On August 6, the UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") released its findings following a multi-firm review of climate reporting by asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension providers....more
8/11/2025
/ Asset Management ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
This series seeks to identify legal questions that can add definition and value to the good work that sustainability teams are doing. ...more
8/11/2025
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Sustainability ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
This series of posts seeks to identify legal questions that can add definition and value to the good work that sustainability teams are doing. Our last post focused on whether the revenue used to evaluate the applicability...more
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) published two new topic standards—GRI 102: Climate Change (2025) and GRI 103: Energy (2025). These standards will replace GRI 305: Emissions (2016), GRI 302: Energy (2016), and Disclosure...more
7/24/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Downstream Agreements ,
Energy Consumption ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Renewable Energy ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Upstream Contracts
This series of posts seeks to identify legal questions that can add definition and value to the good work that sustainability teams are doing. Our last post focused on the applicability of the climate-related financial...more
This series of posts seeks to identify legal questions that can add definition and value to the good work that sustainability teams are doing....more
Although the final ESRS will not be published for several months, it is clear that these new standards will differ significantly from the original ESRS. Understandably, there has been a focus on EFRAG reducing the number of...more
On July 9, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a set of Frequently Asked Questions related to regulatory development and initial reporting obligations under SB 253 and SB 261. ...more
7/10/2025
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Government Agencies ,
New Guidance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process
The European Commission has extended the deadline for the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to submit its technical advice on simplifying the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the...more
The funds industry continues to wait for regulators and legislators to review and fix the multiple flaws in the existing SFDR regime. In the meantime, in July 2023, ESMA launched a “common supervisory action” ("CSA”)...more
7/2/2025
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Funds ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SFDR ,
Supervisory Guidance ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UCITS
After a number of rounds of drafts, the EU Council has signed off on its position regarding the revisions to CSRD and CSDDD brought about by the Omnibus....more
6/26/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
New Regulations ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
On June 25, the UK Government published Exposure Drafts of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), based on the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and S2)...more
6/26/2025
/ Comment Period ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Government Agencies ,
IFRS ,
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
UK
On June 13, 2025, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision released a voluntary framework for climate-related financial risk disclosures, marking a significant advancement in global banking transparency. This framework...more
6/17/2025
/ Banks ,
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
On May 29, 2025, a virtual public workshop held by the California Air Resources Board ("CARB") offered direction on how it interprets certain elements of California's climate disclosure laws. While CARB has a July 1, 2025,...more
6/5/2025
/ California ,
Cap-and-Trade ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Filing Requirements ,
Government Agencies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) proposed targeted amendments to IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures standard, followed by similar changes from the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) to its...more
5/5/2025
/ Australia ,
Banking Sector ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
IFRS ,
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will host a virtual public workshop on May 29, 2025, to begin formal discussions on developing the state's new Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Climate-Related Financial Risk...more
During its 83rd session from April 7 to 11, 2025, the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) approved, among other things, new fuel standards for ships and the first...more
On April 8, 2025, President Trump issued a series of executive orders directing the federal government to analyze state-level climate policies targeting fossil fuel consumption and environmental regulations. This action...more
4/11/2025
/ Cap-and-Trade ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Oil & Gas ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
On April 3, 2025, the European Parliament adopted, by an overwhelming majority, a Directive that would “stop the clock” on certain reporting requirements under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), as...more
The European Commission proposed the EU Omnibus package on February 26 to reduce the burden, and delay application, of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due...more
4/2/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
The UK Home Office has released revised statutory guidance to support businesses in meeting their obligations under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which requires organizations operating in the UK with annual...more
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has released a 132-page draft revision of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard (Version 2.0). Key proposed changes include...more
4/1/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, with the "+" representing the additional focus on conservation, sustainable management, and forest carbon stock enhancement. Originally formalized...more
While federal policymaking has already begun to shift away from the climate change programs of the Obama and Biden administrations, many states are expected to continue pursuing expansive climate policies and building upon...more
The European Union published its long-awaited "Omnibus" package, proposing to delay key European ESG rules, while simultaneously reducing the applicability and burden of corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence...more
2/27/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Investors ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sustainability