Regulations
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Andrew Burton / Staff via Getty Images
Energy regulator grants BlackRock renewed authorization for large utility investments
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave the nation’s largest asset manager to continue to acquire up to 20% of voting securities for utility companies for another three years.
By Lamar Johnson • April 18, 2025 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
Trump administration ordered to resume IRA funding
A federal judge’s decision, which stated agencies lacked authority to pause funding, follows the president’s executive order to freeze the money on his first day in office.
By Kate Magill • April 18, 2025 -
qingwa via Getty Images
SEC approves first US ‘green’ stock exchange
The Securities and Exchange Commission gave final approval for Green Impact Exchange to open the first national exchange for sustainability offerings, with trading set to begin in 2026.
By Lamar Johnson • April 17, 2025 -
Retrieved from Lego’s “Diverse and inclusive workplace” page on Apr. 16, 2025
Lego removes DEI mentions from latest ESG report
A webpage touting Lego’s “diverse and inclusive workplace” remains on the company’s site.
By Caroline Colvin • April 17, 2025 -
Ryan Golden/ESG Dive
4 big law firms agree not to label lawful programs as DEI, EEOC says
The announcement follows Acting Chair Andrea Lucas’ move last month to investigate several law firms’ diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
By Ryan Golden • April 16, 2025 -
Fahroni via Getty Images
Organizations prioritize sustainability, but they’re slowed by manual data processes
A slowdown in federal sustainability mandates is pushing building operators to focus on reduction initiatives, Atrius says.
By Joe Burns • April 15, 2025 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
UN reaches deal on global shipping net-zero standard in spite of US opposition
The framework would set fuel intensity standards for the global shipping industry. The Trump administration has threatened “reciprocal measures” to offset costs for U.S. companies.
By Lamar Johnson • April 14, 2025 -
Permission granted by Esme Howland
Trump directs FERC, other agencies to add 5-year sunsets to energy-related regulations
The executive order is “impossible to implement [and] blatantly illegal,” according to Harvard Law School’s Ari Peskoe.
By Ethan Howland • April 11, 2025 -
Johannes Simon / Stringer via Getty Images
EU legislators work to simplify sustainability reporting requirements
The European Union has delayed sustainability reporting for the CSRD and CSDDD while legislators work to simplify the underlying requirements for businesses.
By Lamar Johnson • April 10, 2025 -
golubovy via Getty Images
4 ways tariffs could impact recycled plastic markets
Recycling industry analysts say high-level trends affecting markets and manufacturing will affect recyclers as trade war uncertainties continue.
By Megan Quinn • April 10, 2025 -
Backyard Production via Getty Images
Trump orders aim to boost coal for grid reliability, AI
However, the executive orders that could direct power plants to stay open will likely have little effect on coal-fired generation, according to analysts.
By Ethan Howland • April 10, 2025 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
Trump EO targets state climate, emissions and ESG policies
The executive order directs the attorney general to halt enforcement of state laws or civil actions targeting energy companies over climate change.
By Lamar Johnson • April 9, 2025 -
Douglas Rissing via Getty Images
USDA tells digester funding applicants to remove diversity, climate language
The announcement means federal funding for anaerobic digesters on dairy farms could be unpaused for applicants willing to change project language.
By Jacob Wallace • April 9, 2025 -
Fox Photos via Getty Images
Women’s trade organization granted temporary restraining order in DOL, Trump DEI case
President Donald Trump failed to properly define DEI in his Jan. 20 and Jan. 21 executive orders, Chicago Women in Trades claimed, thus putting its funding at risk.
By Caroline Colvin • April 7, 2025 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
DOJ attorney in EPA funding freeze case breaks with Zeldin’s fraud comments
“You said that there was waste, fraud, abuse,” Judge Tanya Chutkan said to Department of Justice attorney Marc Sacks. “You seem to be abandoning that position now.”
By Diana DiGangi • April 7, 2025 -
Ian Waldie via Getty Images
EU parliament votes to ‘stop the clock’ on sustainability reporting
The European Parliament voted Thursday to delay reporting timelines for the bloc’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
By Lamar Johnson • April 4, 2025 -
JHVEPhoto via Getty Images
Tennessee ends Wells Fargo probe after bank scraps net-zero target
The state's attorney general commended Wells Fargo’s “pro-consumer decision to step away from utopian policymaking." Seventeen other states had joined the probe.
By Rajashree Chakravarty • April 2, 2025 -
Gabriel Kuchta via Getty Images
European Council adopts proposal to delay sustainability reporting
The European Parliament has set an April 1 vote for the “stop the clock” measure, which would officially delay reporting deadlines for the bloc’s corporate sustainability laws.
By Lamar Johnson • March 31, 2025 -
Authentic Images via Getty Images
Trump repeals Biden-era clean energy manufacturing orders
The move cuts funding for electric heat pump manufacturing, as well as solar production and biomanufacturing research and development.
By Sara Samora • March 31, 2025 -
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
SEC withdraws defense of climate-risk disclosure rule
The agency will no longer defend its rule requiring companies to disclose certain climate-related risks, a move one commissioner called an attempt to “unlawfully” dismantle the rule.
By Lamar Johnson • March 28, 2025 -
Drew Angerer via Getty Images
House Republicans probe EPA climate grant recipients
The House Oversight Committee chair is spearheading an investigation into the eight environmental groups that received funding through the Biden-era Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
By Zoya Mirza • March 28, 2025 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
California Gov. Newsom uses judicial streamlining provision to advance 600 MW of solar, storage
A BayWa r.e. solar and battery farm is the 24th project to benefit from the California Environmental Quality Act’s judicial streamlining provision.
By Diana DiGangi • March 27, 2025 -
Joe Cicak via Getty Images
EPA to review ‘waters of the U.S.’ rule
The rule defines which wetlands or bodies of water fall under the Clean Water Act. The three previous presidential administrations have adjusted its scope.
By Mary Salmonsen • March 26, 2025 -
Courtesy of EPNAC
How fashion leaders are thinking about tariffs, textile sustainability
Companies should focus on smart sourcing and responsible manufacturing in response to fluctuating tariffs, per Stephen Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association.
By Laurel Deppen • March 25, 2025 -
Alex Wong / Staff via Getty Images
EEOC outlines how DEI might be ‘unlawful’
Documents outlining discrimination related to “DEI at work” have prompted attorneys to say that employers should re-evaluate their DEI programs now.
By Caroline Colvin • March 24, 2025
