyond emissions and energy usage[2].

The IFRS Foundation's International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) kicked off revisions to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) sector-specific standards, covering 77 industries with a focus on priority sectors such as oil and gas, metals and mining, construction materials, coal, and processed foods. The update aims to better align SASB standards with ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2 climate-related reporting standards, harmonising disclosures on water management, workforce health & safety, and climate matters, facilitating globally comparable, industry-relevant ESG information for investors[4].

Across 2025, businesses faced a turbulent ESG regulatory environment with increased scrutiny and evolving requirements worldwide. Staying ahead requires integrating ESG considerations deeply into operations and proactively addressing new standards and expectations[3][5].

Notable fundraisings and acquisitions in the ESG sector include Aedifion's $20 million raise to scale its real estate decarbonization platform, Ares' acquisition of a $2.3 billion stake in Eni's energy transition-focused unit Plenitude, Volkswagen Bank's issuance of an inaugural €1.5 billion green bond to finance electric vehicles, and Greenbelt Capital's $1 billion raise for an energy transition fund.

Significant partnerships were also formed, such as Target and Gap partnering with Syre, a cleantech startup, to scale circular materials in textiles, and Microsoft signing deals to remove 2.6 million tons of carbon through sustainable agriculture.

In the UK, new sustainability and climate reporting standards were proposed, while Singapore released guidance for using carbon credits to meet decarbonization goals. The EU eased the ability for member states to fund cleantech and industrial decarbonization sectors, and Sustainable Finance: Slovenia raised €1 billion in the first sustainability-linked bond offering by a European sovereign.

GRI also published a digital taxonomy to enable machine-readable sustainability disclosures, IFRS published guidance to support disclosure of climate transition plans, and Wolters Kluwer launched new solutions to connect ESG and financial data, enabling CBAM compliance.

In summary, 2025 marks a pivotal year with expanded EU mandates (CSRD), enhanced global reporting guidelines (GRI), and ongoing refinement of investor-focused standards (ISSB/SASB), all pushing towards more standardized, transparent, and comparable ESG disclosures worldwide. These developments reflect a clear trend to treat sustainability data with the same rigour and assurance as financial reporting, supporting informed decision-making by stakeholders across sectors and regions.

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/sustainability-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting-directive_en [2] https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri/gri-102-climate-change/ [3] https://www.kpmg.com/us/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/esg/page/esg-regulatory-trends-2025.html [4] https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/press-releases-and-media-centre/press-releases/2022/ifrs-foundation-announces-new-international-sustainability-standards-board-i.aspx [5] https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/assurance/esg/esg-regulatory-developments.html

1. The advancements in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting standards in 2025 significantly expanded transparency and accountability, as evident in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mandate in the European Union.
2. Under the revised CSRD, over 50,000 companies will report sustainability information following European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), requiring a standardized report format and digital tagging (iXBRL).
3. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) also updated climate and energy standards, enabling companies to disclose more comprehensive climate-related data, including just transition principles and fossil fuel phase-out targets.
4. The Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) sector-specific standards were revised by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), aiming to better align SASB standards with ISSB’s IFRS climate-related reporting standards.
5. Significant partnerships and fundraisings occurred in the ESG sector, with notable examples including Aedifion's scale-up in real estate decarbonization, Microsoft's carbon removal through sustainable agriculture, and Volkswagen Bank's green bond issuance for electric vehicles.
6. New sustainability and climate reporting standards were proposed in the UK, and Singapore provided guidance for using carbon credits to meet decarbonization goals.
7. The EU eased funding for cleantech and industrial decarbonization sectors, while Sustainable Finance: Slovenia raised €1 billion in the first sustainability-linked bond offering by a European sovereign.
8. Technology played a crucial role in 2025's ESG advancements, with GRI's digital taxonomy for machine-readable sustainability disclosures, IFRS' guidance for disclosing climate transition plans, and Wolters Kluwer's solutions for connecting ESG and financial data.

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