ESG News - March 2026

👉 EU adopts first standards for permanent carbon removals

The European Commission has adopted its first voluntary certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals under the CRCF framework. Covering DACCS, BioCCS and biochar, the standards define what qualifies as a tonne of removal, set permanence requirements and address leakage and liability risks. Aimed at boosting credibility and investment, the framework provides clearer guardrails for carbon removal projects and markets. The rules are subject to parliamentary scrutiny and are expected to enter into force in April.

Source: ESG Today, 02/03/2026

👉 UK FCA proposes IFRS-aligned sustainability reporting from 2027

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has launched a consultation to significantly expand sustainability reporting requirements for listed companies from 2027, aligning disclosures with the IFRS-based UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). The proposal extends beyond climate to broader sustainability topics, introduces transitional relief for Scope 3 and general sustainability disclosures, and uses a “comply or explain” approach. For investors, the move aims to improve consistency, comparability and decision-useful sustainability information across UK and international markets.

Source: ESG Today, 02/02/2026

👉 EU Parliament backs 90% emissions reduction target by 2040

EU lawmakers have approved amendments to the EU Climate Law setting a 90% GHG reduction target by 2040, compared with 1990 levels. The agreement introduces flexibilities, including limited use of international carbon credits (up to 5%) and biennial reviews. For investors and financial institutions, the higher target reinforces long-term transition expectations across energy, industry and finance, while the added flexibility may temper short-term compliance pressures and carbon market dynamics.

Source: ESG Today, 02/10/2026

👉 France and Germany call for EU financial services simplification package

France and Germany have urged the European Commission to table a broad “financial services simplification package”, targeting duplicative reporting, overlapping cyber requirements and regulatory layering. The two countries advocate a “report once” principle to cut administrative costs. For banks and investors, this could ease compliance burdens and capital allocation constraints, with further proposals on prudential banking rules expected—potentially material for transition and defence financing capacity.

Source: La Tribune, 02/17/2026

👉 ISO launches global climate adaptation standard (ISO 14092:2026)

The International Organization for Standardization has released ISO 14092:2026, establishing a governance and planning framework for local climate adaptation. Aligned with ISO 14091 and 14093, the standard aims to strengthen risk assessment, accountability and access to adaptation finance. For investors and banks, it could enhance comparability of local resilience plans, improve due diligence on physical climate risk and support structured financing for adaptation projects aligned with Paris and SDG objectives.

Source: ESG News, 02/17/2026

👉 SEBI launches review of ESG ratings regime

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has formed a working group to review its regulatory framework for ESG Rating Providers, bringing together issuers, investors, ratings users, domestic and global providers, analysts and legal experts. The mandate includes assessing market feedback, benchmarking against international regimes and recommending measures to strengthen transparency and reliability. For investors and banks, revisions could affect due diligence processes, product structuring and cross-border comparability of ESG data in Indian capital markets.

Source: ESG Today, 02/23/2026

👉 EU narrows scope of Due Diligence rules

EU ministers have endorsed amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), reducing scope and extending timelines following inter-institutional negotiations. The directive will now apply to EU companies with over 5,000 employees and €1.5bn annual turnover, as well as non-EU firms generating equivalent EU turnover. Companies face fines of up to 3% of net global turnover for breaches. The narrower scope lowers compliance costs and liability exposure for mid-sized corporates, potentially moderating supply chain restructuring, risk provisioning and transition-related capital allocation across EU portfolios.

Source: ESG News, 02/24/2026

👉 California requires demographic reporting by venture capital firms

From 1 March 2026, venture capital firms with a business nexus to California must register with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under a new Venture Capital Companies Reporting Program. Covered entities investing in startup, early-stage or emerging growth companies must survey founding teams of portfolio companies to collect voluntarily provided demographic data. By 1 April 2026 and annually thereafter, firms must submit aggregated, anonymized data to the regulator, with reports published publicly, introducing new disclosure obligations affecting venture capital allocation transparency.

Source: DFPI, 03/01/2026

👉 California sets 2026 deadline for corporate climate disclosures

The California Air Resources Board has adopted implementing rules for the state’s climate disclosure laws, SB 253 and SB 261, setting 10 August 2026 as the first reporting deadline for corporate greenhouse gas emissions. Companies with over $1bn revenue doing business in California must annually disclose Scope 1, 2 and Scope 3 emissions, while firms above $500m revenue must publish climate-related financial risk reports. The regime extends mandatory climate reporting to thousands of U.S. corporates, increasing data availability for investors and lenders assessing transition exposure across supply chains.

Source: ESG Today, 03/02/2026

👉 A new Aviva Investors study of 500 institutions managing $6.5tn shows private markets entering a phase of consolidation rather than rapid expansion. Allocations have reached a record 12.5%, with investors prioritizing the illiquidity premium, diversification and long-term compounding, while sustainability is increasingly embedded into risk and underwriting rather than treated as a standalone driver.

Source: Aviva Investors, 02/2026

👉 Assets in SFDR Article 8 and 9 funds surpassed $10.2tn in 2025, up 23%, driven by inflows and capital gains, according to Morgan Stanley. While Article 8 funds saw strong net inflows, Article 9 equity funds recorded outflows and underperformed broader markets by 601bps, highlighting performance dispersion within sustainable strategies.

