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Jun 5 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
EFTA Court Rules Countries Must Consider Downstream Impacts of Fossil Fuel Production
I wrote earlier this week about the US Supreme Court declining to require scope 3 analysis under NEPA. However, a European court recently made the opposite decision. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court ruled that scope 3 emissions from...
Jun 5 2025 #climate, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. Blogs of the week: Our most popular blogs this week are courtesy of The Conference Board – “From The Conference Board: ESG/DEI Risk Factor Disclosures More Important for 2025” and “More From...
Jun 4 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
More From The Conference Board: “80% of Companies Adjusting ESG Strategies”
Yesterday, I wrote about The Conference Board – today let’s look at a new study from them indicating that “80% of companies are adjusting their ESG strategies in response to the new administration.” Among the key findings: “Tariff turbulence is...
Jun 4 2025 #climate, #diversity, #equity, #esg, #investors, #social
Federal Government Ends Defense of ERISA ESG Investing Rule
The Department of Labor (DOL) intends to end the defense of its ESG investing rule in pending litigation in the 5th circuit. The rule allowed ESG factors to be considered by ERISA fiduciaries when making investment decisions. However, that rule...
Jun 3 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Supreme Court Limits NEPA Challenges, Allowing Agency Deference
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to conduct environmental reviews and produce Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) on actions that significantly affect the environment. This often gives environmentalists legal avenues to challenge federal action. One such lawsuit was...
Jun 3 2025 #climate, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #investors
From The Conference Board: ESG/DEI Risk Factor Disclosures More Important for 2025
CNN Business reported last week “Companies are warning investors about the risks of becoming the next target of angry customers. Corporate America is required to disclose risks to their businesses in their annual regulatory filings. This year, Walmart, Target, Home...
Jun 3 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
Deutsche Bank CEO Message on Climate – Yes… No… Maybe?
Ambiguity in corporate sustainability/ESG goals and communications has long been a major bugaboo. With so much uncertainty in the space right now, the last thing anyone wants is a lack of clarity. Deutsche Bank (DB) didn’t seem to get that...
May 29 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #social, #supply-chain
EU May Water Down CSRD Reporting for Some Wave 1 Companies
When the EU Commission released its Omnibus proposal and accompanying “Stop the Clock” directive, we noted that despite delays for wave 2 and wave 3 reporters, wave 1 companies were given no relief. This seemed odd because the Omnibus proposes...
May 29 2025 #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Enforcement Delay of EU Battery Regulation Doesn’t Mean Pausing Work
PracticalESG partner Kumi recently discussed changes to the EU Battery Regulation (EUBR), providing perspectives to those working on compliance activities. Among the EUBR revisions is “a two-year delay to the enforcement date for due diligence, moving the compliance verification deadline...
May 29 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. New Podcast: CSRD: Lessons Learned from Wave 1 Reporting and Omnibus Outlook Blog of the week: Kristina Wyatt on SEC Rules and Disclosing Climate Information We added 20 new CSRD reports, which...
May 28 2025 #esg, #human-rights, #social, #supply-chain
Forced Labor in Luxury: Dior Pays $2.3 Million for Supplier Worker Exploitation
CNN.com reported last week that fashion icon Dior “agreed a [sic] number of remedies to settle an Italian competition authority investigation into whether the luxury brand and two of its units misled consumers with their statements about working conditions at...
May 28 2025 #assurance, #compliance, #esg, #human-rights, #social, #supply-chain
Are Supplier Audits a Liability in the World of New US Tariffs?
Speaking of supplier risks … I’ve written that the new world of US tariffs makes supply chain due diligence professionals more directly impactful, financially material and valuable than ever before. Companies are taking extraordinary efforts to mitigate financial impacts of...
May 28 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #social, #supply-chain
New Podcast: Datamaran Research Finds Insights from CSRD Wave 1 Reporting
I recently sat down with Donato Calace, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Accounts at Datamaran, to discuss key findings from Datamaran’s new report: CSRD Reports Uncovered: Benchmarking the First Wave of 2025 Disclosures. The report’s findings are interesting and...
May 27 2025 #compliance, #diversity, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors
Verizon Gets Approval for $20B Frontier Deal After Ending DEI
At least for now, Verizon may have cashed in more than anyone in ending its DEI programs. According to The Business Times “The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday (May 16) approved Verizon Communications’ US$20 billion deal to acquire...
May 27 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
One Company’s Failure Casts Shadow on Business Value of Sustainability
I’ve said it frequently – including in this post – if a company in the sustainability realm goes out of business, that failure adds to the lore that sustainability isn’t a viable business strategy. Such is the case in India...
