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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...
May 1 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
Did Science Just Open the Doors for Lawyers on Climate Liability?
A quick disclaimer here: I was only able to access/read the abstract – so I leave it to others to opine on in depth legal implications of what the authors claim in the whole of the paper. A new peer-reviewed...
May 1 2025 #climate, #compliance, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
Announcing Our New Partner Program!
Today we announce a brand new initiative for PracticalESG.com – our Partner Program. We connected with Ecolumix, Elm Consulting Group International, Kumi and SourceIntelligence to bring their clients exclusive pricing packages for PracticalESG.com membership!* PracticalESG.com is much more than our...
May 1 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 17 new CSRD reports, which can be viewed here. Blogs of the Week: Is It Buh-Bye to the Conflict Minerals Rule? with Canada Pauses Mandatory Climate Reporting a close second....
Apr 30 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
ISSB Proposes Easing Reporting for Financial Institutions
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Climate-related financial disclosure standards have become a global favorite, seeing widespread adoption across many jurisdictions since their introduction in 2023. Now, the ISSB is revising its IFRS S2 standard, publishing a new exposure draft...
Apr 30 2025 #climate, #compliance, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #investors, #social
Business Roundtable Does 180 on 2019 Statement of Purpose
In 2019 – about a year into the “ESG bubble” – the Business Roundtable (BRT) announced it was redefining “the purpose of a corporation to promote ‘an economy that serves all Americans’”. That announcement included “the release of a new...
Apr 30 2025 #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
New Executive Order Goes Under the Sea
Yet another Executive Order was issued with direct environmental and sustainability implications – Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources. The EO requires the Secretary of Commerce, within 60 days “through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,...
Apr 29 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
Canada Pauses Mandatory Climate Reporting
Like many other jurisdictions, Canada was on track to adopt climate-related financial risk reporting standards aligned with the ISSB. However, those plans are paused indefinitely following an announcement from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). The CSA cites global economic and...
Apr 29 2025 #esg, #human-rights, #social, #supply-chain
New Executive Order Targets Forced Labor in Seafood
Given the anti-ESG/sustainability philosophies of the current US administration, this is a bit unexpected. On April 17, a new Executive Order was issued Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness. The intent of the EO is “to promote the productive harvest of our...
Apr 29 2025 #diversity, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social
DEI Hasn’t Left the Building
The DEI pendulum may be swinging back to the middle after unbridled enthusiasm a few years ago, followed by a recent rapid whip to anti-DEI sentiment bolstered by the Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and...
Apr 24 2025 #compliance, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #supply-chain
Is It Buh-Bye to the Conflict Minerals Rule?
In Tuesday’s TheCorporateCounsel.net blog, John wrote that Paul Atkins has been sworn in as the new SEC Chair, along with his likely priorities. “Chairman Atkins’ testimony during his confirmation hearing provides some clues. This excerpt from a recent Meridien Compensation...
Apr 24 2025 #assurance, #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Study Suggests Assurance is Key to Serious Decarbonization
Decarbonization is a major pillar of ESG as anthropogenic climate change is arguably the world’s biggest environmental issue. As ESG took off and became widely adopted, so too did emissions disclosures and net-zero targets. However, it’s one thing to disclose...
Apr 24 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. We added 15 new CSRD reports, which can be viewed here. Blog of the Week: Early CSRD Reports Struggle to Link Sustainability to Strategy Hot Topics for the Week: The Future of...
Apr 23 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
Will AI Tech Slowdown Dampen Renewables Growth?
Last year’s explosion in AI rippled across sectors but none as much as Tech, of course. I’m now seeing some retraction (perhaps, realism?) in the AI world. Basic questions about the ROI for AI started popping up late last year....
Apr 23 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
EU Emissions Trading Scheme Sees Big Results
Here’s something you don’t see every day – some good news about a GHG emissions trading mechanism. Granted, this isn’t about voluntary offset markets, but still. The European Commission announced that “The data reported by EU Member States by the...
Apr 23 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #social
Untying the ESG/Sustainability Ownership Knot
Despite recent pushback in the US, sustainability remains a priority for many companies domestically and globally. There’s no doubt that ESG has matured over the last few years, especially as new legal requirements and risks emerged. We’ve seen sustainability reporting...
Apr 22 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #supply-chain
NGOs Cry Foul on Omnibus Legislative Process
The EU is currently in the process of revisiting key pieces of Green Deal legislation in an effort to “simplify” compliance burdens associated with ESG directives such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive...
Apr 22 2025 #climate, #compliance, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
How to Overcome the Fear That is Crippling Sustainability Professionals
The past few years were heady times in ESG, sustainability, climate and DEI. Companies eagerly built up programs, hired staff, spent boldly and made loud pronouncements of support. Today, it is different. Fear – due to tremendous uncertainty in global...
Apr 22 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors
New Green Stock Exchange Approved by SEC – But What is “Green”?
Last week, the SEC voted to approve a new national securities exchange called The Green Impact Exchange (GIX). According to ESG Today, “GIX aims to be the first national securities exchange in the U.S. dedicated to the emerging global green...
Apr 17 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #supply-chain
Early CSRD Reports Struggle to Link Sustainability to Strategy
First-wave CSRD reporting is teaching us valuable lessons about how companies approach reporting obligations. One important facet of the CSRD is its focus on business models and strategy. Companies must report on material topics and sub-topics, as well as explain...
Apr 17 2025 #climate, #compliance, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
Exercising Caution in Materiality Determinations
CSRD implementation is challenging for many – if not most – companies. The expansive law has companies thinking about material issues and disclosures in new ways, largely due to its double materiality lens. For the first time, companies are being...
Apr 17 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. We made minor changes to the website you may have noticed, including the ability to display search results in chronological order. New Q&A: CDP Disclosure Insight Action We added 15 new CSRD...
Apr 16 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
Study: No One Cares About Missed Climate Targets, But Is That True?
I’m preaching to the choir, but companies are investing a tremendous bit of time, effort and cost into gather emissions data to report and track it. Sometimes – such as in the case of new California laws and certainty the...
Apr 16 2025 #diversity, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #investors
Morningstar on ESG Ratings and the New World of DEI Risk
DEI is certainly facing an turning point in corporate America right now – but how do you put a finger on the pragmatic business risks of keeping or ending DEI programs? Morningstar Sustainalytics recently wrote “These changes have raised concerns...
Apr 16 2025 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
NZBA Loosens Portfolio Alignment Rules
The Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) announced drastic changes to its alignment rules for members. NZBA previously required members to adopt Paris-aligned strategies that would limit rising temperatures to 1.5°. However, after an overwhelming majority of members voted to alter...
Apr 15 2025 #esg, #human-rights, #social, #supply-chain
US Backs Away From Fighting Child Labor
First, the new administration went after DEI, then climate. Now, child and forced labor are being targeted. According to The Washington Post: “The Trump administration has plans to immediately end U.S.-backed programs that combat child labor, forced labor and other...
Apr 15 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment
Lululemon Greenwashing Suit Dismissed
Apparel company Lululemon is feeling relief after a federal court in the Southern District of Florida dismissed a punitive class action against the company. The case alleged that Lululemon’s “Be Planet” advertising campaign was false and misleading and sought to...
Apr 15 2025 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #supply-chain
Shipping Industry Approves Draft $100/Ton Carbon Tax
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved new draft fuel standards for ships and a global pricing mechanism for carbon emissions. The draft includes an emissions tax of at least $100/ton CO2 emitted above a decarbonization target. IMO’s announcement clarifies work...
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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