Regulations

  • Rostin Behnam
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    CFTC issues final voluntary carbon market guidance

    The final guidance includes standards to ensure carbon credits are not subject to manipulation and have their contract terms monitored.

    By • Oct. 15, 2024
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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    Gas utility faces climate deception lawsuit by Oregon county

    It's the first time a U.S. community has sued a gas utility for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate impacts of fossil fuels, advocates say.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Oct. 11, 2024
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from ESG Dive

    This year has shaped up to be a formative one for ESG, both on the regulatory and financial front, with the SEC’s climate disclosure rule and the battle over shareholder rights and proposal approvals.

    By ESG Dive staff
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    Asanka Ratnayake via Getty Images
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    Greenwashing cases fall for first time in 6 years, but high-severity filings surge: report

    “There's certainly a global undercurrent of ‘greenhushing,’ so companies are being more cautious about how they communicate,” RepRisk’s chief commercial officer said.

    By • Oct. 10, 2024
  • Democrat AGs Rob Bonta, Letitia James, Kris Mayes, Keith Ellison and Matthew Platkin at a Climate Week NYC event hosted by Ceres.
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    Lamar Johnson/ESG Dive
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    Dem AGs: ‘We were on the verge of losing this messaging battle’ on ESG

    “We're pushing back because the Republicans are rewriting reality, trying to voice the false narrative on business … and we can’t stand for that,” California AG Rob Bonta said.

    By • Oct. 2, 2024
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    SolStock via Getty Images
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    ESG and sustainability conferences to watch in 2025

    Early agendas for 2025 events show a growing focus on decarbonizing data centers, as well as increasing climate financing and aligning ESG standards.

    By , • Oct. 1, 2024
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    artJazz via Getty Images
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    European Commission warns 17 member states to incorporate CSRD into national law

    The Commission will not be able to achieve the “necessary level” of reporting harmonization without the full incorporation of the directive across the EU, it said last week.

    By • Oct. 1, 2024
  • General outside view of the European Parliament building.
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    Johannes Simon via Getty Images
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    New program to help fashion brands navigate EU’s sustainability legislation

    Nonprofit Fair Wear will launch the HRDD Academy to assist global garment and footwear brands meet the demands of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and other frameworks.

    By Laurel Deppen • Oct. 1, 2024
  • A brown cylindrical stack rises behind some decorated fencing on a grassy hill. A body of water is visible in the background.
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    The image by Tdorante10 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    EPA warns landfill owners to meet gas monitoring and collection obligations amid noncompliance

    The federal agency issued alerts that revealed its findings from over 100 inspections. It noted the climate impact of failing to control methane pollution and warned landfill owners that the agency would hold them accountable. 

    By Jacob Wallace • Sept. 27, 2024
  • Ali Zaidi, national climate advisor to Joe Biden, speaking at Climate Week
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    Lamar Johnson/ESG Dive
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    Now is the time to ‘lean into’ decarbonizing transportation sector: Biden climate advisor

    Cutting transportation sector emissions would have both public health and climate benefits, Ali Zaidi, a national climate policy advisor for the Biden administration, said at Climate Week NYC.

    By • Sept. 26, 2024
  • The sun sets behind the US Capitol
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    Tom Brenner via Getty Images
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    House GOP passes pair of anti-ESG bills targeting ‘woke’ investment policies

    House Republicans passed a pair of bills this week aimed at pension funds and the Securities and Exchange Commission that Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif., said are “going nowhere” in a Democrat-controlled Senate.

    By • Sept. 20, 2024
  • House Financial Committee Chair Patrick McHenry
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    Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
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    House GOP members probing federal membership in green finance network

    Leaders of the House Financial Services Committee are conducting an investigation into the participation of U.S. agencies in the Network for Greening the Financial System.

    By • Sept. 17, 2024
  • Heavy smoke clouds of carbon emissions spew from three cylindrical columns rising from a factory in the background, partly obscured by trees, with the roof of a house barely visible in the foreground.
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    Mark Wilson via Getty Images
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    EPA issues violation notice to ADM over carbon sequestration permit

    The violation relates to corrosion in a monitoring well at the agricultural supply chain company’s second injection site that has since been plugged and did not affect surface or groundwater, ADM said in a statement.

