Sustainability Weekly 20-24 April 2026

Last week, Bureau Veritas announced the termination of certain contracts within its Government Services division following the discovery of breaches of its ethics & compliance framework. As part of the publication of its Sustainability Report 2025, ArcelorMittal presented a revised climate trajectory for 2030: the target for reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions has been lowered from -25% to -10% (vs 2018). EV registrations in the EU reached 21.8% in March (vs 17.1% last year, i.e., +26% YoY). Milieudefensie filed a new complaint against Shell, seeking to halt the development of new oil & gas fields and to impose emissions reductions after 2030. The growth in energy demand in 2025 will be met by a wide range of sources, primarily solar and then gas, according to the IEA. The IEA also predicts that AI will further stimulate the growth in energy demand from data centers, despite efficiency gains and increasing grid constraints. The rise of solar energy is slowing the increase in fossil fuel production, according to a new report from Ember. The European Commission presented its "AccelerateEU" plan to address the energy crisis. The Council of the European Union adopted its first-reading position on new genomic techniques (NGT). According to InfluenceMap, Bayer and BASF have differing views on their commitment to biodiversity policy. Global Canopy's Forest 500 report notes limited progress on corporate commitments to reducing deforestation. On the social side, Société Générale's new telecommuting charter is expected to be implemented despite employee reluctance. In governance, according to the IPE, American asset managers now manage 47% of European assets, while transatlantic disparities in governance are increasing.