SustainabilityOnline: The Sustainability Brief – 16 September 2026

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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.

In other words, we scour the world for the most important sustainability news, so you don’t have to. Please also check out our homepage for today’s top stories. If you have a news story you’d like to send us, you can contact us here.

Ralph Lauren cuts absolute emissions 42% against FY20 baseline

Ralph Lauren has reduced absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 42% in FY26 against its FY20 baseline, exceeding its 2030 target of a 30% reduction. The luxury goods firm also increased the use of regeneratively grown and recycled cotton, with those materials accounting for less than 1% of global apparel cotton volume, while 79% of apparel units met at least two Circular Principles. Its distribution centres achieved a 93% waste-diversion rate.

Oracle invests in more than 1.7GW of Texas wind power

Oracle has announced investments in more than 1.7GW of wind-generation projects across 10 Texas projects involving Clearway Energy, ENGIE, RWE and Scout Clean Energy. Oracle estimates the projects will generate enough electricity annually to supply the equivalent of more than 525,000 US homes and avoid 1.8 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year compared with the ERCOT grid. “Oracle has set a goal to match 100 percent of AI data centre electricity use with carbon-free electricity by 2035,” said Mahesh Thiagarajan, executive vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. “This announcement marks measurable progress toward that goal.”

Grenergy reports €74m first-half profit and adds 395MW of Spanish projects

Spanish renewable-energy company Grenergy reported first-half 2026 revenue of €661 million, up 51%, EBITDA of €126 million, up 47%, and net profit of €74 million, up 112%. Capital expenditure reached €275 million, while the company announced 285MW of additional advanced-stage greenfield projects for Iberian Oasis and 110MW for Greenbox in Spain. Grenergy also announced a share-buyback programme of up to €50 million.

Organic farming and wildflower strips increase wheat-field biodiversity by up to 30%

Researchers from the University of Göttingen and collaborating institutions found that both organic farming and wildflower strips increased biodiversity by 20–30% compared with conventional winter-wheat farming. Organic fields produced approximately half the yield of conventional fields but generated profits 1.5 times higher. “Environmental measures such as organic farming and wildflower strips complement each other in their importance for biodiversity conservation, as they partly promote different species,” commented Professor Teja Tscharntke at Göttingen University’s Department of Agroecology and Functional Agrobiodiversity. “Combining these different measures is an important step toward agricultural landscapes with multiple functions.”

Holcim to deploy 20MWh thermal battery for industrial heat

Holcim has announced it will deploy a 20MWh Joule Hive thermal battery from Electrified Thermal Solutions as part of its industrial electrification programme. The system is designed to provide near-flame-temperature electric heat for a high-temperature industrial process, addressing applications where conventional electric heating cannot reach the temperatures required. “Electrifying high-temperature industrial heat is one of the advanced technologies we are incorporating in our decarbonization strategy, and this deployment allows us to evaluate its potential,” said Ram Muthu, head of operational excellence at Holcim.

NOVVA Group agrees to acquire 3.17GW renewable portfolio in Argentina

NOVVA Group has signed a binding framework agreement to acquire a 3.17GW renewable-energy portfolio in Argentina from German developer ABO Energy, according to reports. The portfolio will expand NOVVA’s Latin American renewable-energy pipeline and support its strategy of supplying renewable power to AI infrastructure and data centres. The agreement follows NOVVA’s acquisition of three solar projects from ABO Energy in Colombia earlier in 2026.

Antrique secures 150MW of long-term green power for Brunei AI infrastructure

Singapore-based Antrique Holdings has secured an initial 150MW of long-term green-energy capacity for an integrated AI infrastructure platform in Brunei Darussalam. The agreement provides access to green electricity for at least 20 years, with renewal provisions beyond the initial term. The power supply is intended to support AI and data-centre infrastructure as the company develops an integrated platform combining computing capacity, data-centre facilities and energy resources.

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