ESG in 5 Sustainability News - 03-11-2026

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This week’s ESG in 5 looks at Meta’s backing for lower-carbon cement, Salesforce’s latest methane-reduction deal, new UK finance for home energy upgrades, water company environmental performance and the latest global biodiversity commitments.

Meta backs lower-carbon cement production.

Meta has signed a multi-year agreement with Fortera to purchase environmental certificates linked to approximately 200,000 tonnes of lower-carbon cement. Fortera says its ReAct cement produces around 70% fewer CO₂ emissions than conventional Portland cement by capturing industrial carbon dioxide and converting it into material used in cement production.

The agreement does not mean Meta is purchasing all of the physical cement, although it retains the option to use it in future construction projects. Instead, the certificates provide Fortera with longer-term revenue visibility as it seeks financing for a planned 300,000-tonne-a-year plant in Missouri, which the company aims to bring into operation in 2028.

Salesforce expands backing for lower-methane rice farming.

Salesforce has agreed to purchase 500,000 methane-reduction carbon credits from Mitti Labs over five years, supporting climate-smart rice farming across tens of thousands of smallholder farms in India. The agreement follows a separate partnership between Mitti Labs and Google announced earlier this year.

The projects will use alternate wetting and drying, where rice fields are periodically allowed to dry rather than remaining continuously flooded. This can reduce methane formation while also lowering water use. Mitti Labs says agriculture accounts for around 40% of human-caused methane emissions, with flooded rice paddies a major contributor. The credits purchased by Salesforce will relate to future verified reductions, rather than emissions savings that have already taken place.

UK launches cheaper loans for home energy upgrades.

Households across the UK are being offered government-backed low- and no-interest loans to help fund technologies including solar panels, battery storage and heat pumps. Ten lenders are participating initially, with some offering interest-free finance and repayment periods extending to as long as 30 years.

Maximum supported loans include £15,000 for solar panels or battery storage and £20,000 for an air-source heat pump. The Government estimates that a household installing solar panels, a battery and a heat pump could save up to £550 a year on energy bills, although actual savings will depend on the property and energy use. The scheme is available across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Water companies fall short on environmental performance.

Eight of England’s nine major water and sewerage companies have been rated as either poor or requiring improvement on environmental performance, according to the Environment Agency’s latest assessment. The nine companies achieved just 16 out of a possible 36 stars in 2025, down by three stars from the previous year.

Only Severn Trent achieved the highest four-star rating, while Southern Water, South West Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water received one star. The Government said pollution remains too high and confirmed that chief executives of companies receiving the lowest rating will not be eligible for bonuses under new rules. Regulators have also published their first combined report covering environmental performance, drinking-water quality and customer service.

Global biodiversity targets remain off track.

Countries have agreed a new pathway for accelerating action on nature after the UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan found that the world remains off track to meet all 23 global biodiversity targets by 2030. COP17 concluded with nearly 50 decisions covering areas including finance, monitoring, science and implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The new Yerevan Pathway identifies priorities including reforming subsidies that damage nature, increasing financial and technical support for developing countries and strengthening monitoring and reporting. Earlier UN analysis found that nearly 90% of countries have now established national biodiversity targets, but fewer than half of those assessed were on track. Attention now turns to whether governments translate the agreements into measurable action before 2030.