Sustainability Weekly 16-20 March 2026

Last week, ESG newsflow was primarily driven by the European regulatory agenda. The Platform on Sustainable Finance published its recommendations as part of the European Commission’s consultation on the ESRS, while Reclaim Finance proposed changes to SRD II. On the environmental front, debate around the EU ETS gained further momentum, with continued newsflow on a possible overhaul of its architecture, while airlines called for a revision of ReFuelEU and the EU ETS. At the same time, the World Economic Forum identified 50 nature-positive investment opportunities, estimated to represent a $10tn market by 2030. On the controversies front, Accor came under attack from a short seller over its human rights practices, allegations the group denies while launching both internal and external reviews. In the US, TotalEnergies could see proposed settlements amounting to $1bn by the US administration, affecting two offshore wind projects. On the social side, Meta is reportedly planning a 20% workforce reduction, partly to fund AI capex. Finally, on the governance front, TotalEnergies will propose changes to the age limits for the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Shareholder for Change’s annual report also points to the growing importance of climate, human rights and supply chain issues in shareholder engagement.