Emperor Sustainability Briefing 23.04.2026

Issue #19

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‘Kokushobi’

Japan’s new word for days of extreme heat, translating roughly to “cruelly hot”, or “brutally hot”. Coined by the country’s meteorological agency and chosen in an online survey, it’s a reminder that the terms we use are in a constant process of growth and re-evaluation. Words like greenwash, insetting and cleantech have all entered the sustainability lexicon in only the past few years, leaving us to wonder what might enter common parlance over the next decade. 

In this edition, a study had strong words for the MSC’s ‘blue tick’ for sustainable fishing, while GHG Protocol mulls introducing a new category into their scope 3 accounting framework. SBTi celebrate further growth, with 61% annual growth in companies setting net zero targets. 

Contents

ISO update – GHG Scope 3

Blue-tick criticism – Supply chain coalition

EU simplification

Reporting Highlight

Aberdeen Group have recently released their 2025 reporting suite, including their first Social Impact Report. Covering the company’s role in communities and work on financial education and wellbeing, we loved the Report’s stories around creating value for communities, and the consistent use of metrics to evidence social impacts.

Stories

Regulation and frameworks

ISO releases update to ISO 14001

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) have announced the release of ISO 14001:2026, the latest edition of their popular environmental standard. If your company is currently ISO 14001 certified, you’ll have to update to this newest version when you next seek certification – i.e. not immediately. The most widely used standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS), 14001 provides an internal framework for increasing efficiencies and achieving environmental frameworks, and is a quietly influential force in corporate sustainability. The 2026 edition is largely focused on streamlining and doesn’t change a huge amount, but is worth looking into if you are currently certified.

GHG Protocol considers scope 3 update, potential ‘category 16’

The GHG Protocol, which publishes the world’s leading carbon accounting standard, is currently underway with its revisions to its corporate accounting standards – with a recent progress update giving us insight into what might be in store for scope 3 accounting. 

One potential change is a requirement for reporting to cover a minimum of 95% of scope 3 emissions – in contrast to the current framework, which asks for “all” emissions to be reported, but for exclusions to be allowed if they are justifications. As well as potentially creating greater consistency, this ruling would likely see companies use the ignored 5% as a sort of ‘allowance’, enabling them to focus efforts on measuring the emissions that matter the most. 

The introduction of a new, optional category 16, expanding the existing 15, has also been suggested, with this acting as a mop-up category for ‘other’ value chain emissions. Insurance and underwriting activities may be moved to this category. We’ll continue to bring you updates to the GHG Protocol’s plans, with any material changes to the standard likely to be highly influential for the world of carbon accounting. 

Corporate

Something fishy about MSC’s ‘blue tick’, claims study

The Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) ‘blue tick’ certification, for certifying the sustainability of caught fish, has come under fire for alleged labour abuses on fishing vessels approved by the scheme. Researchers found that one in five vessels which saw abuses reported to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) in the last five years took place on approved ships. As the blue tick is only an environmental certification, and doesn’t cover social impacts such as forced labour, the criticism is slightly outside of the MSC’s remit – but still does damage to its image as an ethical sourcing verification. The news is a reminder that while certifications can be valuable markers of assurance, they aren’t a substitute for strong due diligence. To avoid being caught out, best practice will still depend on strong oversight on the supply chain. 

‘Cocoa Coalition’ teams up to protect EUDR

Officially known by the less catchy title of ‘the ‘EU Sustainable Supply Chains Coalition’, a new industry coalition has been formed with the initial goal of safeguarding the embattled EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The 20+ founding members include chocolate makers Mars, Nestle, Ferrero and Hershey’s, with the group calling for greater certainty and protections for EUDR – which suffered a last-minute delay at the end of 2025 – in order to support resilient supply chains. 

Despite not having been implemented yet, EUDR has already been somewhat influential for company deforestation policies, with a recent publication finding that 14% of the world’s most influential companies on deforestation cite the EUDR explicitly in documents related to deforestation commitments. 

Finance

ESG supervisory reporting simplified for EU banks 

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has proposed a major simplification of ESG supervisory reporting for banks as part of the EU’s broader regulatory burden‑reduction agenda. The changes would significantly reduce the volume of ESG data that banks must submit to supervisors, while maintaining a focus on decision‑useful risk information. 

For banks in Europe, streamlined standards are no doubt welcome as the complexity of their sustainability burdens grows. In the same week, Canadian banks RBC and Scotiabank ditched their 2030 emissions targets, citing government rollback on climate action as the main cause of their inability to meet targets. 

One Number

61%

The year-on-year increase in the number of companies who have had both near-term and net zero targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The largest rises came from the healthcare sector, while Asia was the region which grew the most in terms of target setting. 

Short list

Boeing have announced a 40,000-ton deal with nature-based soil removal solution provider Grassroots Carbon. 

Ahold Delhaize will implement Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), aiming to track, measure and address emissions of the products they sell. 

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.