    By • Sept. 16, 2024
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    Giuseppe Lombardo via Getty Images
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    EPA expands recommended ecolabels for food service ware purchases

    It’s the first time in nearly 10 years the agency is evaluating new recommendations of standards for sustainable federal purchasing. EPA said it would accept comments on the proposed updates for 30 days.

    By Maria Rachal • Sept. 16, 2024
  • Gary Gensler is in focus speaking with a finger raised in front of a name card. An aide sits behind him out of focus.
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    Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
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    SEC disbands its climate and ESG enforcement task force

    The Securities and Exchange Commission said it will return its attention to greenwashing if it sees another spike in risk, an agency spokesperson told ESG Dive.

    By • Sept. 13, 2024
  • Rep. Bill Huizenga speaks with his glasses in his right hand at a congressional hearing.
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    House Financial Services panel hearing probes proxy advisors’ ESG influence

    Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said advisors are becoming “de facto standard setters” for governance, while a witness compared them to consultants who help investors “sift through mountains of data.”

    By • Sept. 12, 2024
  • Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, speaks at a roundtable discussion.
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    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
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    FERC greenlights BlackRock’s $12.5B purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the transaction on the back of a blanket authorization it first granted the asset management firm in 2010.

    By • Sept. 10, 2024
  • The exterior of Nasdaq headquarters.
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Nasdaq partners with Crux to help companies access clean energy tax credits

    The team-up will grant Nasdaq ESG Solution clients access to Crux’s platform of clean energy project developers and manufacturers to purchase transferable tax credits.

    By • Sept. 9, 2024
  • A view of the exterior of the Morgan Stanley headquarters.
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    Stringer via Getty Images
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    Morgan Stanley drops plastic pollution financing goal

    A spokesperson for the bank told ESG Dive it would no longer have the standalone goal due to data availability and quality challenges as required climate disclosures near.

    By • Sept. 6, 2024
  • A row of Coca Cola bottles stand in containers in a grocery store.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Coca-Cola must face greenwashing lawsuit: D.C. Appeals Court

    The appeals court reversed a prior dismissal, ruling environmental nonprofit Earth Island Institute made plausible allegations the beverage company overstates its environmental efforts.

    By • Sept. 4, 2024
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    Q&A

    5 keys to strong organizational sustainability governance: MorganFranklin Consulting

    Andrew Rizkallah, who leads the firm's ESG advisory services, explained how to beef up key reporting processes or start from scratch.

    By • Aug. 30, 2024
  • An oil pumpjack is seen near a field of wind turbines
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    American Sustainable Business Council sues Texas over anti-ESG law

    The organization alleged that the 2021 law violates its members rights to speech and free association, as well as due process, and are seeking an injunction.

    By • Aug. 29, 2024
  • DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C., showing the name of the department.
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    Retrieved from FHWA.
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    Low-carbon materials a ‘huge opportunity’ to green the transportation sector

    The Department of Transportation is releasing $800 million to reimburse builders for using cleaner construction products, Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said

    By Julie Strupp • Aug. 28, 2024
  • Hawaii wildfires litigation
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Hawaii $4B fire settlement would prevent insurers’ clawback claims

    A deal to resolve hundreds of lawsuits from the devastating 2023 Maui fires could collapse without a resolution on insurers’ recoupment rights against defendants.

    By Justin Bachman • Aug. 28, 2024
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    cmannphoto via Getty Images
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    Deer Park water owner has microplastics greenwashing suit dismissed

    Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the class-action complaint against BlueTriton was preempted by federal law, but the plaintiffs recently amended their complaint.

    By • Aug. 27, 2024
  • Flags fly above the entrance of the BlackRock offices.
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    BlackRock hit with cease-and-desist by Indiana secretary of state

    The Hoosier State alleged 54 counts of securities violations in what BlackRock called “a politically motivated attack.”

    By • Aug. 26, 2024