Regulation

"Investors, regulators, and the broader public are exercising greater scrutiny of corporate sustainability efforts, calling out what they perceive as greenwashing… founded on concerns that companies may be using disclosures and sustainability- related labels on products and services as a marketing tool to appear more proactive on those issues than they truly are." S&P Global

• The SEC is currently developing ESG disclosure mandates that will require reporting issues such as climate change risks and workforce diversity. Reuters, SEC

• By August 2022, it will be mandatory for companies that list on the Nasdaq stock exchange to disclose their boards’ composition and diversity. Clark Hill

• IFRS Foundation – responsible for the global accounting standards, IASB – recently launched the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to create a standardized global ESG reporting framework, which is intended to accompany the IASB. ISSB, S&P Global

• June 21, 2022, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) will take effect. Companies importing anything from the People's Republic of China, particularly from XUAR, will need to provide detailed and transparent supply chain tracing to demonstrate that nothing was produced with forced labor. Clark Hill

• In 2022, The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act was introduced - a landmark legislation that would require fashion retailers or manufacturers, with revenues exceeding $100 million, "to map their supply chain, disclose the environmental and social impacts of their activities, and set binding targets for increasing those impacts." NY State Senate

• New California legislation requires companies with revenues in excess of $1 Billion to disclose all scopes of their greenhouse gas emissions. Mandatory reporting to begin 2025. CA Legislature

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• January 2022, organic waste collection became mandatory in the state of California for residents and businesses alike under SB 1383

• March 2022, representatives of 175 countries endorsed the development of a legally binding global plastics treaty, at the UNEA-5, to be drafted by 2024. It sets forth to eliminate plastic pollution through a full LCA and myriad of regulatory measures, including adoption of circular-economy approaches and regulating microplastics. Gibson Dunn