On March 6, 2024, by a party-line vote of 3-2, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules (entitled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors”) requiring most public companies to disclose climate-related information in registration statements and annual reports filed with the SEC. The SEC first proposed climate disclosure rules in March 2022, and the proposal has been a source of much debate and controversy, generating over 24,000 comment letters, more than any regulation in the history of the SEC.
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Environmental
2023 Retail Industry Year in Review
Our 2023 Retail Industry Year in Review provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments, issues, and trends impacting retailers, as well as a look ahead at what to expect in 2024. We hope you will take a few minutes to review our new publication released last week.
EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Nearly Final
By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP on
Posted in Environmental, Regulatory
On December 14, 2023, the European Parliament and the European Council reached a provisional deal on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). Initially proposed by the European Commission in February of 2022, the CS3D requires certain companies to account for and mitigate adverse human rights and environmental impacts throughout their supply chains, including both their own operations as well as upstream and downstream activities. In November 2022, the European Council adopted the general approach proposed by the European Commission. Since then, the Council and the European Parliament have negotiated the parameters of the CS3D to reach a provisional agreement. While press releases from the Council, the Parliament, and the Commission all confirm an agreement has been reached, the text of the agreed upon CS3D is not yet publicly available. It is likely to be released in early 2024.Continue Reading EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Nearly Final
Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging: What’s Ahead in 2024
By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP on
Posted in Environmental, Regulatory
With the growing emergence of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, companies selling products in the United States must increasingly plan for the end of a product’s life. EPR programs shift waste-management responsibilities that have traditionally been handled by consumers or state and local governments to the “producer” of the product.
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First-in-the-Nation Climate Disclosure Bills Become Law In California
By Clare Ellis, Abigail Contreras, Elisabeth R. Gunther, Shannon S. Broome, Samuel L. Brown & Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Environmental, Regulatory
On October 7, 2023 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two landmark climate disclosure laws aimed at making major companies publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and report on their climate-related financial risks.
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EPA Announces Submission Period for 2024 Chemical Data Reporting
By Sarah Ingles & Alexandra B. Cunningham on
Posted in Environmental, Regulatory
In June 2023, EPA announced the dates for the 2024 submission period for information required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. The information is collected every four years from manufacturers and importers of certain chemicals in commerce, generally when production volumes for those chemicals are 25,000 pounds or greater in a given reporting year. The 2024 submission period runs from June 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024.
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Minnesota Becomes Second State to Pass Sweeping PFAS Ban and Reporting Law Targeting All Products
By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP on
Posted in Environmental
As published on Hunton’s Nickel Report, in May 2023, Minnesota’s Governor Walz signed into law HF 2310, which bans the sale of certain products containing “intentionally added” per- and- polyfluoroalkyl substances in 2025 and then all products in 2032, and also establishes reporting requirements for products containing PFAS starting in 2026.
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EPA Releases Another Compliance Advisory on Pesticide Devices Due to “Substantial Non-Compliance” with FIFRA Requirements
By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP on
Posted in Environmental
In February 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance quietly released a Compliance Advisory “What You Need to Know about Producing, Distributing, or Selling Pesticide Devices.”…
Continue Reading EPA Releases Another Compliance Advisory on Pesticide Devices Due to “Substantial Non-Compliance” with FIFRA Requirements
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure at Retail Establishments
By Jessica N. Vara on
Posted in Environmental
Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, especially with rising gas prices over the past year. EVs now make up roughly three percent of the global vehicle fleet, up from one percent at the end of 2020. …
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FTC is “Talking Trash” and Zeroing-in on “Recyclable” Claims
By Phyllis H. Marcus & Noreen M. Verini on
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Environmental
The FTC has announced the next step in its ongoing review of the “Green Guides.” According to the FTC’s most recent announcement, it is zeroing-in on “recyclable” claims and will be hosting a workshop titled “Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides.”…
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