OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX head toward IPOs with almost no emissions data on the table

Three of the most valuable private companies on the planet are preparing to sell shares to the public. Between them, OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX carry a combined valuation projected in the trillions. And the amount of audited environmental data they’ve collectively disclosed could fit on a Post-it note, with room to spare.

A Bloomberg report published on August 12 highlights just how little these companies have revealed about their greenhouse gas emissions, even as they march toward initial public offerings.

Going public, staying quiet

SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 IPO prospectus back in May 2026. OpenAI and Anthropic followed with confidential filings in June. None of the three have published audited corporate sustainability reports. None have disclosed full Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data, the standard framework companies use to account for direct emissions, energy-related emissions, and the broader supply chain footprint.

For context, Scope 1 covers what a company directly emits from its own operations. Scope 2 tracks emissions from the electricity and energy it purchases. Scope 3 is the big one: everything else in the value chain, from suppliers to end-user activity.

Compare that to their more established peers. Microsoft and Google’s parent company Alphabet have both published detailed sustainability reports covering all three emission scopes. Microsoft has committed to being carbon negative by 2030, while Google has set its own net-zero targets.

The post-ESG chill

A broader “post-ESG” sentiment has taken hold across financial markets, reducing the urgency firms feel to volunteer climate-related information. Some asset managers have pulled back from ESG-focused strategies. OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX are entering public markets at precisely the moment when the social contract around environmental disclosure has loosened.

The energy elephant in the server room

AI data centers are among the fastest-growing sources of energy demand in the world. Current estimates suggest AI data centers could emit tens of millions of metric tons of CO2 annually by 2030 if meaningful mitigation measures aren’t adopted. Without company-level disclosures, it’s impossible to know how much of that total belongs to any individual firm.

SpaceX presents a different flavor of the same challenge. Each Falcon 9 launch burns through kerosene-based RP-1 fuel, and the Starship program runs on liquid methane. Yet the S-1 filing offered limited insight into the environmental implications of that growth.

What investors should be watching

The SEC’s climate disclosure rule, while scaled back from its original proposal, has established a precedent that public companies may eventually need to report material climate risks. The European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has even broader requirements for companies operating in EU markets.

OpenAI and Anthropic are building technology that could theoretically help solve climate challenges, from optimizing energy grids to accelerating materials science. But the companies themselves can’t, or won’t, tell the public how much carbon they’re producing in the process.

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