top of page

Clever.

Clever.

Clever.

ESG in 5 Sustainability News - 18-08-2026

Aug 18
3 min read

From early-stage climate research to billion-dollar infrastructure and manufacturing commitments, this week’s ESG in 5 shows capital moving across every stage of the transition. Google is backing emerging carbon solutions, SSE and CIP are mobilising large pools of finance, Samsung is adapting battery capacity, and PepsiCo is reporting progress across emissions, agriculture, packaging and water.



Google offers $6m for climate breakthroughs.


Google is putting more than $6 million behind a new round of climate research, opening its 2026 Carbon Removal and Superpollutant Elimination R&D Awards to projects that could make emerging solutions more reliable and easier to scale.


The funding covers areas including ocean alkalinity enhancement, bioenergy with carbon capture, biochar, mangrove resilience, low-concentration CO2 capture, methane abatement and landfill monitoring. Most individual projects can apply for between $350,000 and $500,000, while up to $800,000 is available across two perennial-crop projects. Applications close on 25 September, with successful projects expected to receive funding by the end of 2026.



SSE's A$1bn green bond draws strong demand.


SSE's first move into the Australian bond market has attracted strong investor interest, raising A$1 billion, equivalent to around £520 million or $708 million, through green 'Kangaroo' bonds.


The deal combined an A$600 million five-year bond with a 5.6% coupon and an A$400 million ten-year bond paying 6.3%. Orders reached 2.5 times the amount on offer, producing the third-largest senior Kangaroo corporate orderbook on record. It is SSE's 12th green bond since 2017 and lifts the value of outstanding green bonds issued by the company and its subsidiaries to £5.9 billion.



CIP secures $3bn for growth-market renewables.


Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has secured $3 billion for its second Growth Markets Fund, giving it three times as much capital as its predecessor to invest in clean energy infrastructure.


The money will be directed towards large-scale projects across 15 high-growth, middle-income markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, including India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mexico and South Africa. The fund has already put $1.6 billion to work across nine investments, including a major battery project in Chile, solar and storage developments in Mexico and the Pestera II renewable energy project in Romania.



Samsung takes control of $3.5bn battery plant.


Samsung SDI is taking full control of the $3.5 billion SynergyCells battery project in Indiana by acquiring General Motors' 49.99% stake in the joint venture.


The New Carlisle plant was originally expected to produce 27-36 GWh of electric vehicle batteries each year from 2027. With EV demand growing more slowly than expected, Samsung will initially turn its attention to batteries for the fast-growing US energy storage market. The acquisition gives Samsung its first wholly owned battery manufacturing plant in North America, although the companies will continue developing next-generation prismatic cells together for possible future EV use.



PepsiCo charts progress across ESG goals.


PepsiCo's latest ESG update shows movement across several parts of its business, from emissions and renewable electricity to agriculture, packaging and water stewardship.


Against a 2022 baseline and including system contributions, the company reported cuts of 24% in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, 12% in Scope 3 energy and industry emissions and 18% in Scope 3 land and agriculture emissions. Renewable sources supplied 96% of electricity used by company-owned operations, equivalent to around 4,300 GWh. Elsewhere, PepsiCo expanded regenerative and related farming practices to 4.7 million acres, reduced virgin plastic use in key markets by 6% during 2025 and helped replenish around 35 billion litres of water.



bottom of page