Featured Blogs - Subscribe to Free Blog
GAO Report: Conflict Minerals Rule Ineffective in Reducing DRC Violence – But Is That Right?
The US GAO just published its latest report on the SEC conflict minerals rule to “assess, among other things, the SEC rule’s effectiveness in promoting peace and security in the DRC and adjoining countries. This report examines, among other things...
Oregon Expands Climate Lawsuit to Name Gas Utility
Multnomah County, Oregon filed an amended complaint in its ongoing litigation against fossil fuels companies. The suit, originally filed last year, is the first of its kind to name a natural gas utility as a defendant. While it is common...
Come See Us at LegalESG in New York
Zach and I will be at LegalESG in NYC Tuesday. The day will be full of usable and practical information for not only lawyers, but other advisors and in-house ESG/sustainability leaders and staff. I will be talking with Clifford Chance’s...
EU Forced Labor in Supply Chains Regulation Coming Into Focus
We’ve previously written about the EU’s upcoming regulation banning the sale of products made with forced labor. The first draft of the English version of the regulation has now been published, giving us a more granular view of what the...
New Report: Good & Bad News for the ESG/Sustainability Profession
Trellis (formerly The GreenBiz Group) published their eighth biennial report “State of the Sustainability Profession” which looks at the role of sustainability leaders in today’s business world and how it has evolved. The survey, conducted November 2023 and December 2023,...
New Podcast: Daniel Aronson on “Submerged Value” & Customer Buying Behavior
A new podcast is now available for members. Corporate sustainability teams are increasingly required to demonstrate the business value of their efforts and show an ROI. Most low hanging fruit is gone, making it harder to find meaningful business value...
How to Think About Carbon Offsets Like a CEO/CFO/CLO
Sustainability professionals tend to flock together. We speak the same odd language, face the same challenges and generally find motivation in the same things. We attend the same conferences, seminars and webcasts that reinforce our world. But there are dangers...
Carbon Project CEO Hit With SEC, CFTC and Criminal Charges, Faces 80 Years in Prison
The validity of carbon credits and carbon offsets has been an ongoing debate in ESG. It seems that every few months there’s news about an offsetting scheme or project using faulty methodologies that overstate the impact of their work. Now...
US Supreme Court Upholds Oil & Gas Methane Rule, Benefiting Scope 2 and 3 Disclosures
US petroleum and natural gas systems emitting 25,000 metric tons or more of GHGs per year will have to comply with EPA’s Subpart W regulations after all. According to The Hill, “The Supreme Court on Friday declined to block Biden...
9th Circuit: Cisco Can Be Sued for Aiding and Abetting Human Rights Violations
This is big news in the realm of corporate liability for supply chain human rights risk. Cisco Systems is being sued in California for aiding and abetting human rights violations by the Chinese government. According to the Plaintiffs, Cisco contracted...
Is There More Sustainability Business Value in B2B or B2C? (Part 1)
Calls for making sustainability a business imperative have become cliche, undermining complexities of actually doing so. There is no single, definitive business imperative – simply put, every company is different. Consumer-facing companies are flooded with survey data on the importance...
Is There More Sustainability Business Value in B2B or B2C? (Part 2)
Continuing from the previous blog … If you are a B2B company, here is some ying to the yang of executive deprioritization of sustainability: “Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to corporate buyers … it is now one of the top...
EU Publishes Guidelines on CSRD Limited Assurance
At the end of September, the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB) released guidelines on limited assurance on sustainability reporting. In accordance with CSRD, CEAOB adopted “non-binding guidelines to set out the procedures to be performed [by practitioners] when...
EU Seeks to Standardize Flight GHG Information
Speaking of the EU… the European Commission recently launched a consultation on a voluntary EU Flight Emissions Label (FEL). This label would provide airline customers with comparable standardized information regarding the GHG emissions of flights between airlines. The program is...
What ESG Practitioners Can Learn From Bull Riding and Field of Dreams
That isn’t a headline or analogy you see every day, is it? Even so, there really are practical lessons here as well as something a little fun. Readers already know I’m a fan of bull riding. I tried my own...
