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With the growing emergence of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, companies selling products in the United States must increasingly plan for the end of a product’s life. EPR programs shift waste-management responsibilities that have traditionally been handled by consumers or state and local governments to the “producer” of the product.

Most existing EPR programs in the United States target packaging materials, especially plastic packaging. So far, four states have finalized EPR legislation for packaging: Maine, Oregon, Colorado, and California.[1] Each of these states is currently in the process of developing a regulatory program. In 2023, several additional states introduced EPR legislation, signaling that other states may soon follow.

For in scope companies, disclosures may be required as early as the reporting period for the 2024 financial year.

By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee

On 22 December 2023, the Commission Delegated Regulation specifying the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (EU).[1] The ESRS apply from 1 January 2024, for financial years beginning on or after that date.

The ESRS set out specific disclosure requirements for companies required to report under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The first set of sector-agnostic ESRS cover sustainability-related impacts, risks, and opportunities relating to a range of environmental, social, and governance issues, and will be followed by additional sector-specific standards over the coming years.[2]

Animal Welfare: California’s Proposition 12 Fully Effective January 1, 2024, Producer Certification Required
On January 1, 2024, California’s Proposition 12 and implementing regulations became fully effective, establishing the state’s Animal Care Program and requiring third-party certification for producers (HSC §§ 25990-25994 and 3 CCR §§ 1320-1327.3). According to a publication from the California…

The European Parliament and Council are in negotiations to finalize the adoption of a proposal for a new Directive on the Right to Repair.  The proposed Directive aims to meet the product sustainability and circularity objectives by improving product durability, reusability, upgradeability, and repairability as outlined in the European Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan 2020, a key component of the European Green Deal.*

Hydrogen H2

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued proposed regulations, published in the Federal Register Dec. 26, 2023, applicable to clean hydrogen production facilities.

Notably, the proposed regulations address:

  • determining lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rates resulting from hydrogen production processes and how taxpayers may use energy attribute certificates

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Products

On December 21, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) finalized guidance on how the banks and mortgage institutions it regulates (“New York Institutions”) should manage climate-related financial and operational risks (the “Guidance”). The Guidance establishes extensive obligations for New York Institutions, which—even if tailored by the state to be proportionate to size…

2023 Legislative Update

The 2023 legislative session culminated in Governor Newsom signing dozens of land use bills. This post discusses the most important.

The Legislature continued its multifaceted approach to addressing the housing crisis, with the Governor signing 56 housing bills. The most important include expansions of SB 35 and the Housing Accountability Act.

Housing bills discussed…

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) adopted CR-103, creating a new Part B to chapter 296-67 WAC, on December 27, 2023.  Specifically applicable to petroleum refineries, Part B includes and updates existing PSM requirements as well as introduces several new requirements, some of which are expected to be onerous for refiners to…

Our team at Squire Patton Boggs monitors environmental justice (EJ) developments and provides periodic updates regarding environmental justice topics.  Recently, US EPA released draft revisions to its Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis (EJ Technical Guidance), and US EPA is currently seeking public comments through January 15, 2024.