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The Wheels on the (Omni)Bus Go Round and Round
And away we go… Responsible Investor reported that at least some of the more dire predictions about the EU Omnibus, CSRD and CS3D could become reality: “… two sources have told RI that the Omnibus proposal scheduled to be delivered...

Will the UK Nix the Green Taxonomy?
It’s been a difficult life for the UK’s Green Taxonomy. First introduced in 2020, the Taxonomy has been subject to numerous delays as the UK government struggles to nail down exactly how the regulation should function. Complicating matters are the...

New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. New Q&As: Using non-GAAP Measures in ESG Reports GHG Emissions “Restatements” Under CSRD and SEC Blog of the Week: Anti-ESG Becomes More Dangerous as Texas AG Threatens Asset Managers Over ESG New...

Record C-Suite Turnover Is a Problem for Corporate Sustainability
Credibility with and support from corner offices for corporate sustainability programs has been a hard fought battle, but it may be short lived… Financial Times reports that C-suite tenure is shrinking fast: “Chief executives of publicly traded US companies are...

Are You Putting Too Much Pressure on Yourself?
While we are on the subject of burnout and turnover… burnout and waning professional enthusiasm in ESG/sustainability is rampant these days. I have conversations with people in various roles about this at least biweekly. It feels like things are spiraling...

Back to Basics: “Stronger Focus on Traditional EHS Metrics From Regulators”
An article from Ecolumix CEO Doug Parker provides food for thought as the new administration gets going here in the US. Fundamentally, companies may want to re-prioritize old fashioned environmental compliance management – pushed aside in favor of sustainability, climate...

Investors Are Examining Offset Use in Portfolio Companies – Are You Ready?
Earlier this month, we published our Carbon Offset Due Diligence Checklist (available to PracticalESG.com members) – which turned out to be pretty good timing. Responsible Investor wrote last week that “continuing concerns about the environmental integrity of many credits issued...

Did DeepSeek Just Deep Six Decarbonization Hopes?
One thing about new innovations is that they almost always come with unintended consequences. You’ve seen news about the latest AI system DeepSeek that has rattled the entire AI industry. Most of that disruption is based on the massive cost...

New Podcast: Reputational Risk for ESG/Sustainability Professionals
ESG/sustainability practitioners lean heavily on the concept of reputational risk when discussing the value of programs and expenses. But we typically don’t really understand enough about corporate reputation, reputational risk and predicting financial impacts “adverse events.” Our newest podcast features...

Anti-ESG Becomes More Dangerous as Texas AG Threatens Asset Managers Over ESG
[Ed. note: Zach is back, kind of. He’s been behind the scenes here at PracticalESG.com for the past couple months while helping launch our new blog TheAICounsel.net. He’ll be back to blogging on ESG and sustainability matters, but not as...

CCS – Let’s Call it What It Really Is
ESG/sustainability professionals are mired in jargon/terminology that frequently gets in our way. I’ve blogged quite a bit on the matter and today I’m doing it again. This time, I hope everyone will join me and get real about how we...

New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. Blog of the Week: Leaked EU Competitiveness Compass Is Vague on CSRD, CS3D New Member Resource: Coming soon – Guidebook: Practical Methodology for Sustainability ROI Using Company-Specific Business Fundamentals Hot Topics for...

Procter & Gamble Faces Class Action for Charmin Greenwashing
Preventing greenwashing may require companies to provide very detailed information about their operating practices if a new class action lawsuit against Procter & Gamble is successful. According to Packaging Insights, “Hagens Berman, a class-action law firm headquartered in Seattle, US,...

What in a Name? Quite a Bit in the UK and EU
PA future provides an interesting update on investment fund actions related to sustainability-related naming under the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR): “Some 115 funds dropped ESG-related terms from their names in 2024 as the industry grappled to comply with the...

Leaked EU Competitiveness Compass Is Vague on CSRD, CS3D
If you’ve been reading reports about the EU’s position on simplifying regulations – specifically the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), you might think that the Omnibus proposal specifically calls out those Directives and...

Looking for Federal Government Reports on ESG, Climate and DEI? We’ve Got ‘Em
When the new President was sworn into office, many federal websites were radically changed almost immediately – erasing years of reports and studies on ESG, climate and DEI topics. While some might consider these political in nature, they contain valuable...

