On May 15, BIC USA Inc. was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court concerning allegations that some of its razors contain per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes referred to as “forever...more
Below, we break down three recent decisions and explain why the regulated community should pay attention to them: the first from the Southern District of New York in City of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corporation; the second...more
5/24/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Advertising ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Human Rights ,
New York ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Sustainability ,
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Juliana v. United States — brought by 21 children against the United States and alleging that the government has failed to adequately respond to climate change — has ping-ponged through the federal court system since...more
Federal environmental enforcement can be civil, criminal, or both. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a policy intended to better coordinate its civil and criminal environmental enforcement. The...more
Regulators at all levels are seeking to advance climate-change related policies. Of late, municipalities have increasingly sought to “decarbonize” buildings and related infrastructure through changes to building codes and...more
4/23/2024
/ Building Codes ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Green Buildings ,
Incentives ,
Municipalities ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government
The sale of most compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) is set to be phased out in 2028 under recent energy efficiency regulations finalized by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The new energy efficiency standards for...more
While environmental justice (EJ) concerns continued to drive policymaking in early 2024, EJ efforts increasingly faced headwinds coming from various and sometimes unexpected directions. Below, we will summarize recent...more
4/17/2024
/ City of Chicago ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Human Rights ,
Louisiana ,
NGOs ,
Petrochemicals ,
Plastics ,
Settlement ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
Policy debates normally focus on substance. Is climate change real? How can business entities weigh environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their decision-making?
...more
3/25/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Injunctions ,
New Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supremacy Clause
A Texas federal judge recently permitted an environmental, social, and governance- (ESG) related Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case filed by an airline pilot against his employer and its benefits plan to...more
3/5/2024
/ 401k ,
American Airlines ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Proxy Voting ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Sustainability
The Biden Administration’s embrace of a “whole of government” approach to address environmental justice (EJ) issues occasioned litigation across the country.
One of the hottest series of disputes has been the tag-team...more
The Biden Administration’s efforts to address environmental justice (EJ) concerns continue. This month, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced modifications to EPA’s Equity Action Plan....more
As we move into 2024, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concepts continue to feature prominently in policy debates. While ESG still drives policy, the last year has seen “ESG” factors recast from being perceived as...more
2023 was a pivotal year for the beverage and food industry globally, creating new categories of winners and losers across the board. With a full year of operations largely relieved of pandemic-era restrictions, restaurant...more
2/15/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Estate Planning ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Social Media ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Historically, regulations under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and related state laws divided the world into “stationary” and “non-stationary sources.” “Stationary sources” included facilities like power plants and factories...more
2/7/2024
/ Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Warehouses
Environmental justice (EJ) issues continue to feature prominently in national headlines in 2024. Below, we unpack two Louisiana EJ-focused court decisions and outline seven takeaways for the regulated community....more
Beyond being no fun, handwashing dishes wastes water. And according to a colonel from the Montana Highway Patrol, dishwashers that complete a normal cycle in one hour or less “are desirable in the bunkhouse setting.”
While...more
Climate change litigation continues in the headlines, this time with an Oregon federal court evaluating claims by 21 children that the federal government violated their constitutional right to a habitable environment.
In...more
State and local governments have weighed in at increasing frequency in past years. While some environmental issues are global in scope, local governments are progressively engaged on issues affecting climate, waste disposal,...more
The regulated community faces a complex and evolving landscape. As we head into 2024, our team of energy, environmental, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attorneys provide insights and guidance on how to...more
12/14/2023
/ CERCLA ,
Chevron Deference ,
Divestment ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NAAQS ,
Petrochemicals ,
PFAS ,
Plastics ,
Public Disclosure ,
Recycling ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
2023 saw terms like “ESG,” “greenwashing,” and “circular economy” come into common use. We also saw a tsunami of other environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related developments at the international, federal, and state...more
12/11/2023
/ Carbon Off-Set Credits ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Class Action ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Delta Airlines ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Equal Protection ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Green Guides ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recycling ,
Risk Management ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
Title VI
Environmental and energy issues were in the headlines for much of 2023. We had several major US Supreme Court cases, Canadian wildfires that produced haze in many American cities throughout the summer, and continued attention...more
12/7/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
PFAS ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sackett v EPA ,
State Constitutions ,
Student Loans
A first-of-its-kind environmental justice (EJ) lawsuit filed by a group of Louisiana churches and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) was dismissed this week.
The court’s decision finding the plaintiffs’ claims to be...more
Everyone loves recycling. However, when it comes to plastic, questions about how recycling occurs and whether it can meaningfully occur generate a fair amount of controversy.
...more
A recent Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii decision permitted climate-related claims against major petroleum and gas companies to proceed toward trial.
The decision in City and County of Honolulu v. Sunoco LP allows...more
11/16/2023
/ Business Litigation ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Infrastructure ,
Misleading Statements ,
NGOs ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petroleum ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Public Utility ,
SCOTUS
Costs to clean up environmentally impacted real estate have continued to increase. A variety of factors have caused this trend including: listing of new contaminants, enhanced focus on contamination pathways like vapor...more