ESG in 5 Sustainability News - 26-10-2026

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This week’s ESG in 5 looks at tighter scrutiny of recycling claims, Google’s 1GW virtual power plant deal, fresh funding for compact fusion, the EIB’s €30bn climate adaptation target and living-wage gaps across the fashion industry.

Danone agrees to clarify plastic bottle recycling claims.

Danone has agreed to change recycling claims on its plastic water bottles following an EU consumer-protection process prompted by a 2023 complaint from BEUC and member organisations. The company joins Coca-Cola and Nestlé in committing to clarify claims such as “100% recycled” by stating that caps and labels are excluded.

The companies will also avoid wording that suggests bottles can repeatedly return to bottle-to-bottle recycling, and must ensure labels and digital marketing do not overstate environmental benefits. National consumer authorities will monitor compliance. The move comes as tougher EU anti-greenwashing rules increase scrutiny of broad environmental claims made to consumers.

Google backs 1GW virtual power plant with Voltus.

Google has expanded its agreement with energy technology company Voltus to fund a 1GW virtual power plant across the PJM electricity grid in the US. The network will aggregate flexible capacity from homes and businesses, including batteries, smart thermostats and industrial equipment, and temporarily reduce energy use when the grid is under pressure.

The deal is ten times larger than the 100MW agreement announced in June. PJM serves around 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C. Participating customers are expected to receive bill savings or cash payments, while Google says the arrangement will help support grid reliability as electricity demand from data centres grows.

Cambridge Heavy Industries raises $6.2m for compact fusion reactor.

Cambridge Heavy Industries has raised $6.2 million in seed funding to build its first compact fusion reactor at its facility in Massachusetts. The MIT spinout is developing laser-based systems designed to create fusion-relevant conditions using smaller, commercially available equipment, with the funding covering an ultrafast laser, optical components, neutron diagnostics and team expansion.

The company’s immediate focus is not commercial electricity generation. It plans to use the technology to produce tritium and other rare isotopes, with fusion power described as a longer-term goal. Cambridge Heavy Industries says its compact approach could allow much faster testing cycles than conventional large-scale fusion projects, although the technology remains at an early development stage.

EIB doubles climate adaptation financing target to €30bn.

The European Investment Bank Group has set a target to provide at least €30 billion for climate adaptation between 2026 and 2030, double the amount delivered over the previous five years. The plan will combine financing, guarantees and advisory support for projects designed to prepare for heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods.

Priority areas include energy networks, public buildings, water systems, climate-resilient agriculture and adaptation technologies such as cooling and water-saving systems. The EIB says stronger project preparation and technical support will be used to help turn climate-risk data into investable projects, including for smaller businesses. The commitment is a financing target, rather than money already deployed.

Most major fashion brands still fall short on living wages.

Only four of 110 major clothing brands report that workers receive a living wage at any level of their supply chains, according to the latest Fashion Checker assessment from Clean Clothes Campaign. While 41% of brands disclose some supply-chain facility data, only 3% disclose wage levels and 32% have made a public living-wage commitment.

Worker surveys cited by the campaign found large gaps between actual and living wages, including 73% in Bangladesh and 74% in Pakistan. The findings are increasingly relevant to governance and supply-chain due diligence, with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive set to bring living-wage obligations into scope for some large companies from 2029.