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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EU commits €125.8m to cross-border renewable-energy projects
The European Commission has approved €125.81 million in Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding for three cross-border renewable-energy projects. Two projects involve German-Polish district heating, while another supports the development of a cross-border onshore wind park near the Latvia-Lithuania border. The funded actions include grid connections and wind-turbine installation and are intended to increase renewable generation while strengthening energy integration between EU member states.
UK launches £30m community clean-energy funding programme
Great British Energy has opened £30 million of funding for local authorities and community energy groups to develop projects including rooftop solar, community wind and hydropower. The funding is the first allocation from a planned £1 billion programme intended to support more than 1,000 ‘People’s Power’ clean-energy projects across the UK. “Whether it’s solar panels on a local library or a community-owned wind farm, we’re letting people decide what clean energy projects they want and making sure they feel the benefits of the clean energy transition in their pockets too,” commented prime minister Andy Burnham.
Ravel raises $8.2m for blended-textile recycling technology
Seattle-based Ravel has raised $8.2 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by One Small Planet, with participation from AP Ventures, Overlay Capital and Lichen Ventures. The company will use the funding to advance its textile-to-textile recycling technology, which is designed to recover materials from difficult blended fabrics such as polyester/elastane. “Ravel offers a rare opportunity in recycling: a clear pathway to producing recycled materials that are cheaper than their virgin counterparts,” commented One Small Planet’s Jack Wielebinski.
Avnos launches factory-built direct-air-capture module
Avnos has introduced the HDAC Module, its first standardised, factory-built product line for infrastructure-scale hybrid direct-air capture. The system can use low-grade waste heat from data centres to provide cooling support, produce clean water and remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. The company says standardised manufacturing is intended to reduce capital costs as additional module configurations are introduced for data centres and other infrastructure applications.
KRICT develops biodegradable-plastic reinforcement from waste hemp
Researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT)have developed a method using cellulose extracted from discarded industrial-hemp stalks as a reinforcing material for biodegradable plastics. The process preserves the cellulose’s microfibrillar structure during drying, allowing it to act as a biofiller. The researchers say the approach could also be applied to other agricultural residues, including soybean stalks and rice straw.
Advancion reports lower emissions, energy, water and waste intensity
Advancion has released its 2025 Corporate Sustainability Report, reporting reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, energy consumption, water use and waste intensity across its major manufacturing operations against its 2020 baseline. The company also says approximately 54% of 2025 revenue came from products that promote health, reduce waste or provide environmental benefits.
Greenvolt Next begins 12MW Cork solar-farm construction
Greenvolt Next has begun construction of a 12MW solar farm at Barryscourt, County Cork, for Irish renewable-energy developer Voltclub, according to reports. Almost 20,000 solar panels will be installed, with completion expected in September 2027. PTSB is providing project finance.
Google signs green-steel environmental attribute deal with Stegra
Google has agreed to purchase environmental attribute certificates linked to near-zero-emissions steel from Stegra’s planned steel plant in Boden, Sweden. Stegra’s facility is designed to use green hydrogen and renewable electricity to produce steel with substantially lower emissions than conventional production. The agreement is intended to provide demand for lower-emissions steel while Google addresses embodied emissions associated with construction of its expanding data-centre infrastructure.