Fossil Fuel Assets May Not Be Totally Stranded
Part of the conversations around climate risk for fossil fuel companies is that when the transition economy really gets rolling, those companies will be left with major stranded assets – plants, property, mineral rights and equipment that won’t generate revenue...

Latest on CSRD and the Omnibus
A couple weeks ago, we wrote that the movement in the EU to soften CSRD reporting obligations through the Omnibus simplification package was gathering steam. Two days ago, according to the official summary of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council...

Sustainability Isn’t Dead
I chose to wait a couple days after the new administration’s Day One actions to write this. The dust needed to settle a bit, along with initial reactions of panic and fear by ESG/sustainability professionals. Although I tend not to...

New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. Blog of the Week: Another ESG Materiality Risk: Keeping Two Sets of Books New Member Resource: Coming soon – Guidebook: Practical Methodology for Sustainability ROI Using Company-Specific Business Fundamentals Hot Topics for...

EFRAG Report: EMAS Is Still Relevant, Helpful for ESRS Reporting
If you’ve only been in the environmental/sustainability space a few years, the abbreviation EMAS might be new to you. But EMAS, the EU’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme was promulgated in 2009. It is an environmental management system framework that includes...

Another ESG Materiality Risk: Keeping Two Sets of Books
I write frequently about risks of calling out ESG/sustainability matters as financially material. Such a decision really needs to be thoughtful with consideration of unintended consequences. The risks escalate when a company reports ESG/sustainability as material in its financial disclosures...

Is JBS Backtracking on Climate Commitments? Not Really.
Reuters reported last week that meatpacker JBS said their net-zero emissions pledge was “never a promise” – and the company took heat for it. Is the company backtracking on promises? Let’s take a look beyond media reports and headlines, starting...

BBC Investigation: Shein Suppliers Exceed Legal Working Hours
It was inevitable after Shein’s performance before the UK Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee earlier this month. The BBC conducted an investigation into working conditions at some of Shein’s suppliers: “The BBC spent several days here: we visited 10 factories,...

US Government Suppliers Won’t Have to Disclose Climate Risks Under FAR
If you are a supplier to the US Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA) or NASA, you just got a break: “DoD, GSA, and NASA are withdrawing the proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) titled:...

ESG Investing: A Divide Between Courts, State Laws and Reality?
Last week’s ruling by US District Court Judge Reed O’Connor sure stirred things up in the ESG world. Not only because of the court’s ruling, but also because of the logic and (mis)interpretation of the facts by the Judge. Matt...

Supreme Court: Climate Damage Suit Against Oil Companies May Proceed
The Hill reported on a major legal development related to climate risk: “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by oil companies to dismiss a lawsuit by the city of Honolulu seeking to hold them responsible for the...

Record Number of Entities Added to UFLPA Entity List in New Update
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it has added “37 entities to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, marking the largest single expansion of the list to date. Among entities added are a large supplier of...

New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. New Q&A: Withdrawal of Shareholder Proposals on Human Rights Blog of the Week: Federal Court Rules ESG Conflicts With Fiduciary Duties New Member Resources: Podcast: Updates from APSCA – the Association of...

Waves of Copycat Anti-ESG Litigation Could Follow American Airlines Ruling
Just days after U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a decision against American Airlines for violating federal law by basing investment decisions for its employee retirement plan on ESG factors (see our blog here about that), legal analysts are warning...

Key Lesson from UK Decision on Virgin Atlantic Sustainability Advertising
Here is an article from Norton Rose Fulbright about a recent decision from the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) against Virgin Atlantic concerning greenwashing. In 2022, Virgin Atlantic aired radio advertising about their transatlantic “Flight 100”: “On the 28th of...

Matt Sekol on ESG Professionals: “It’s Understandable to Feel the Way You Do”
If you are reading this, you probably already know and follow Matt Sekol. I’ve had the privilege of meeting Matt in person and hosted him as a webcast panelist before. Aside from our mutual obsession with Star Wars, we also...

Federal Court Rules ESG Conflicts With Fiduciary Duties
[Ed. note: Due to a minor oversight, a blog email was sent out this past Sunday. This was inadvertent and doesn’t indicate a change in our normal blog schedule. If you missed, it, you can see it here.] Last week,...

