News in the spotlight: NTT Data and Engie expand clean energy pact for data centers
ENGIE has signed a 15-year renewable power purchase agreement with Apple in Italy, covering a new 173 MW portfolio of projects in southern Italy.
Products and Services
Nesta Trust moves assets to Amundi to strengthen climate-aligned investing
The Nesta Trust has divested its GBP 120mn passive global equity portfolio from Northern Trust Asset Management, transferring the mandate to European asset manager Amundi. Representing over a quarter of Nesta’s GBP 420mn endowment, this move delivers a clear commercial consequence for asset managers retreating from climate commitments. The decision directly follows Northern Trust’s withdrawal from the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI) and Climate Action 100+ (CA100+)—part of a broader trend of US financial institutions stepping back from collective climate action. In contrast, Amundi has maintained its membership in both initiatives. Nesta Trust’s Chief Investment Officer, Jenny Segal, emphasized that climate risk translates to economic risk, making it an asset manager’s fiduciary duty to support climate action to protect portfolio growth. By publicly shifting mandates, Nesta signals to the market that asset owners will not silently accept the roll-back of climate commitments and are prepared to move capital to enforce stewardship standards.
Regulations, Law and Frameworks
ISO and GHG protocol to develop unified carbon accounting standard
ISO and the GHG Protocol have announced a strategic partnership to harmonize their greenhouse gas accounting standards and develop new joint standards. The aim is to reduce fragmentation in carbon reporting and create a single, more consistent global framework for emissions measurement and disclosure. Under the agreement, the two bodies will align ISO’s 1406X climate standards with the GHG Protocol’s Corporate Accounting and Reporting, Scope 2 and Scope 3 standards, then publish them as co-branded international standards. They also plan to jointly develop a product carbon footprint standard, reflecting rising demand for granular value-chain emissions data. The partnership is meant to make it easier for companies, investors and policymakers to work with one common methodology instead of overlapping systems. It covers corporate, project and product-level carbon accounting, with the first joint working group already being set up to begin technical work on product-level accounting. The announcement marks a shift toward a unified global language for carbon accounting. For companies, the practical goal is fewer conflicting rules, better comparability across markets and a clearer basis for decarbonization decisions and disclosure.
ACRA opens consultation on sustainability disclosure standards
Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has opened a public consultation on its draft Singapore Sustainability Disclosure Standards, running until October 25, 2026. Developed by the Interim Sustainability Standards Committee, the proposed framework aligns with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) baseline but includes critical local adjustments. ACRA is explicitly adopting a “climate-first” approach. Under the draft, compliance with SFRS S2—the standard governing climate-related financial disclosures—will become mandatory for scoped companies. However, SFRS S1, which dictates broader non-climate ESG disclosures, will remain entirely voluntary. To ease corporate implementation, the localized standards also incorporate tailored transition reliefs and require a formal statement of compliance. To support market readiness and data credibility, ACRA simultaneously released the Sustainability Assurance Body of Knowledge (SA BOK). This framework outlines core competencies required for assurance providers, complementing existing government subsidies that offset up to 90% of training costs and provide grants for first-time ISSB-aligned reporting.
ESG Data and Analytics
CDP launches AI Tool to speed sustainability reporting
CDP has launched an AI-powered “Suggested Response” feature to help companies prepare environmental disclosures faster and with less manual work. The tool scans existing documents such as annual reports and sustainability reports, extracts relevant information, and drafts suggested answers inside the CDP platform. The feature is optional and does not replace company review. Disclosers remain responsible for checking, editing and submitting responses, with CDP saying the aim is to support human judgment rather than automate disclosure end-to-end. Early testing showed disclosure preparation time fell by an average of 40%, while response and completion rates increased by 25% and response depth improved by 60%. CDP says the feature is designed to improve efficiency without weakening the comparability, transparency and rigor of its disclosure system. The rollout began on 23 July 2026 and is available to all disclosers in the 2026 cycle, following early access by nearly 800 customers. CDP positions the feature as a practical way to help companies reuse existing data and focus more on quality control than on manual data extraction.
Net Zero Commitments
NTT Data and Engie expand clean energy pact for data centers
ENGIE has signed a 15-year renewable power purchase agreement with Apple in Italy, covering a new 173 MW portfolio of projects in southern Italy. The assets include two wind farms, one wind repowering project and two agrivoltaic plants, all already permitted and due to enter service between 2026 and 2027. The projects are expected to generate more than 400 GWh of electricity a year. Under the deal, 80% of that output will be supplied to Apple, while the remaining 20% will go into the Italian grid, enough to cover the annual electricity use of about 30,000 households. ENGIE says the agreement strengthens its renewable pipeline in Italy and supports its strategy of deploying diversified large-scale clean power. The company estimates the projects will avoid more than 160,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year, while Apple secures long-term renewable electricity for its operations in the country.