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Mar 4 2026 #climate, #compliance
CARB Adopts Regulations for SB 253 and SB 261, Sets August Reporting Deadline
Back in December, I wrote about draft regulations for SB 253 and SB 261 put forward by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Now CARB has adopted the draft regulations, making them binding. These regulations define terms for scoping under...
Mar 4 2026 #climate, #esg, #investors
GHG Protocol Weighs New Scope 2 Rules
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) is the leading methodology for companies calculating their GHG emissions. It underpins major reporting frameworks such as the ISSB’s IFRS 2 standard and California’s SB 253. Back in October of 2025, the GHG Protocol...
Mar 4 2026 #climate, #environment, #esg
Italy Calls for Pause to ETS
Europe’s landmark emissions trading system (ETS) is set to see reform proposals this summer. The next phase of the ETS was delayed in anticipation of these reforms. However, some are unhappy with this solution, and recently the Italian Industry Minister...
Mar 3 2026 #compliance, #esg, #investors
Vanguard Settles ESG Antitrust Litigation for $29.5 Million
Anti-ESG just chalked up its first major win in antitrust litigation. Vanguard, one of three defendants in the ongoing Texas ESG anti-trust case, just agreed to pay the state $29.5 Million to settle the suit. A press release from the...
Mar 3 2026 #climate, #compliance, #esg
Supreme Court to Weigh in on State Climate Litigation
After years of inaction, the Supreme Court is set to take up a state climate case. Previously, the Court declined to intervene when states or municipalities sued fossil fuel companies under state tort laws. However, after significant pressure from the...
Mar 3 2026 #climate, #esg, #investors
NZAM Resumes Operations
The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) shuttered operations in January 2025. Then the investment coalition announced its intent to return with less stringent standards for membership. After the opt-out deadline passed in January of this year, over 250 asset managers...
Feb 26 2026 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg
UK Publishes Finalized Sustainability Reporting Standards
Mandatory ISSB-aligned climate disclosures are one step closer to becoming a reality in the UK. After years of work, the UK published the final UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). These ISSB-aligned standards are broken into UK SRS S1 and...
Feb 26 2026 #compliance, #environment, #supply-chain
Ireland Publishes Circular Economy Strategy
The government of Ireland announced its new circular economy strategy this week. The strategy titled Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy 2026-2028: Accelerating Action outlines steps the government will take to reduce virgin material use and waste. A press release from...
Feb 26 2026
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
Notable additions to PracticalESG.com over the past week are below. Blog of the week: New York Passes Climate Disclosure Law 5 new CSRD reports were added this week, which can be viewed here. Hot Topics for the Week: Council Signs...
Feb 25 2026 #compliance, #environment
Anti-ESG Targets Plastics Reduction Pacts
Anti-ESG is putting more effort behind its antitrust enforcement efforts. We’ve seen this novel antitrust theory, which remains unproven in court, applied to climate pacts and DEI. Now we’re seeing an attempt to target three plastics reduction pacts: U.S. Plastics...
Feb 25 2026 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #social
EU Council Gives Final Approval to Omnibus
The Omnibus process began last year with the goal of simplifying the EU’s sustainability laws. That process is now officially complete. The EU Council has given its final approval for the Omnibus package, sending the legislation for publication in the...
Feb 25 2026 #esg, #investors
India Reviews ESG Ratings Regulations
We’ve covered the transition of many global economies from unregulated ESG ratings landscapes to voluntary codes of conduct for raters, all the way to fully regulated ratings markets. However, maintaining ESG ratings regulations matters just as much as adoption. ESG...
Feb 24 2026 #climate, #compliance, #environment
EPA Sued Over Endangerment Finding Rollback
Last week, I wrote about the EPA’s efforts to repeal the 2009 endangerment finding for GHG emissions. In that blog, I wrote that major legal challenges to the rescission will emerge once the final rule is published. Now that litigation...
Feb 24 2026 #climate, #esg
Report: Don’t Count on Generative AI to Solve Climate Change
The last couple of years have seen a growing sentiment among some in the sustainability field. The idea that, despite its environmental impacts, AI will solve climate change has become a popular position in the AI/Sustainability conversation. A new report...
