Emperor Sustainability Briefing 28.08.2025

Issue #3

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Progress and deadlocks. 

While UK data centres and SBTi validations continue to grow at pace, plastic proves inflexible, with the latest round of talks stalling once again. Elsewhere, the UK government provides £500m for nature – while the country's environmental regs lag behind the EU's.

Small-cap and AIM-listed audiences will want to put our upcoming event in the diary. Details further down.

In this briefing...

SBTi boost – Data centre expansion

Plastic treaty collapses – UK environmental regs

£500m for nature – COP30 plans deadline

FCA loans progress

Standards and frameworks

SBTi sees surge in climate targets 

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has reported a 227% rise in companies setting near and long-term climate targets since the end of 2023. Asia is leading the way, with China more than tripling its number of validated companies to 450 in 18 months. Industrials, consumer goods and materials sectors are driving the uptake, with many companies now pushing their suppliers to follow suit. SBTi is also inviting automakers to pilot a draft of its flagship Corporate Net Zero Standard (CNZS) 2.0, unveiled earlier this year.

Despite the complexity of SBTi’s validation process – with CNZS 2.0 arguably increasing this complexity with how scope 3 has been re-approached – the popularity of the framework as the gold standard for target setting continues to stand firm. By the end of 2024, 41% of global market cap was covered by companies with approved targets, a strong signal that embedding emissions goals remains mainstream in corporate strategies.

Policy and regulation

UK data centre expansion escalates 

The number of data centres in the UK is set to increase by almost a fifth, adding to the estimated 477 centres already present. Most are due for completion by 2030, with the largest being a £10bn project near Newcastle set to boast 540,000 square meters of computing power upon completion. It’s no secret that concerns are growing globally on the amount of energy and water new data centres will consume (as covered in our last Briefing). Dublin, for one, has placed a moratorium on the building of any new data centres because of the strain being placed on the Irish grid. In the UK, data centres have been classified as critical national infrastructure, placing them on the same rung as emergency services and the healthcare system. The UK is already the nation with the third most data centres behind the US and Germany, with predictions that data centres could come to account for up to a tenth of Britain’s electricity demand by 2050.

Global plastic treaty talks collapse… again

The sixth round of UN-led negotiations to create a global treaty to end plastic pollution has once again ended in deadlock, with the 184 convening nations failing to reach an agreement on curbing global plastic production. Talks are now set to resume at a later date. Discussions were characterised by a push-and-pull between a pro-reductions group, including the UK and EU bloc, and a pro-recycling group formed of oil-producing nations. A draft treaty was rejected by constituents of parties for being too toothless on the one hand, and too extensive on the other. An American representative argued that the focus should be on reducing waste rather than reducing production – despite global recycling rates estimated to only be around 10%, with this number likely to prove difficult to raise. Stay tuned to the Briefing for updates on future talks – but unless positions shift, we may be recycling this story for a while.

UK lags EU on environmental rules, Guardian analysis finds

New analysis commissioned by The Guardian reveals the UK is falling behind the EU on environmental protections, following post-Brexit regulatory rollbacks. The research, conducted by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), shows that since Brexit while the EU has brought forward 28 new or revised pieces of environmental legislation, the UK has chosen not to adopt them. The UK has also regressed in legislation concerning nature restoration, water and air pollution, and recycling and the circular economy.

Despite some positive moves, like banning industrial sand eel fishing which could help save puffins from starvation, the UK’s decision to overrule the EU-derived habitats regulations now puts species including dormice, red squirrels and nightingales at risk.

Although the source is a commissioned piece, not a government report, the findings echo what many may have suspected around the gap between the UK’s environmental ambition and the EU’s.

£500m package to UK developers for nature restoration  

The UK Government has announced a £500 million developer-funded package to support planning reforms aimed at speeding up housing and infrastructure projects while funding nature restoration. This will back the Nature Restoration and Marine Recovery schemes and increase staffing at regulators like Natural England and the Environment Agency. The reforms, inspired by the Corry Review, include streamlining approvals, creating a digital planning portal and launching a Nature Market Accelerator to attract private investment. Critics, including conservation groups and the Office for Environmental Protection, warn that replacing site-specific assessments with pooled national funds could weaken safeguards and harm local ecosystems. Central to the debate is the Biodiversity Net Gain mandate, which requires projects to deliver a 10% increase in biodiversity – though ministers are considering easing requirements for smaller developments.

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Events

COP30: Deadline nears for updated climate plans

Brazil has called on all countries to submit updated climate plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), by the UN’s September 25th deadline ahead of COP30 in November. So far, only 28 nations have submitted, with major emitters such as China and the EU still outstanding. NDCs submitted on time are critical for the UN to compile its “synthesis report” ahead of COP, to assess progress on limiting global heating to 1.5°C.

André Corrêa do Lago, the veteran Brazilian diplomat who will preside over COP30, has stepped up diplomatic efforts as of late, and announced that NDC discussions will be included on the summit agenda to promote transparency and coordination. This new structure aims to mitigate the discussion gridlock which plagued COP29. Hosting the summit in Belém, a small city at the mouth of the Amazon, is already adding plenty of logistical challenges and scrutiny in the run up, including limited hotel capacity, high accommodation costs, and concerns over whether the airport is equipped to handle the influx of world leaders.

The discussions prompted annually around COP place renewed focus on the distinctions between commitment and action, with companies not escaping scrutiny – especially given the significant corporate presence at the conference. We’ll keep you updated on what are set to be the main talking points at this year’s meeting as they come into focus.

Finance

FCA shares positive update on the sustainability loans market 

Some positive noise out of the world of green finance this week, as UK financial regulator the FCA returned to a 2023 review of the sustainability-linked loans (SLL) market to find shoots of progress. Where it had found weaknesses in market integrity, credibility and incentives, the market has now matured despite headwinds, with loan KPIs now being of greater relevance and ambition. Additionally, banks are now showing more willingness to sanction underperforming loans, including declassifying them as ‘sustainable’ when criteria are no longer met. With the FCA looking to support the UK’s ambition as a hub for transition finance, it’s positive to see developments towards higher standards in the market.

One Number: 16.1 gigawatts 

The gigawatts increase set to be contributed to the UK across 323 newly approved renewable energy projects, corresponding to a 195% increase in permissions capacity compared to the same quarter last year.

The Short List

Oxford United’s new stadium is set to be the UK’s first all-electric stadium, an ambition supported by air source heat pumps and around 3,000m² of solar panels.

Co-Op has reopened and transformed its Soham store into a £1 million ‘sustainability showcase’, featuring energy-saving technologies like motion-activated fridge lighting, rooftop solar panels, real-time energy displays, while also using the site as a test bed for sustainable innovations to roll out across its estate.

Marks & Spencer has launched a resale partnership with eBay, allowing customers to buy second-hand M&S clothing online as part of its push to extend garment lifecycles and reduce fashion waste. 

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.