On June 20, 2025, the EU Commission announced that, following pressure from conservative lawmakers, it would withdraw new legislation targeting greenwashing. Specifically, the Green Claims Directive--which would compel...more
On June 17, the SEC officially withdrew a proposed rulemaking undertaken by the Biden Administration that sought to combat greenwashing in ESG (or similarly labeled funds). Specifically, the proposed rule would have...more
Recently, the Canadian Competition Bureau published updated guidelines concerning its approach to environmental claims following last year's amendments to Canadian law that specifically targeted greenwashing. These...more
6/18/2025
/ Advertising ,
Canada ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Claims ,
False Advertising ,
Greenwashing ,
Misleading Statements ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements
The Trump administration’s SEC has begun the process of undoing the mandatory climate disclosure rule promulgated by the SEC under the Biden administration. Specifically, the SEC has now asked the Eighth Circuit — where the...more
On February 18, 2025, Judge Bloom (S.D. Fla.) dismissed a lawsuit against Lululemon, the athleisure company, that centered upon allegations of greenwashing. Specifically, the plaintiffs here had contended “that Lululemon...more
2/25/2025
/ Class Action ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Greenwashing ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Standing ,
Sustainability ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In June 2023, Mintz published an article entitled “A Quantitative Analysis of Comment Letters Issued by the SEC Concerning Climate Change Disclosures” (the June 2023 Article), which analyzed the comment letters related to...more
2/20/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
The SEC continues its focus on greenwashing, despite the recent disbandment of the SEC’s Climate & ESG Task Force.Notably, in the past month, the SEC Department of Examinations has issued a risk alert focused on greenwashing,...more
1 On November 4, the SEC's Division of Examinations issued a risk alert that identified systematic problems with funds' ESG disclosures. Specifically, the SEC stated that “[f]unds [] mischaracterized the use of...more
3 On November 8, the SEC and an investment advisor entered into a settlement to resolve an administrative proceeding featuring allegations of greenwashing. Specifically, the investment advisor was alleged to have made...more
The Securities & Exchange Commission has disbanded its Climate & ESG Task Force, which had been launched with great fanfare in March 2021 at the beginning of the Biden administration. However, the Climate & ESG Task Force had...more
On September 25, 2024, the federal district court in Minnesota denied Target Corp.'s motion to dismiss a consumer-fraud action against it featuring claims that a class of consumers were “deliberately misled [] by [Target]...more
Over the past couple of weeks, there have been a pair of greenwashing lawsuits filed--by both private plaintiffs and government regulators--that highlight the current focus on consumer products as a centerpiece of...more
As of June 2024, Canada added certain provisions to its Competition Act that explicitly target the practice of greenwashing. In particular, according to the Canadian Competition Bureau, these amendments: (1) “requir[e] that...more
On April 22, 2024, the federal government issued a rule “amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)” to “implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent...more
On May 13, 2024, a group of 21 Democratic Congressmen--4 Senators and 16 Representatives, as well as the D.C. Delegate--submitted a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler, urging him “to finalize an anti-greenwashing rule you...more
Yesterday, the Second Circuit upheld the district court's award of summary judgment in favor of the defendant concerning certain class actions claims that “the phrase ‘All Natural’ that appeared on the labels of [Defendant's]...more
The European Commission and EU consumer authorities have sent letters to 20 airlines “identifying several types of potentially misleading green claims,” focusing on “claims made by airlines that the CO2 emissions caused by a...more
Last week, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority issued guidance on its proposed anti-greenwashing rule, which will come into effect at the end of May 2024. (Greenwashing is when a product, service, or firm is...more
Recently, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the American subsidiaries of JBS Group, the Brazilian-based beef producer, asserting that JBS had “violat[ed] New York's consumer protection statutes” through...more
It has been reported--based upon an analysis by Morningstar--that “[i]nvestors pulled $5 billion from U.S. sustainable funds in the fourth quarter [of 2023] for a total of $13 billion last year [2023].” According to the same...more
The Mintz Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Working Group developed this ESG primer to provide an overview of the current state of affairs in the United States with respect to the ESG issues that businesses...more
10/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Antiboycott Requirements ,
Boycotts ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Net Zero ,
New Regulations ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
State and Local Government ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina
On September 25, 2023, the SEC announced a settled administrative proceeding against a major investment advisor in which it agreed to pay a $19 million civil penalty for, effectively, greenwashing activities--i.e., pretending...more
On September 20, 2023, the SEC approved amendments to the "Names Rule," which were initially proposed in May 2022. Although the stated "purpose of the Names Rule," according to the accompanying Fact Sheet distributed by the...more
Public media reports have stated that the SEC’s Enforcement Division has been “sen[ding] document requests, including subpoenas” to asset managers in connection with ESG marketing. Apparently, these actions by the SEC’s...more
It has been publicly reported that the SEC's Enforcement Division has been "sen[ding] document requests, including subpoenas" to asset managers in connection with ESG marketing. This development is entirely unsurprising, as...more