Feb 24 2026 #climate, #compliance, #esg, #investors
ESMA Opinion Supports Simplified ESRS, With Some Minor Tweaks
The EU is currently in the process of simplifying the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) used with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Previously, I wrote about the European Central Bank’s (ECB) feedback that raised several concerns about the simplified...
Feb 19 2026 #climate, #compliance, #esg
New York Passes Climate Disclosure Law
The New York legislature has passed a new package of environmental legislation, including the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (CCDAA). This law is heavily modeled on California’s GHG disclosure law. Similar to California, the law requires companies exceeding $1 billion...
Feb 19 2026 #climate, #esg, #investors
Research Suggests Investor Views of ESG Shifted from Idealistic to Pragmatic
Much of the sustainability movement was born out of an ironically unsustainable sentiment: optimism. In favorable economic conditions with capital to spare, Millennial and Gen Z retail investors demanded environmental and social change. Many were willing to back these demands...
Feb 19 2026
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
Notable additions to PracticalESG.com over the past week are below. Blog of the week: EPA Repeals GHG Endangerment Finding 4 new CSRD reports were added this week, which can be viewed here. Hot Topics for the Week: New York State...
Feb 18 2026 #compliance, #esg, #investors
House Investigates CALPERS Over ESG Investing
The US House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce issued a letter to the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) requesting information related to ESG investments. The Committee alleges that CalPERS pursued ESG investments at the detriment of its...
Feb 18 2026 #compliance, #diversity, #equity, #social
FTC Warns Law Firms Against DEI
As one agency abandons its investigation into law firm DEI programs, another picks up the baton. In an unprecedented move, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent letters to multiple law firms warning that DEI initiatives could violate federal antitrust law....
Feb 18 2026 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors
ECB Raises Concerns About Simplified ESRS
The EU is currently in the process of simplifying the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) used with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). While some have welcomed the dramatic reduction in required datapoints under the current draft ESRS, others are...
Feb 17 2026 #climate, #compliance, #environment
EPA Repeals GHG Endangerment Finding
Last week, the administration acted on its plan to repeal the EPA’s endangerment finding for greenhouse gas emissions. The 2009 endangerment finding underpinned many EPA rules related to GHG emissions. This includes the emissions requirements for vehicles and power plants....
Feb 17 2026 #compliance, #diversity, #equity, #social
EEOC Drops Investigation Against Law Firm DEI
A group of law students found success in their lawsuit against the EEOC. In 2025 the EEOC sent major law firms letters demanding demographic data related to their attorneys and job applicants. Shortly after, a group of law students sued...
Feb 17 2026 #esg, #investors
Study Finds Trust Essential in ESG Ratings
ESG ratings and ratings agencies have been subject to scrutiny since their inception. The benefits are clear enough. Ratings help investors and other stakeholders quickly assess a company’s ESG credentials. However, the reality is more complex. Ratings methodologies are often...
Feb 12 2026 #esg
Business Value Driving Sustained ESG Disclosures/Initatives
It’s no secret that 2025 was perceived as the year of ESG pullback. I myself am guilty of using phrases like “ESG retreat.” After all, it’s hard not to feel pessimistic when ESG laws were delayed, canceled, or scaled back...
Feb 12 2026 #esg, #human-rights, #supply-chain
EU Introduces New Rules to Stop Destruction of Unsold Clothes and Shoes
The European Commission recently adopted new rules to cut down on waste generated by fast fashion. As part of the ecodesign regulation, long-awaited rules banning the destruction of unsold clothing and shoes have now been adopted. The new rules also...
Feb 12 2026
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
Notable additions to PracticalESG.com over the past week are below. Blog of the week: Missouri DEI Lawsuit Against Starbucks is Dismissed 5 new CSRD reports were added this week, which can be viewed here. Hot Topics for the Week: Judgment:...
Feb 11 2026 #climate, #environment, #esg
EU Amends Climate Law, Sets 90% Emission Reduction Target by 2040
The European Council and Parliament voted Tuesday to amend the EU’s climate law and set a legally binding GHG reduction target of 90% of 1990 levels by 2040. The amended law allows EU member states greater flexibility in meeting emissions...
