The REP Wrap: Caterpillar providers update on 2030 targets
Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.
Caterpillar has revealed mixed progress when it comes to its 2030 sustainability targets. The machinery giant says it’s achieved its goal of making all new products in 2025 “more sustainable than the previous generation”. It is three quarters of the way towards its 2030 water target, but has made less progress on cutting injuries and waste. The company also named its former vice president of technology and customer engagement, Ebban Clause, as its new chief sustainability and strategy officer.
Law firm Ropes & Gray has published a summary of significant greenwashing litigation in the US in the first part of 2026. The document covers actions by governmental actors, private plaintiffs and shareholders, in a year it says “will shape the trajectory of greenwashing litigation”.
The Financial Conduct Authority has assessed current practices among credit ratings agencies when it comes to ESG considerations. The UK regulator noted inconsistencies and a lack of transparency in some cases. It comes shortly after 23 US State Attorneys General wrote to Moody’s, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings alleging that they downgraded the credit ratings of fossil fuel companies “based on highly speculative ESG predictions and goals”. The letters warned that considering climate risks in credit ratings could constitute a breach of various laws.
Demand for carbon removals is likely to outstrip supply by 2030, according to a new report from French firm ClimeFi. It claims that a combination of stricter rules around greenwashing, more prescriptive regulatory positions on net zero, and the development of voluntary frameworks for carbon markets will drive up demand for some credits by the end of the decade.
The European standards agency CEN-CENELEC has signed off on new guidance to help national and EU-wide standard setters integrate climate adaptation considerations into all the standards they produce. The body is also looking at similar guidance for the users of standards, including companies.