This week we are diving into 5 stories highlighting insights from collaborative action in climate policy, decarbonising steel, nature recovery funding, rainwater management, and protection of rivers.
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Net zero targets depend partly on public policy and infrastructure no single company directly controls. This Oxford Smith School brief, drawn from 26 interviews and five case studies, shows how leading companies engage on climate policy despite political headwinds. Echoing the companies interviewed, the brief recommends combining direct policy engagement with influencing trade associations and forming coalitions, which can build broader support for policy asks. Discover the six factors for success, written as questions to test your strategy, starting with whether it ties to what your climate plan depends on. [Read more]
Steel causes 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet cutting them has long been treated as a challenge for suppliers, not buyers. Through Climate Group’s SteelZero, 44 companies signal demand to steelmakers by committing to use 100% net zero steel by 2050. SteelZero’s 2026 impact report says this has changed how markets behave, including investment planning. For example, Ørsted secured first access to steelmaker Dillinger’s lower emission steel, and says such early signals help suppliers invest. Across SteelZero, members buy commercial volumes of lower emission steel, in some cases cutting emissions by 40% or more. [Read more]
Nature recovery is needed at a scale public funding alone cannot deliver. Businesses can support that recovery through Projects for Nature, which connects corporate donations with government-screened projects in England delivered by groups such as the Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust. To avoid greenwashing, your business is checked to ensure its funding comes on top of cutting your emissions and your harm to nature. Multi-year corporate involvement was central to the platform helping mobilise more than £800,000 of private funding, showing the impact of long-term partnerships. Discover how to register your interest and explore screened projects. [Discover here]
Sustainable drainage, such as rain gardens, reduces rainwater entering sewers, helping cut flood risk and storm overflow spills. Yet a water company’s legal powers cover pipes and sewers, not sustainable drainage, so it must partner with councils and landowners. United Utilities’ first-year lessons report describes how its umbrella agreement with councils settles who designs, delivers, funds, owns and maintains each project. To help fund such projects, councils can apply to United Utilities’ Sustainable Water Fund. For example, a Warrington Council scheme used £400,000 from the fund and £490,000 from the Environment Agency, removing flood risk for 62 properties. [Read more]
Droughts in 2018, 2019 and 2025 disrupted Scotch whisky production, highlighting the role of water-dependent industries in funding healthier rivers. Chivas Brothers and three River Trusts work together in The River Within, a five-year restoration partnership. The three River Trusts lead project delivery, and Chivas Brothers provides a budget they bid into for project development and delivery, plus an annual, inflation-linked management fee. One charity calls this fee “the game-changer”. It helps the River Trusts plan ahead and build a robust pipeline of future projects. Within two years, the partnership delivered 13 projects and unlocked more than £150,000 in co-funding. [Discover here]
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