Emperor Sustainability Briefing 22.10.26

Issue #32

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Art of the possible

While the scope of companies’ sustainability considerations is always widening, there are also more tools and support available than ever before. In this Edition alone we feature an upgraded nature framework, a new textiles coalition, and further guidance from the EU on green finance. The more that challenges proliferate, the more that novel approaches will raise their heads to meet them.

One enterprise taking a new route is Claude developer Anthropic, who has launched a public benefit fund to help address AI-affected populations. Elsewhere, a new apparel report sheds some light on garment supply chains. 

In this Briefing… 

Apparel analysis – PFAS pans

Anthropic fund – TNFD LEAP

WRAP report – ESMA guidance

Regulation and frameworks

TNFD announces release of LEAP 2.0; celebrates further adoption

The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the most widely known and used framework supporting companies to act and disclose on their nature impacts, has released its first update to its core guidance. The “Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare” approach, or “LEAP”, sits at the heart of the framework as the four steps companies should follow when assessing the relationship of their business activities to nature. LEAP 2.0 is a small hop rather than a big jump (!) but integrates updates and improvements based on market feedback. Companies can employ the new guidance from now. If you use TNFD internally, or disclose using it, the considerations of LEAP 2.0 should be incorporated into your approach.

In a recent update, TNFD also celebrated a 14% increase in adopters in the past year, marking 836 organisations across 57 countries now utilising the framework.

WRAP launches industry-wide drive to transform textile collection and recycling

Environmental organisation WRAP has launched its new Textiles Collection Transition Programme, an initiative aimed at addressing the recycling of used textiles. The programme is backed by funding from NEXT, Primark and Tesco, and follows research showing that 49% of used textiles in the UK, around 546,000 tonnes a year, are currently disposed of in household residual waste.

The initiative is worth looking at if your business is involved in the textile supply chain, as the stories and outputs may be worthwhile material for you. The next stage of WRAP’s programme will focus on stakeholder engagement and co-design workshops, feeding into a UK sector-wide blueprint due in 2027.

Corporate 

Most major apparel brands still behind on supply chain payments practices 

Only 4 out of 110 major clothing brands report that a living wage is being paid at any level of their supply chain, according to the latest edition of the Clean Clothes Campaign's Fashion Checker. According to the checker, overall transparency is improving, with 41% of brands disclosing at least some supplier facility data (up from 13% in 2020), but just 3% currently disclose wage levels. Worker survey data also reveals significant pay gaps compared to living wages, with garment workers in Pakistan and Bangladesh notably earning nearly 75% less than their country’s living wage.

The findings suggest there is a lot of work still to be done ahead of incoming supply chain regulation such as the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Of the brands assessed, 30 are expected to fall within the scope of the CSDDD, yet the report suggests most are currently unable to demonstrate meaningful progress on wage transparency or living wage delivery.

With supply chain transparency and accountability becoming a legal obligation rather than a voluntary commitment, many major fashion brands may have to put in further work to meet increasing scrutiny and due diligence requirements.

Campaigners turn up the heat on PFAS frying pans

Three environmental groups – including ClientEarth – have put Groupe SEB (the manufacturer behind Tefal) on legal notice over its continued use of PFAS in some of its non-stick cookware. PFAS, or Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are long-lasting chemical substances which are part of the group sometimes known as “forever chemicals”.

While ClientEarth is an activist group and this kind of intervention is its stock-in-trade, it does put a spotlight on the wider pressures around PFAS. The European Commission is expected to bring forward a proposal on restricting PFAS in early 2027, following a final report from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) due in December.

The case also shows where campaigner attention is moving. ClientEarth has pursued PFAS action before, including a human rights complaint against Belgium over PFAS pollution, but the focus here is on a company at the end of the chain rather than on chemical producers. The argument is that businesses using PFAS in their products have a role to play in showing that a PFAS-free market is possible, and that understanding the risks of a substance like PTFE means looking at its whole value chain, including manufacture and disposal.

Claude developer Anthropic launches “Public Benefit Fund”

A little bit different, but we thought worth including for you: Anthropic, the developer behind popular AI platform Claude, has committed 5% of its shares to the “Anthropic Public Benefit Fund”. The aims of this fund are a little bit vague as it stands, but the developer suggests it may use the money to address “labor market impacts” created by AI uptake. While much of the criticism of AI focuses on the environmental and land use impacts created by data centres, Anthropic’s commitment of funds to worker instability is a direct way to address one of AI’s other big impacts – even if it comes across as very ‘Silicon Valley’!

Responsible AI usage is fast emerging as a significant sustainability topic for many companies, particularly those in the tech space. If you’re wondering about how to talk about AI externally, be in touch with the team at Emperor and we’d be happy to discuss. 

Short List

Suntory – the company behind Lucozade and Ribena – has released a climate transition plan, targeting a 90% reduction in emissions and placing a special focus on packaging.

South Korea has launched its new Korean Green Transformation Strategy, catchily named “K-GX”, and plans planning to invest around $750bn in industrial decarbonisation, energy and mobility.

Finance

EU’s ESMA publishes guidance on sustainability-related claims 

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued new guidance to investment funds on making sustainability-related claims about funds and bonds. The regulator said firms making claims around concepts such as “impact”, “ESG”, “sustainable investing” or “climate transition” must ensure these statements are clear, fair and not misleading.  

The publication is a “thematic note”, i.e. guidance and recommendations, rather than a new legislation. However, it aligns with the EU’s broader clampdown on “generic” sustainability statements, which the EU’s EmpCo legislation (covered in the previous Briefing) also addresses. 

The full guidance includes a useful list of “Dos” and “Don’ts” to show examples of strong and weak practices, warning against exaggerated or unsubstantiated sustainability claims and stressing the need for firms to align marketing materials with the actual characteristics, objectives and investment strategies of their products.

One Number

10%

The UK Government has set an ambition to increase the share of English land farmed organically to 10% by 2036, according to its new Organic Action Plan. Organic principles are one of the main routes available for improving the nature characteristics of farmed land, while reducing agricultural emissions.

To discuss any of these topics in more detail or speak to one of our Sustainability team about how to better your corporate sustainability efforts, email [email protected] -we'd love to hear from you.