ESG in 5 Sustainability News - 06-10-2026
This week’s ESG in 5 covers funding for greener businesses and European power grids, Amazon’s community investment plans, a major US thermal battery project and Mars’ progress towards responsible cocoa sourcing.
Garanti BBVA raises $125m for green investments and women entrepreneurs.
Garanti BBVA has raised US$125 million through a sustainable bond issued to the International Finance Corporation and German development finance institution DEG, supporting business investment in Türkiye.
The funding will strengthen the bank’s capital base while supporting green projects by micro, small and medium-sized businesses and improving women entrepreneurs’ access to finance. Eligible investments include electric vehicles, energy-efficient equipment and other technologies supporting businesses’ transition to lower-carbon operations. The bond has a ten-year term, with an option for the bank to redeem it after five years. The transaction combines environmental and social financing objectives within the bank’s wider sustainable finance activities.
EIB and BNP Paribas back €700m grid guarantee scheme.
The European Investment Bank and BNP Paribas have agreed a guarantee scheme of up to €700 million to support manufacturers of electricity grid equipment across the European Union.
The EIB will provide up to €350 million in guarantees backing BNP Paribas, which will commit an equivalent amount. By sharing risk, the arrangement aims to increase the bank’s capacity to support manufacturers meeting growing demand for grid components. The institutions expect the scheme to help generate up to €2.8 billion in investment. It forms part of a wider EU-backed programme to modernise electricity networks, strengthen energy security and support the energy transition.
Amazon pledges over $1bn to data centre communities.
Amazon has committed more than US$1 billion over five years to communities hosting its data centres, starting in the United States. Its new Built Together programme will support education, job training, energy affordability, water conservation and locally chosen priorities.
Plans include covering remaining tuition costs after financial aid for eligible community college students and expanding practical training for skilled jobs. Amazon also aims to fund energy-efficiency improvements in more than 300 schools and community buildings and over 30,000 homes. The announcement comes amid scrutiny of data centres’ demands on local resources, with the funding intended to address community needs alongside continued infrastructure expansion.
Investors back major thermal battery project in Kansas.
Antora Energy has announced a 5.8 gigawatt-hour thermal battery project at Pratt Energy’s biorefinery in Kansas, backed by investors including Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Grok Ventures and University Pension Plan Ontario.
The system will use electricity to heat insulated blocks of solid carbon, storing energy for continuous delivery as industrial heat. Supply to the biorefinery is expected to begin in 2027 under a long-term agreement. The companies say the project will improve operating efficiency and support Pratt’s efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of its ethanol. Antora also expects the development to support more than 100 construction and operations jobs.
Mars improves cocoa sourcing but misses its target.
Mars increased the proportion of cocoa covered by its responsible sourcing programme to 98% in 2025, up from 81% a year earlier, but fell short of its 100% target.
The figure represents the equivalent volume of cocoa and cocoa ingredients needed for Mars-branded products that suppliers procured through the programme. Its requirements include sourcing from land that has not been deforested or converted from other natural ecosystems. Mars attributed the shortfall to significant volatility in global cocoa markets. The company also reported work with farmers on soil health, crop resilience and disease detection, as climate pressures and supply shortages continue to challenge cocoa production.
