Top 10 Most-Read Trellis Stories of 2025

Below is our annual roundup of Trellis’ most-read sustainability stories of the year. Our coverage spans corporate climate progress, regulatory changes, methane breakthroughs, hot climate-tech startups and more. 

It includes timely deep dives into SBTi’s net-zero overhaul, Google’s record-setting biochar carbon-removal deal and a data-driven look at corporate progress toward 2030 climate goals. Plus: the year’s 25 climate-tech startups to watch.

The ranking, starting with No. 10, is based on readership — article views, time spent and interaction depth — as well as our own editorial judgment. Read through to No. 1 for the Trellis article that got the most attention this year.

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And now, the top 10: 

10.  Inside Patagonia’s comprehensive plan to counter rising emissions

Trellis Editor at Large Heather Clancy examines an uncomfortable reality: Even values-driven companies like Patagonia are struggling to reduce emissions fast enough. Her inside look shows how Patagonia is confronting rising emissions tied to growth, materials and supply chains.

This is a candid case study of a challenge many sustainability leaders now face: reconciling climate ambition with operational complexity in a decisive decade.

9. Trump is trying to kill the renewable energy industry. Here’s how to fight back

Jigar Shah, former director of the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Offices, and Arnab Pal, founder of a non-profit working on U.S. clean energy deployment, write about actions that companies, investors and state regulators can take to get renewable deployment on track, even during the Trump administration.

The article covers how state-level clean energy standards, corporate procurement deals and long-term power contracts can blunt federal disruption, plus what industry groups are preparing for in 2026.

8. How Google and an Indian startup struck the largest biochar carbon removal deal ever

Google signed a landmark offtake agreement to buy 100,000 tons of carbon removal from Varaha’s biochar project in Gujarat — the largest-ever industrial biochar deal to date, writes carbon markets expert Margaret Morales. 

The deal signals growing corporate investment in alternative carbon-removal pathways and stands out as a test case for whether large-scale carbon removal can move beyond niche pilots to industrial-scale deployment.

7. SBTi proposes more flexibility in 132-page net-zero overhaul

The Science Based Targets initiative released a sweeping draft update to its Corporate Net-Zero Standard, proposing more flexibility for companies while tightening rules around validation and verification. 

In this article, Heather Clancy explains how the revision would reshape the way companies set near- and long-term targets and address residual emissions. 

6. Trump era chaos: A timeline of government climate moves since Jan. 20

Our ongoing tracker maps the shifting landscape of U.S. federal energy and climate policy under the Trump administration — and what it meant for the business of sustainability — in 2025. 

On the timeline: a cascade of federal rollbacks on fuel economy, emissions rules and clean energy programs that have reshaped U.S. climate policy, and how legal pushback and state actions have emerged as counterweights to those moves.

5. Meet the Trellis 30 Under 30 climate leaders of 2025

The 10th annual Trellis 30 Under 30 spotlights young professionals who are driving real climate progress inside major companies across sectors like supply-chain decarbonization, circular economy, data infrastructure and sustainable finance. Companies they work for include Expedia, Kohler, Patagonia and UPS.

This was also among the most shared and commented on stories when it was posted on LinkedIn. 

4. Companies behind dairy industry’s first methane targets show early success

Danone announced it has cut methane emissions from its fresh-milk supply by 25 percent since 2020, putting it on track to meet its target of a 30 percent reduction by 2030 under the Dairy Methane Action Alliance, writes Trellis Editor at Large Jim Giles. 

Key takeaways: Better manure management and improved nutrition have helped reduce methane emissions. Other tools are still needed to reach the 30% across-the-globe target.

3. Chasing Net Zero: A case-by-case look at corporate progress on 2030 climate goals

Launched in 2025, our Chasing Net Zero series is a case-by-case look at corporate progress toward 2030 climate commitments. 

Authors Jim Giles, Heather Clancy and Saul Hansell covered how Nestlé is progressing toward halving emissions, ArcelorMittal’s struggle to reach 2030 climate goals and how AI pushed Salesforce to reset its targets.

Taken together, the series is among our most read reports this year. The team will continue producing case studies of corporate net-zero strategies and useful management takeaways in 2026.

2. 25 climate tech startups to watch in 2025

This list, compiled by Trellis Director of Climate Innovation Jake Mitchell, highlights 25 promising early-stage companies innovating across five sectors: land use and carbon, energy, transport, industry and nature. 

Among them: DexMat, which creates a lighter, stronger and more flexible alternative to metal with a far lower footprint, was voted the top climate startup of 2025 by the audience attending the pitch competition at Trellis Impact in San Jose in October.

1. 64 sustainability certifications to advance your career in 2025 

Whether you’re looking to deepen your expertise or stand out as a job candidate, consider this updated list of 64 professional certifications. It’s geared to practitioners, across 10 areas of sustainability, and was compiled by Trellis contributor and sustainability consultant Trish Kenlon.

In a similar vein, Kenlon’s 16 fellowships to advance your career in 2025 was also among the most-read this year. 

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