[Podcast] Catching Up on Canadian Environmental Regulation
The Great Green North: A Discussion on Canada’s Environmental Regulations
State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children’s internet safety, and...more
California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Responsibility Act (“SB 54” or “the Act”) is unique in the growing extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) packaging landscape for its source reduction component for...more
Even for the unpredictable world of business and human rights, 2024 was particularly volatile, including for sustainability more generally. The European Union’s (EU) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)...more
In an important decision regarding plastic recycling and disposal, the New York Supreme Court has dismissed the NY Attorney General's lawsuit against Pepsico for allegedly contributing to plastic pollution in New York...more
Los Angeles County Counsel Dawyn Harrison sued PepsiCo and Coca-Cola on October 30, 2024, alleging responsibility for the impacts of plastic packaging littered in Los Angeles County. The next day, a New York State judge...more
On November 21, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution: Part Three of a Series on Building a Circular Economy for All. According to...more
On October 31, 2024, LA County Counsel filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo and Coca Cola on behalf of California in an attempt to hold the companies “accountable for their role in the plastic crisis that is overwhelming the...more
Two weeks after setting a nationwide deadline for removal of lead pipes, the Biden administration is imposing strict new limits on dust from lead-based paint in older homes and child-care facilities....more
Seventy-nine percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills or the environment, much of which eventually ends up in our oceans. A March 8, 2023 study, estimated the average amount of small plastics in the ocean surface layer...more
In a statement released on May 3, 2023, the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) called for companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and grocery retail sectors to reduce their...more
On April 19, 2023, CDP launched a request for 7,000 companies to disclose on the production and use of the most environmentally problematic plastics, i.e., plastic polymers, durable plastics, and plastic packaging, through...more
On April 18, 2023, the Government of Canada announced the launch of consultations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) with respect to...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) released the draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (EPA 530-R-23-006) (Draft Strategy) on April 21, 2023. The...more
On May 2, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (Draft Strategy) for public comment. 88 Fed. Reg. 27502. EPA states in its April...more
On the eve of Earth Day, the Biden Administration announced a new “White House Interagency Policy Committee (“IPC”) on Plastic Pollution and a Circular Economy.” The IPC is tasked with coordinating federal efforts on plastic...more
Forty-eight Democratic Congressmen sent a February 9th letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Michael S. Regan asking that the agency address what they argue are needed efforts regarding plastic...more
California’s SB 54, or the Plastic Producer Responsibility Act, represents a substantial expansion of the increasingly popular form of legislation focused on extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic recycling. While...more
California is an epicenter of environmental policymaking and often a harbinger of laws and regulations adopted throughout the country, and there’s no reason to think this will change in 2023. Beveridge & Diamond closely...more
Environmental nonprofit ClientEarth, with support from other activist groups, has commenced litigation in a Paris court against a global food-products company. The claimants contend that Danone has breached France’s Corporate...more
On November 21, 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a Science & Tech Spotlight on biorecycling of plastics. Biological recycling, or biorecycling, is an emerging technology that uses microbes, such...more
On July 29, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (the “Act”). The Act is designed to phase out single-use plastics in the state and is the...more
Companies should consider taking proactive measures to avoid being blindsided by future microplastic-related laws. California’s adoption of the Statewide Microplastics Strategy is the first attempt by a U.S. state to...more
In recent months, a variety of state legislatures have passed laws that restrict or regulate packaging, including that used for food and beverages. One set of laws concerns extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs that...more
Key Takeaways What is Happening? On July 13, 2021, Maine became the first state to sign Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation into law for plastics and packaging materials, and Oregon may soon follow. This...more
Plastic pollution and waste reduction are becoming key elements of the sustainability conversation. Early movers are investing in plastic-reduction funds, technologies such as plastic to fuel and molecular recycling, or...more