Feb 11 2026 #diversity, #equity, #esg, #social
EEOC Investigates Nike Over DEI
The day before a federal judge dismissed Missouri’s DEI case against Starbucks, another DEI-related action unfolded in the state. In the same federal district court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the EEOC filed a petition seeking to compel Nike...
Feb 11 2026 #climate, #compliance, #esg
Shein Settles German Case, Agrees to Stop Advertising Net-Zero Targets
In Germany, online retailer Shein was called out for Greenwashing. Advocacy group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) filed a case alleging that Shein’s climate targets violated German competition laws by being false or misleading. Shein has shown no progress towards its SBTi...
Feb 10 2026 #diversity, #equity, #social
Missouri DEI Lawsuit Against Starbucks is Dismissed
The last several years have seen increased legal scrutiny of DEI. Largely driven by the anti-ESG movement, state and federal regulators have argued that DEI programs violate civil rights laws. Public sector programs and those of many colleges and universities...
Feb 10 2026 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors
Texas ESG Investing Ban Found Unconstitutional
A foundational piece of Anti-ESG legislation has been dismantled. Texas’ 2021 ESG investment law allowed the state comptroller to create a “banned list” of financial firms that the state considered to be “boycotting” the fossil fuels industry. State entities, including...
Feb 10 2026 #climate, #environment, #esg
Judge Finds Admin’s “Climate Working Group” Violated Federal Law
For the last in today’s series of court opinions, the administration’s efforts to overturn the EPA’s greenhouse gas endangerment finding suffered a setback. To manufacture scientific support for the reversal, the Department of Energy convened a “climate working group.” This...
Feb 5 2026 #climate, #environment, #esg
EU Proposes Carbon Removal Certification Framework
Carbon removal has been a notoriously unreliable science. Technological and ecological carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) methods have fallen short of expectations. This often leaves companies using offsets or credits generated by such projects in a difficult position when the...
Feb 5 2026 #climate, #environment, #esg
MSCI Research Reveals New Trends in Carbon Management
New research in MSCI’s Q4 Transition Climate Tracker sheds light on how companies are setting goals, disclosing emissions, and meeting their targets. Some of these trends are positive, others are troubling. Findings point to more companies recognizing the need for...
Feb 5 2026
New This Week on PracticalESG.com
Notable additions to PracticalESG.com over the past week are below. Blog of the week: UK Proposes Mandatory Climate Reporting Rules 4 new CSRD reports were added this week, which can be viewed here. Hot Topics for the Week: “The Effects...
Feb 3 2026 #climate, #compliance, #esg
Michigan Court Throws Out Admin Challenge to Climate Lawsuit
In more climate litigation news out of Michigan, a district court judge dismissed the administration’s lawsuit to block climate litigation. The admin’s lawsuit was filed preemptively, after learning that the Michigan AG was collecting information for the climate litigation discussed...
Jan 7 2026 #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors
Philippines Adopts Mandatory ESG Reporting Standards in Line With IFRS
Rounding out a day of blogs on non-US reporting standards, there are significant developments in the Philippines. The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission has officially adopted the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS). These standards are based on IFRS S1 and...
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Sep 22 2025
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Aug 12 2025
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Featured Q&A Members Only
ESG and Changes at Investor Stewardship Teams
In connection with the splitting of the investor stewardship teams at Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street we are trying to evaluate if this will have any impact on our proxy season engagement calls and if we need to prepare anything different than prior years? For example, we used to have our Lead Director join a call with one of those investors and we are not sure if we should expect to have two calls now with each of the engagement teams of that investor.
Also, would our talking points need to be tailored to whether we are speaking with ESG focused vs. non-ESG engagement team?
11/6/2025, Question #31197
SEC expectations for sustainability KPI disclosure
As companies increasingly publicly report sustainability KPIs, I’m wondering if that is creating any obligation or expectation from the SEC to regularly disclose these in SEC filings? What if senior management regularly publicly references particular KPIs (without the actual KPI results) as what they are looking at to measure the success of the business and new initiatives? Do these statements create some obligation or expectation from the SEC to include the KPI results in 10-Ks/10-Qs?
09/25/2025, Question #30633
SEC Climate Disclosure Rule
What is the current status of the SEC climate disclosure rule?
09/15/2025, Question #30466