Why Accounting is Critical for Corporate Climate Programs
You might not know this, but if your job involves carbon offsets or credits (voluntary or compliance markets), then an interest in – or at least basic understanding of – accounting is crucial. Bloomberg’s Green Daily Newsletter recently wrote about...
Italian Regulators Investigate Shein for Greenwashing
Italy’s competition authority appears to be gearing up for another greenwashing enforcement action. This time, the agency is taking on the online fashion retailer Shein over the company’s sustainability claims. Among the allegations, the competition authority alleges that Shein has...
See You at LegalESG in NYC October 15
Whether you attended Climate Week in NYC or not, LegalESG NYC on October 15 should not be missed. The day will be full of usable and practical information for not only lawyers, but other advisors and in-house ESG/sustainability leaders and...
California Governor Signs Amendments to State Climate Disclosure Laws
News from California – Governor Newsom signed SB219, modifying the state’s recent climate disclosure laws (SB253 – the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act – and SB261 – Climate-Related Financial Risk Reporting). These amendments are more administrative than substantive. Major elements...
New California Responsible Textile Recovery Act Signed into Law
As long as we are talking about California… last week, California Governor Newsom also signed SB707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, creating a new statewide extended producer responsibility program for apparel and textiles. Like the state’s climate disclosure...
New Podcast: Administering Leaves of Absence Inclusively
A new podcast is now available for members. Laura Lemanski (she/her), People Operations Manager at NextRoll, joins us again to talk about DEI issues that can arise from personal leave. When it comes to leaves of absence, creating an inclusive...
Do ESG Executive Compensation Metrics Really Incentivize Performance? Not So Much
I am once again borrowing from Meredith, but this time from the Compensation Standards blog. She writes about a study on the effectiveness of ESG metrics in executive compensation. Turns out they are very effective … for executives. “In ‘ESG...
What the Financial Sector Really Thinks About Net Zero
Even though financial institutions tend to generate few Scope 1 emissions, they are in the crosshairs for “financed emissions” – increasingly called “Scope 4” emissions even though the GHG Protocol (source of the “scope” terminology and concepts) don’t go past...
Hong Kong Government to Adopt Fully Aligned IFRS Standards
Hong Kong’s sustainability disclosure laws regulations moved closer to implementation with new exposure drafts published recently by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA). The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) previously adopted similar standards for listed issuers, but...
California Sues ExxonMobil Over Plastics Recycling Claims, SEC Could Follow
The state of California brought a lawsuit against Exxon alleging the company’s false claims about recycling led to a plastic pollution crisis. In the 1970s and 1980s, public outcry over plastic pollution was growing and many in the petrochemical industry...
Betting on Scope 2 and 3 Reductions? Read This
Most likely, your company has plans for reducing its greenhouse gas footprint through a combination of direct action and expectations of actions taken by others in the supply chain. Frequently, that involves reduced use of fossil fuels in transportation, energy...
93% of Russell 1000® Companies Disclose Sustainability Data
From watching companies walk back climate commitments to keeping up with the latest from the Anti-ESG movement, it’s easy to lose the forest for the trees in ESG. While these trends are important, they can obscure the real progress being...
Tyson Foods Sued for Greenwashing
A new greenwashing case has been brought by the Environmental Working Group in the District of Columbia against agricultural giant Tyson Foods. The case alleges that, despite the company’s claims of being “net-zero by 2050” and producing “climate-smart” beef, Tyson...
SEC Enforces Against Company Claiming “Biblically Responsible” Investing Strategy
We have become particular about the ESG investing topics we cover these days, but this one caught our attention. Last week, the SEC filed charges against investment advisory firm Inspire Investing LLC for “making misleading statements and for compliance failures...
Who To Believe/What to Read in ESG and Sustainability
Climate Week kicking off in NYC with over 500 individual events spread across the city is emblematic of a problem facing sustainability/ESG practitioners on a daily basis – too much information and much of what is available conflicts with itself....