May 27 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors
Federal Government Joins Texas Lawsuit Against Asset Managers
We’ve been following litigation led by the Texas Attorney General alleging that BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard violated antitrust laws when taking part in net-zero industry initiatives. In addition to the twelve states behind the litigation, the federal government has...
May 22 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors
Kristina Wyatt on SEC Rules and Disclosing Climate Information
Persefoni’s CSO (and former SEC attorney who crafted much of the SEC’s climate disclosure rule) Kristina Wyatt had very good advice yesterday about keeping SEC rules in mind when disclosing “climate-related information through sustainability reports, press releases, on websites, investor...
May 22 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors
Senate Bank Probe Investigates Bank Climate Rollbacks
For years now, red-state Attorneys General and the House Judiciary Committee have been putting pressure on banks to abandon climate goals. This strategy largely proved successful as bank climate pacts crumbled under pressure. Now, Democrats are taking their turn, as...
May 22 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #supply-chain
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. The updated 2025 SEC 10-K Item 1A Sustainability Risk Disclosure Compendium is now available! We added 16 new CSRD reports, which can be viewed here. Blog of the Week: SEC Begins Closing...
May 21 2025 #compliance, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
SEC Begins Closing the Door on Conflict Minerals Rule
Last month, I predicted that the current SEC would eliminate the conflict minerals rule: “[SEC Chair Paul] Atkins may eventually address the rule in some manner, but probably not soon.” Seems like I may be wrong about the “not soon”...
May 21 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Powerful Thoughts on What the Energy Transition Really Is
Yesterday, Daniel Yergin posted a short article about the reality of energy transition that is powerful (pun intended) and tremendously insightful. Yergin is something of a legend in Texas oil/energy circles – Vice Chairman of S&P Global and the author...
May 21 2025 #climate, #compliance, #diversity, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #supply-chain
Study Shows Support for CSRD Among EU Companies
Omnibus is on its way, bringing with it “simplification” for the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Ironically, what “simplification” means isn’t quite so simple. To some, it means adopting a common approach...
May 20 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg
Colorado Supreme Court Allows Climate Litigation
As pending climate litigation works through the judicial system, we’re seeing high-level decisions on the key legal theories and procedural issues underpinning these cases. The Colorado Supreme Court recently joined Hawaii, becoming the latest high court to allow climate-based tort...
May 20 2025 #compliance, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #supply-chain
German Chancellor Urges EU to Repeal CSDDD
The German government has flipped on supply chain due diligence. Once at the forefront of due diligence regulation, Germany has rapidly changed course, advocating repealing key due diligence laws. After elections ushered in a new government earlier this year, plans...
May 20 2025 #compliance, #esg, #investors
EU Publishes Draft RTS for ESG Ratings Regulation
We’ve been following developments in the EU as the long-awaited ESG Ratings Regulation moves through the legislative process. The regulation, officially adopted last November, hit another milestone recently when the European Supervisory Market Authorities (ESMA) put forward draft Regulatory Technical...
May 15 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
FASB’s Proposed Environmental Credit Financial Accounting Standard
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a proposed update on December 17, 2024, to Accounting Standards for Environmental Credits and Environmental Credit Obligations (Topic 818). We blogged on their initial decision to move forward with the update here. Comments...
May 15 2025 #climate, #compliance, #esg, #supply-chain
Skyrocketing AI Use in Sustainability Demands General Counsel Oversight
Put this in the ever-filling bucket of why legal counsel needs to be the CSO’s/sustainability department’s best friend. Zach recently wrote in CCRcorp’s newest blog The AICounsel Blog about why your General Counsel needs to be at the table when...
May 15 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. We added 22 new CSRD reports, which can be viewed here. Blogs of the Week: It was another close one – Tariffs – A Silver Lining for Supply Chain Due Diligence and...
May 14 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Administration Sues to Block Climate Lawsuits/Laws
Years of federal inaction on climate change pushed states to take the lead in climate legislation and litigation. With new climate “superfund” laws in New York and Vermont, and a number of states like Hawaii taking carbon majors to court...
May 14 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
24 States and Fossil Fuels Industry Sue New York and Vermont
Speaking of legal challenges to state climate laws … 24 state attorneys general also entered the fray, joining a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute. ESG Today writes: “At the state level, 24...
May 14 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Another Day, Another Major Environmental Deregulatory Action
First, the EPA announced a massive deregulatory program. Then there was last weeks’ Executive Order targeting “overcriminalization” in Federal regulations, about which Meredith writes on TheCorporateCounsel.net. Then on Monday, the Department of Energy (DOE) proposed the elimination or reduction of...
