Sustainability news of April 2026

Welcome back to ‘Sustainability in motion’. In this edition, we cover:

Inspire – Going Gold: Learning from Pala Group’s EcoVadis success story
Educate – Supplier due diligence processes to unlock ESG transparency
Share – Springtime at Nexio: Earth day & workshop with HEC students
Regulatory focus – Get ready for reporting: CDP released its 2026 questionnaire & guidance

Can an automotive and motorcycle dealer be a frontrunner in sustainability?

Pala Group is one of the largest BMW and MINI dealers in the Netherlands, and the only one to hold an EcoVadis Gold medal. Their journey started with a first assessment in 2023, using EcoVadis as a practical way to build a sustainability management system and translate ambition into day-to-day action.

What was the challenge?

Pala Group wanted to lead on sustainability, but as a dealer, the question was: What can we really influence beyond the products we sell?

How did Nexio Projects help conquer it?

By turning EcoVadis into a clear, step-by-step system: Align on what “good” looks like, structure the evidence (policies → actions → results), and build a repeatable approach instead of a one-off submission.

What are the real outcomes?

First EcoVadis assessment → Silver
Kept improving year over year → EcoVadis Gold in 2026
Sustainability shifted from “a project” to a management mindset, embedded in decisions and operations

What stands out is that mindset shift:

From upgrading showrooms and workshops with energy and efficiency improvements to strengthening the social side of ESG through a growing focus on wellbeing and development, Pala Group shows what steady, step-by-step progress looks like.

Why supplier due diligence is now a must

In most industries, 80%+ of an organisation’s sustainability footprint sits in the supply chain. That means the biggest ESG risks are often upstream, and can’t be solved with internal policies alone.

The risks hiding in plain sight

Scope 3 emissions can represent ~90% of total company emissions. Human rights risks (incl. forced/child labour) often sit multiple tiers beyond Tier 1. Deforestation is strongly linked to agricultural supply chains. All of these attest to the importance of building a strong supplier due diligence programme for your business.

The “regulatory cascade” effect (even if you’re not in scope)

A common misconception: “This law doesn’t apply to us.”

In reality, regulations trigger buyer requirements that travel through supply chains. So even if your organisation isn’t directly in scope yet, your customers may already demand evidence, transparency, and controls.

What good due diligence looks like with the OECD cycle

Think system, not checklist:

5 pitfalls to avoid

One-off, annual “checkbox” exercises
Same long questionnaire for every supplier
Weak corrective action plans with no owner & evidence
No link to sourcing decisions
Poor change management

Interested to dive deeper? Watch our on-demand session

Spring was full of movement in our offices

This spring, our Rotterdam office was buzzing with guests from HEC Paris MBA for a tailored workshop, and Salacia Solutions, Klabu & Rainforest Allience for our collaborative Earth Day activities. Let’s look back to the key highlights:

HEC Paris MBA workshop

We loved welcoming the HEC Paris MBA cohort to our Rotterdam office for an ESG-focused case challenge on Tony’s Chocolonely’s expansion into the U.S. market.

Led by our team, teams worked across supply chain, strategy, product innovation, and sustainability. We connected ambition with real-world business decisions and sharing thoughtful ideas for responsible growth.

Earth Day: Rolling up our sleeves for tangible impact

Earth Day was all about putting sustainability into action. We partnered with Salacia Solutions under the theme of “Our Power, Our Planet.”

From learning about Klabu’s mission to make sports accessible in refugee camps, to a pro bono workshop supporting Rainforest Alliance, the day was full of teamwork and real movement.

CDP 2026 is here: Questionnaire & guidance out

CDP has released the 2026 questionnaire, and the 2026 scoring methodology is expected to follow imminently. The direction is clear: broader coverage, deeper nature integration, and more emphasis on resilience.

What’s changed in the 2026 questionnaire

Ocean enters the questionnaire for the first time
Forests scoring expands to cover 7 commodities with more granular deforestation expectations
Water reporting sharpens with clearer, more specific disclosure expectations
SME track evolves with dedicated nature modules and A-score pathway
Adaptation is threaded throughout the questionnaire with less “nice-to-have”s and more “core lens”

What this means in practice

Complexity: Evolving topics & questionnaire will require more internal owners across climate, nature, water, procurement, operations & finance.
More integration: Climate and nature disclosures increasingly connect through dependencies, risks and transition actions

How to prepare?

Sign up to Nexio Projects’ webinar where our experts will show you a successful submission process from A to Z, with this year’s new questionnaire and scoring methodology.

Our experts will be there to answer questions and take on the reporting burden in the upcoming cycle.