Source: ESG Today, 02/05/2026

👉 A new IPBES Business and Biodiversity report outlines over 100 actions to help companies, governments and financial actors assess and manage their impacts and dependencies on nature. The assessment stresses that biodiversity risks remain under-measured, limiting businesses’ ability to address material operational and financial exposures.

Source: IPBES, 02/09/2026

👉 UNEP FI has launched a new Impact Centre, consolidating its SDGs and impact work into a dedicated hub to help financial institutions align portfolios with international standards. The Centre will provide impact methodologies, interoperability tools, advisory support and industry convening to strengthen portfolio-level impact management.

Source: UNEP FI, 02/09/2026

👉 Brazil’s development bank has selected asset managers to deploy capital under its new climate investment programme, signalling growing public-private collaboration to scale transition finance in emerging markets. The initiative aims to channel institutional capital into climate-aligned strategies, reinforcing the role of development finance in crowding in private investors.

Source: New Private Markets, 02/03/2026

👉 Deutsche Bank has issued its first €500m green bond under the EU Green Bond (EuGB) “gold standard”, marking one of the early bank issuances aligned with the new regime. Proceeds must be fully allocated to EU Taxonomy-aligned activities, reinforcing stricter use-of-proceeds and anti-greenwashing safeguards as the EuGB framework gains traction.

Source: ESG Today, 02/11/2026

👉 The European Central Bank has fined Crédit Agricole €7.6m for failing to meet a supervisory deadline to assess the materiality of its climate-related and environmental risks. The penalty reflects a 75-day breach of ECB requirements and marks only the second climate-risk fine issued by the regulator, underscoring its escalating enforcement push to ensure banks fully integrate climate risks into governance and risk management frameworks.

Source: ESG Today, 02/16/2026

👉 Banque de France has launched a free online climate adaptation diagnostic tool to help companies assess their exposure to physical climate risks across their French operations. The platform maps risks from heat, cold, flooding, drought, wildfires and wind using interactive visuals and projections for 2030 (+2°C), 2050 (+2.7°C) and 2100 (+4°C), aiming to strengthen firms’ forward-looking resilience and climate risk preparedness.

Source: L'Info Durable, 02/13/2026

👉 Limited partners cite communication and information sharing (including reporting) as the fourth-largest source of friction with general partners among eight identified pain points. The finding highlights tensions around transparency and the flow of portfolio and fund-level data between GPs and institutional investors, at a time when reporting expectations and data demands are increasing across private markets.

Source: Private Equity International, 02/19/2026

👉 Private equity GPs report rising strain in fund administration, notably around regulatory reporting for complex, multi-jurisdiction structures. CFOs stress these exercises differ materially from financial reporting, carrying distinct financial and reputational risks. A core challenge is creating a single source of portfolio data that feeds consistently through administrators to LP disclosures as cross-border compliance demands expand.

Source: The Drawdown, 02/20/2026

👉 EY has launched a Sustainable Operating Blueprint aimed at integrating ESG into core strategy and operations rather than standalone reporting. The framework centres on leadership-level decision integration and operational systems alignment, targeting execution gaps between stated climate commitments and enterprise implementation. For investors, deeper governance integration and process-level embedding may influence transition risk management, capital allocation discipline and long-term value resilience across portfolio companies.

Source: ESG News, 02/19/2026

👉 Swedish insurer Länsförsäkringar is reviewing external asset managers’ climate commitments and may terminate mandates where alignment weakens. Managers are being asked to reaffirm participation in the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative or demonstrate equivalent alignment, including support for Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) frameworks. The asset owner said climate positioning will increasingly influence manager selection and retention, tightening expectations on transition targets, stewardship and portfolio decarbonisation across outsourced mandates.

Source: Responsible Investor, 02/27/2026

👉 Women represented 27% of UK-based investment professionals in private equity and venture capital in 2025, up from 24% in 2023, while their share of senior investment roles rose to 15% from 12%. Venture capital shows higher female representation across seniorities than private equity. The UK ranks behind only France and Sweden in female participation in investment teams across Europe, indicating gradual workforce diversification in buy-side investment functions.

Source: Level20, 02/27/2026

👉 Bpifrance has issued its first €1bn bond under the EU Green Bond (EuGB) standard, with proceeds allocated exclusively to EU Taxonomy-aligned activities including renewable energy, clean transport, waste management and green buildings in France. The issuance links funding directly to Article 9 climate mitigation objectives and requires full taxonomy verification, including technical screening criteria validated by Moody's.

Source: BPI France, 02/27/2026

👉 The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative has relaunched with more than 250 asset manager signatories following a year-long suspension, but under a revised commitment framework that removes mandatory portfolio alignment with net zero emissions by 2050 and interim targets. Members will now set their own climate objectives, implementation strategies and annual disclosures, reflecting a shift towards voluntary target-setting amid U.S. political scrutiny and withdrawals from several large asset managers.

Source: ESG Today, 02/25/2026