With so much happening in the world of corporate sustainability, SustainabilityOnline has introduced The Sustainability Brief – a regular round-up of some of the top stories making headlines around the world.
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Brambles cuts Scope 1 and 2 emissions 36% against FY2020 baseline
Logistics firm Brambles reduced absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 36% and Scope 3 emissions by 16% against its FY2020 baseline, according to its 2026 Sustainability Review. The company also replaced 50% of virgin plastic purchases with circular materials or solutions, up from 41% in FY2025, and enabled regeneration of 10,000 hectares in South Africa’s Upper uThukela catchment.
Europe’s forests losing resilience as climate-related damage accelerates
A new eLTER policy brief says the rate at which European forests are damaged by drought, storms, wildfire and insect outbreaks has more than doubled over the past three decades, with climate-driven damage costing several billion euros annually. The brief calls for forest resilience to become a measurable European policy objective supported by long-term ecosystem observation. “The question is whether forests can maintain their functions, regenerate and adapt as conditions change. If we do not measure those processes, we cannot manage them,” commented Giorgio Vacchiano of the University of Milan.
QTS pledges $1bn for global water stewardship
QTS Data Centers has pledged $1 billion towards water infrastructure, conservation and watershed restoration as it targets becoming water positive by 2035. The company will continue using its Water-Free Cooling Design and says projects will include leak reduction, wetland restoration and irrigation-efficiency improvements. “Water is becoming a defining issue for the future of digital infrastructure,” commented Tag Greason and David Robey, Co-CEOs of QTS.
TÜV SÜD invests more than $24m in Singapore decarbonisation centre
TÜV SÜD has launched a Global Decarbonisation Centre of Excellence in Singapore with more than $24 million of investment supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, according to reports. The centre will develop digital measurement, reporting and verification infrastructure for carbon markets, including verification-ready carbon data and support for implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement across Southeast Asia.
SMT Energy commissions 160MW battery-storage facility in Texas
SMT Energy, FlexGen and Irby Construction have commissioned a 160MW utility-scale battery-storage facility in Houston, Texas. The project was delivered using pre-configured and laboratory-tested battery systems and FlexGen’s commissioning technology, with the companies completing the commissioning and energisation phase in six weeks. “Making a meaningful difference for the grid and our growing energy needs requires speed and excellence at every stage, from development and engineering through procurement, construction, commissioning, and ongoing operations,” commented Jason Rislov, senior vice president of operations at FlexGen.
UK research finds land-based aquaculture could offset 80% of protein loss from tree planting
University of Exeter researchers found that recirculating aquaculture systems could offset 80% of the protein production loss associated with the UK’s proposed 30,000 hectares of additional woodland, while requiring less than 1% of the land allocated to tree planting. Their modelling found that subsidising the upfront cost of one RAS facility produced the highest food-production and carbon-mitigation gain per pound of public funding.
Inox Solar Americas signs 800MW module supply agreement
Inox Solar Americas has signed an 800MW photovoltaic-module supply agreement covering two utility-scale projects of approximately 300MW and 500MW in Colorado and Georgia. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2027 and will use bifacial modules manufactured through the company’s US platform. The agreement follows a separate 767MW order announced the previous week, taking the two contracts to approximately 1.57GW of module supply.
Japanese survey finds biodiversity framing less politically divisive than climate framing
A survey of 1,133 people in Japan by researchers at Yokohama National University has found that support for environmental policies varied less by cultural worldview when measures were framed around biodiversity conservation than when explicitly framed around climate change. Relational values of nature were associated with stronger support across climate, climate-linked biodiversity and stand-alone biodiversity measures, the study found, while hierarchical worldviews were least supportive of climate-focused measures.