May 13 2025 #climate, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
Sustainability is a Business Problem …
This blog, along with the Part 2, are pretty deep, so buckle up. I was inspired by a recent LinkedIn post from Alison Taylor arguing that we shouldn’t always need a business case for doing the right thing, linking to...
May 13 2025 #climate, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
… It Needs a Business Solution
This is the second part to Sustainability is a Business Problem … If human behavior around wants, needs and consumption isn’t changing and business must compensate, that means business-first solutions are necessary. This includes, among other things, disciplined corporate spending....
May 13 2025 #climate, #esg, #investors
India Consults on New Transition Taxonomy Framework
India is shaking up the world of sustainable finance. In a time when record outflows have many questioning the value of sustainable funds, India is introducing a new climate taxonomy. Interestingly, the taxonomy will incorporate the Do No Significant Harm...
May 8 2025 #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #social, #supply-chain
Tariffs – A Silver Lining for Supply Chain Due Diligence
Earlier in the week, I was on a virtual panel put together by partner SourceIntelligence (recording available soon) discussing what companies need to know about tariffs and trade compliance. It was a very interesting panel – I’ve never had to...
May 8 2025 #compliance, #diversity, #equity, #esg, #social
New EO Targets Disparate Impact Liability
The President issued a new Executive Order (EO) titled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy. This EO seeks to eliminate disparate impact liability under the Civil Rights Act. Disparate impact is a legal theory in civil rights law that allows policies...
May 8 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. We added 20 new CSRD reports, which can be viewed here. Blog of the Week: Did Science Just Open the Doors for Lawyers on Climate Liability? Hot Topics for the Week: “Climate...
May 7 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Five Reasons Why Your Sustainable Product Isn’t Selling
You’ve convinced your company to develop a new product with a better sustainability profile than competing products, or modified an existing product in the same way. It went to market with high expectations, but it just isn’t selling as predicted....
May 7 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
A Deeper Look at New Climate Liability Science
Amid the ESG pushback, one thing that isn’t slowing down is climate litigation. A number of pending tort cases argue that carbon majors should pay for damages related to climate change. However, complexities of climate change and the rise in...
May 7 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors
Sustainability-Linked Bond Issuers Likely to Miss Renewable Energy Targets
Here’s an interesting unintended consequence of policy and political shifts away from renewable energy – missed KPIs in Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs). Net Zero Investor reported that Italian energy company A2A “confirmed that it missed a renewable energy target associated with...
May 6 2025 #climate, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #supply-chain
Is There a Sustainability/ESG Recession for Financial Services and Investors?
A few items caught my eye last week that seem to signal what I will call a recession in sustainability/ESG for financial services and investors. There are probably more, but here are a few I see as emblematic: Numerous media...
May 6 2025 #compliance, #esg, #human-rights, #social, #supply-chain
Starbucks Faces Human Rights Class Action
A new class action lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia alleges that Starbucks was complicit in forced labor and human rights violations on plantations in Brazil. The Complaint argues that Starbucks’ tier 1 supplier...
May 6 2025 #climate, #compliance, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #investors
New Podcast: Managing Through Sustainability and Regulatory Uncertainties
Our newest podcast has dropped. I talk with Ashley Walter, Partner & Chief Sustainability Officer at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, about how companies are dealing with unprecedented business and regulatory whiplash in sustainability mandates/programs that has created tremendous confusion...
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Featured Q&A Members Only
Removing DEI from SEC 10-Ks
Are companies being advised to not discuss DEI in their 10-Ks due to the executive orders? If a company previously mentioned having a diversity policy and its diversity workforce statistics, is that going to create an issue to now remove them?
05/5/2025, Question #28369
CDP Disclosure Insight Action
We recently received a letter from CDP Disclosure Insight Action requesting that we disclose certain environmental information through their questionnaire. From what I can tell, this is not required and, as we currently disclose sustainability related information in many different places and to many different people, we’re not inclined to voluntarily add another to the list. However, I was curious what other companies who received this letter intend to do. Would appreciate your thoughts here.
04/15/2025, Question #27998
California SB 261 (climate risk reporting)
Is anyone aware of any guidance as to what specific parts/pillars of the TCFD reporting framework will be required to be disclosed in order to comply with SB 261 reporting? The metrics pillar of the TCFD reporting framework requires disclosure of Scopes 1 and 2 emissions and, if appropriate, Scope 3 emissions. It doesn’t really make sense that this information would be required to be included in the SB 261 report, since it is also required by SB 253 (duplicative), not to mention that SB 253 imposes a higher in scope requirement of $1B in revenue versus $500M in revenue for SB 261. Seems like if emission data was required to be included in the SB 261 reports, you would not need SB 253.
03/24/2025, Question #27636