Canadian Greenwashing Law Creates Trouble for Investors
We’ve written before about Canada’s new anti-greenwashing law and how the risk of enforcement caused companies to quietly retract sustainability messaging. Now investors are weighing in and asking companies to make their sustainability information public once more. Responsible Investor covered...
What SEC’s Charges Against Company for “Unsupported Hype” Could Mean for Climate Tech
Cydney Posner at Cooley wrote about a new enforcement action by SEC against Zymergen, a biotech company started in 2013 seeking to “replac[e] petroleum-based products with biobased products, chemicals, and materials.” In 2021, the company issued an IPO and raised...
Plaintiffs Seek to Revive Federal Youth Climate Case
Climate cases brought by NGOs like “Our Children’s Trust” on behalf of children have gained traction in the last few years. Major victories in Hawaii and Montana prove the legal theories behind these cases can be viable. Cases have also...
The First EPA Notice of Violation for a Carbon Sequestration?
Here is something you don’t see everyday – and the first time I’ve ever seen it. On August 14, EPA Region V (Chicago) issued a Notice of Violation for a carbon sequestration injection well owned and operated by Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM)...
SEC Dissolves ESG Task Force, Leaving Questions
The SEC has made less noise on ESG in 2024 than the previous couple years. The Keurig enforcement action was the first ESG activity we’ve seen in awhile, standing in contrast to high profile ESG enforcement in 2022 and 2023,...
Survey Shows Financial Returns for Companies Committed to Climate
A recent survey from BCG shows that while many companies are falling behind on their decarbonization commitments, those sticking with emissions reductions see tangible financial benefits. The survey, which polled some 1,864 executives across 16 industries and 26 countries found...
More on Keurig’s SEC Enforcement
Zach pointed out last week that SEC’s $1.5 million fine against Keurig was interesting in that the materiality of the company’s statement about pod recycling was questionable and not addressed by the action. Yesterday, Meredith drilled a bit deeper into...
Australia Passes Mandatory Climate Disclosure Legislation
Australian lawmakers recently voted to pass mandatory climate reporting in line with the country’s sustainability roadmap. The disclosures will follow the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS), which align closely with the ISSB’s IFRS standards. ESG Today wrote about the new...
UK FCA Pushes Back Fund Name Rule
Last week, we wrote about an upcoming deadline for new fund name and marketing rules under the UK FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Regulation (SDR). The deadline for the rules, set to take effect on December 2, has now been extended until...
Hot Topics
For ease of navigation, we have broken all subject areas into categories: Environmental, , and Governance.
Environmental
Governance
- Board Oversight of E&S Issues
- Board Oversight of E&S Issues / M&A Considerations
- Chief Sustainability Officers
- E&S Governance
- ESG Staffing Matters
- Investor Policies & Trends / Shareholder Activism & Engagement / Shareholder Proposals
- Investor Trends
- M&A Considerations
- Risk Management
- Shareholder Activism
- Shareholder Engagement
- Shareholder Proposals
View all Subject Areas, including those spanning multiple disciplines, here.
Featured Q&A Members Only
Enforcing ESG fraud in the US
With regard to fraud as it applies to sustainability disclosures under US financial authorities, who is the enforcer of disclosure transparency and accuracy?
10/2/2024, Question #24745
Why are climate risk disclosures in 10-K are different from a company’s ESG report?
I saw discussion on LinkedIn that FedEx’s 10-K states that the company is not going to meet their climate goals. Since SEC’s climate rules aren’t in effect, I thought there is no requirement to file climate disclosures with the SEC. Plus what is in the 10-K is completely different from what the company says in their ESG report. What is going on?
07/23/2024, Question #23943
Asking for ESG department funding increases in an anti-ESG world
I’m preparing for a meeting with senior management and the board where I will be asking for additional funds for the company’s ESG programs. I already know there will be strong pushback, especially given the anti-ESG/anti-DEI developments since the previous budget cycle. What are some ideas for making my case?
07/18/2024, Question #23885