Sustainability

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By Ilana R. Morady and Meagan Newman

California’s Safer Consumer Product regulations, which implement the state’s “Green Chemistry” law, will take effect October 1, 2013. The regulations require manufacturers of widely used consumer products to seek safer alternatives to harmful chemical ingredients.

The regulations, which apply to consumer products in the California stream of commerce, establish a three-step process:…
Continue Reading California’s Green Chemistry Law Become Effective October 1, 2013

By Ilana R. Morady and Meagan Newman

In August 2012 the SEC enacted a rule as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, P.L. 111-203, in an attempt to curtail human rights abuses in Africa.  77 FR 56274 (September 12, 2012). The new rule requires affected companies to file annual Conflict Minerals Reports. The first…
Continue Reading Conflict Mineral Reporting: Are You Ready?

By Meagan Newman

While large and small companies across the globe have been addressing issues of corporate responsbility and sustainability for many years now, India has became the first country to pass a law that requires large companies to spend a percentage of their profits on corporate sustainability initiatives.  The law, which updates India’s Companies Act of 1956, applies…
Continue Reading World’s First Corporate Responsibility Mandate Passed in India

By Ilana R. Morady and Meagan Newman

By now it seems most large employers have implemented or are developing some form of sustainability program.  In recent years these efforts have moved beyond “green” iniatives such as reducing waste, water consumption and energy use, cutting emissions, changing lightbulbs or going paperless.  Today, sustainabilty programs and goals set by employers often include…
Continue Reading Sustainability Programs: More Than Just “Green”, May Help Retain Talent

By Robert S. Winner and Michael Rosenthal

Renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar power, suffer from an inability to get affordable and sustainable financing. 

Currently, these projects rely on tax subsidies in the form of production and  investment credits, which are far from ideal due to numerous factors that allow only limited types of investors to benefit from…

Continue Reading Are REITs the Future for Financing Renewable Energy Projects?

When it comes to internal (and external) reporting on sustainability, there is a wide spectrum of content and quality. “Sustainability reporting” is broadly defined as reporting on economic, environmental and social impacts. Many companies now include occupational health and safety data in their sustainability reports. A recent study, however, concludes that the methodology for reporting health and safety data and evaluating these programs is flawed.
Continue Reading Sustainability Reporting: Looking Beyond Green to Safety

By Ilana R. Morady and Eric E. Boyd

On October 1, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published final changes to its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, commonly known as the “Green Guides.” The FTC first issued the Green Guides in 1992 to help marketers ensure that claims they make are true and substantiated. The guidance…

Continue Reading FTC Issues Revised “Green Guides”

By Ilana R. Morady and Eric E. Boyd

On September 25, 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is trying to bolster the manufacturing industry by increasing the number of biobased products available to federal agencies.  Under the USDA’s BioPreferred program, the Department designates categories of biobased products and lists individual products available for preferred…

Continue Reading USDA’s BioPreferred Program is Expanding

By Ilana R. Morady, Eric E. Boyd, and Craig B. Simonsen

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) program plans to post on its website in September a list of chemicals that are acceptable for use in DfE-labeled products.

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EPA’s intention is that the list serve as a resource for product formulators and consumers, to increase…

Continue Reading EPA Design for the Environment Program Will Post List of Chemicals

By Eric E. Boyd and Craig B. Simonsen

George P. Nassos, of George P. Nassos & Associates, recently provided our Group with a presentation on “The Urgency of Adopting Sustainability”. It is an interesting analysis on the rationale for and the cost-benefit value in adopting sustainability within large corporate businesses and organizations. Sustainable strategies are listed and reviewed.…

Continue Reading Benefits to the Bottom Line from Adopting Sustainability in Industry