Banks Quit the Climate Club, Win a Prize
Last week, I wrote about a rapid-fire set of US bank defections from UN’s Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Immediately after the banks (Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo) made their announcements, Bloomberg reported “Texas Attorney...

Is NZAM Shutting Down? Possibly.
Just yesterday – and in the wake of BlackRock’s defection – the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative announced it is suspending its activities: “Recent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions have...

Are Audits & Documentation Obsolete for UFLPA “Clear and Convincing Evidence”?
Things have been a bit quiet on the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevent Action (UFLPA) front recently, but that may change soon enough. The Wall Street Journal wrote that “CBP is upgrading several of its labs, adding equipment and know-how...

Investor Engagement Targets Human Rights in Electrification Minerals Supply Chain
ESG Today reported that asset manager Robeco is getting more hands-on with responsible mineral supply chains as the transition/electrification economy moves forward. “Robeco said that its new engagement theme targeting the transition metals supply chain comes as the focus of...

Sustainability Standards Getting Updates This Year
Lots of things in the ESG/sustainability space changed in 2024 and more changes are in store for 2025. Among them, as Trellis reported, updates to a few of the major sustainability-related standards. Certified B Corporation/B Lab Global. “There are more...

New This Week on PracticalESG.com
This week’s notable additions to PracticalESG.com are below. New Q&A: New answers posted – Are Carbon Emissions Reductions “Additional” If They Are Subject To Existing Regulations? Blog of the Week: Can Your GC Answer ESG Questions? Shein’s Sure Can’t New...

NZBA’s New Climate Anti-Quorum
Unless you went completely off-grid for the month of December, you already know that the UN’s Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) saw Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo withdraw from the organization. Right after the first of the...

Can Your GC Answer ESG Questions? Shein’s Sure Can’t
On January 7, 2025, online retailer Shein’s General Counsel for EMEA went before the UK Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee to answer questions about the possibility of forced labor in the company’s supply chain and compliance with the UK Modern...

The Climate Conundrum of Salesforce’s New Agentforce
You may have seen the recent TV ad with Matthew McConaughey sitting at an outdoors restaurant table in the rain. The ad is for Salesforce’s new offering Agentforce, which according to their word salad of marketing jargon press release –...

FASB Seeks Input on Accounting Standards Relating to Sustainability
Last week, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published an Agenda Consultation/Invitation to Comment (ITC) on a number of topics, some of which could impact environmental matters including aspects of climate risk/offsets. One has potential relevance to asset retirement obligations...

What Will You Do With Your CSRD Data?
Of course, the emphasis on CSRD disclosures has been data gathering and reporting – but have you thought about what you can do with that data? Advisory Board Member Donato Calace of Datamaran is gathering information on just that through...

A New Take on the Sustainability Business Case for the New Year
Last week, Trellis published an article that offers good, updated advice on the business case for sustainability. The article takes on four myths or critiques of how the sustainability business case is typically presented, which closely mirror shortcomings we frequently...
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Featured Q&A Members Only
GHG Emissions “Restatements” Under CSRD and SEC
Assume a company considers GHG emissions or another ESG matter as material and they treat it as such in their SEC 10-K/20-F. Primarily this is reflected in the MD&A and Risk Factors Disclosures, but it may also include financials related to emissions trading (especially for companies that have significant trading transactions).
If the company publishes a sustainability-related “restatement” (for GHG data from previous years) under the new CSRD regime in the EU, would that impact SEC filings? Is any type of restatement triggered for SEC?
Here is a link to an example of a discussion about an emissions “restatement” in CSRD reporting: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maximuel_lets-talk-about-emission-restatements-novo-activity-7292888302393708544-3zsM
02/5/2025, Question #26673
Non-GAAP Measure in ESG Report?
Would Reg G apply to a non-GAAP measure included in a public company’s ESG Report posted on its website? Assume that’s the case but wanted to get thoughts given it is not so common.
02/4/2025, Question #26618
Withdrawal of Shareholder Proposals on Human Rights
Ia anyone aware of a market survey or other practical guidance on what would be appropriate to offer when trying to negotiate shareholder to withdraw a proposal? Specifically for human rights or ESG related reporting matters. The only somewhat helpful information I could find was ICCRs summary for their Corporate Change – proxy season recap summary each proxy season, but wondering if there are other similar or more comprehensive indications somewhere online.
01/13/2025, Question #26148