Mexico ESG Bond Market Rebounds as EU Mandates Recycled Plastic

This week in sustainability: Mexico’s sustainable bond market surged 132% in 1H26 to MX$197 billion. Meanwhile, the European Union introduced new rules establishing recycled plastic quotas and placing restrictions on scrap exports. Separately, Valeria Amezcúa Santillán, Co-Founding Partner at Regenerative, writes that artificial intelligence is introducing unprecedented, highly unpredictable power demand that severely challenges Mexico's national grid operator, CENACE

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Mexico’s ESG Bond Market Surges 132% in 1H26, Hits MX$197 Billion

Mexico's sustainable bond market mounted a sharp recovery in 1H26, placing MX$197.82 billion (US$11.6 billion) in thematic instruments and marking a 132% year-over-year increase compared to the same period in 2025. Data from the Mexican Council for Sustainable Finance (CMFS) indicates that total volume placed in six months represents 97% of all green, social, and sustainability-linked bonds issued during full-year 2025, reversing the market's first annual contraction since 2018. Per experts, the growth was primarily driven by sovereign benchmark issuances, debt refinancing, and corporate expansion under SHCP's updated Sustainable Finance Reference Framework.

EU Vehicle Rules Tighten Scrap Exports from Aug. 13

New European Union legislation governing vehicle design, production, and waste management enters into force on August 13, introducing the bloc's first binding recycled plastic quotas for automakers alongside major restrictions on scrap exports. Regulation 2026/1738, which was published in the Official Journal, replaces existing EU framework directives dating from 2000 and 2005. The single, directly applicable law covers the entire automotive life cycle. While the overarching framework takes effect immediately, most operational obligations begin on Sep. 1, 2028, with the primary compliance deadlines extending into the 2030s.

How AI Data Centers Are Challenging the Electricity Grid

Valeria Amezcúa Santillán, Co-Founding Partner at Regenerative, writes that artificial intelligence is introducing unprecedented, highly unpredictable power demand that severely challenges Mexico's national grid operator, CENACE. As data centers and autonomous AI workloads expand rapidly across an electricity system already vulnerable to seasonal strain, Mexico risks missing out on critical nearshoring and technological sovereignty benefits if its infrastructure fails to adapt. To safely integrate this massive industrial load, she proposes building immediate regulatory muscle through mandatory on-site generation, demand flexibility, and decentralized energy programs.

Yucatan PET Center Recovers 298 Million Bottles

ECOCE reported progress on its PET recovery and recycling infrastructure operating in Yucatan, where its PetStar collection center in Uman recovered 298 million PET bottles during 2025, equivalent to more than 800,000 bottles per day and nearly 34,000 per hour. The center’s recovery chain also generated about 1,000 indirect jobs linked to urban recyclers and collection centers across the state.