AI giants OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX remain silent on climate emissions amid post-ESG shift

As prominent artificial intelligence startups Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX prepare for initial public offerings, they have notably declined to disclose greenhouse gas emissions or publish sustainability reports. This silence coincides with a sharp decline in ESG investing, which saw sustainability-focused funds lose $82 billion in 2025. While established tech giants like Microsoft and Google report emissions, these pre-IPO startups face minimal investor pressure to do so. However, upcoming regulations like California's SB253, taking effect in November 2026, will eventually force companies with over $1 billion in revenue to report their carbon footprints.

AI startup emissions non-disclosure

• ▪Anthropic is working with the carbon accounting platform Watershed to measure its company-wide footprint and comply with upcoming California reporting requirements.
• ▪Artificial intelligence startups Anthropic and OpenAI have not disclosed their greenhouse gas emissions, made net-zero pledges, or published sustainability reports as they prepare for initial public offerings.
• ▪SpaceX did not address emissions, sustainability, or other material climate risks in its revised S-1 filing ahead of its initial public offering, despite adding water scarcity as a business risk.
• ▪OpenAI is coordinating with its data center partners ahead of California's reporting deadlines and has established an internal sustainability steering committee.
• ▪United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the artificial intelligence sector in June 2026 to fully disclose its energy, water, and land use and commit to renewable power.

Decline of ESG investing

• ▪The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to scrap its climate disclosure rules under the second Trump administration.
• ▪ESG and environmentally themed investment funds lost $82 billion in 2025, after previously attracting approximately $485 billion in 2021.
• ▪Major Wall Street banks, including BlackRock, departed the Net-Zero Banking Alliance in large numbers, leading the alliance to formally cease operations.

AI sector climate impact scale

• ▪New gas plants built for data centers in the United States could soon generate as much climate pollution as the entire country of Australia, according to the Environmental Integrity Project.
• ▪SpaceX's Colossus data centers in the Memphis area are powered by gas turbines that currently lack clean air permits.

California SB253 reporting requirements

• ▪California's SB253 law begins taking effect in November 2026, requiring companies with over $1 billion in revenue doing business in the state to report Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.
• ▪Anthropic and OpenAI may delay reporting the bulk of their emissions until 2027 by classifying rented data capacity from partners like Microsoft and Amazon as Scope 3 supply chain emissions.

Big Tech emissions transparency contrast

• ▪Fossil-fuel companies like ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. have voluntarily produced sustainability reports for years, contrasting with the lack of disclosure from emerging AI startups.
• ▪Established technology giants Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Microsoft report their greenhouse gas emissions and maintain net-zero goals, despite experiencing spiking emissions from the AI data-center boom.