ENVIRONMENTAL
Ahead of the Curve: Factoring the Cost of Carbon into Long-Term Decision-Making
August 16, 2025
Decarbonization is a major investment theme for long-term investors, given the worldwide shift already under way in energy infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, business models, and the built environment. Annual climate finance surpassed $1 trillion in 2021 and has been climbing since. Renewable energy generation will meet 35 percent of global demand by 2025; that mix was just 19.5 percent in 2010. Investment flows contrast with the global cost of climate change damages, which could range between $1.7 trillion and $3.1 trillion per year by 2050.
Climate-related risks will have far reaching implications for the long-term investment portfolios of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and endowments. A recent survey of 200 asset owners found that 56 percent plan to increase climate investment over the next 1-3 years, and 46 percent said that navigating the transition is their most important investment priority over the same period.
Source: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance
Methane Fees 10 Years Out
August 13, 2025
The waste emissions charge (WEC) rule, which impacted the oil and natural gas industry, was rescinded in March 2025 via a Joint Resolution of Disapproval [H. J. Res. 35], as discussed in a previous article. With the passage of The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBB), the legal dichotomy between the WEC rule’s mandate from CAA Section 136(c) [42 U.S.C. Sections 7436(c)] and Congress’s repeal of 40 CFR Part 99 is closer to being resolved. BBB Section 60012(b), which amends 42 U.S.C. Section 7436(g), pushes the application of the WEC fees to the beginning of 2034, with payment required in 2035. Despite the delayed implementation of the WEC fees, oil and natural gas facilities must still comply with the greenhouse gas reporting provisions of Part 98, Subpart W, where applicable.
Source: McCoy Review
Are Aerosols Universal Waste in Your State?
August 12, 2025
EPA’s Final Rule to add aerosol cans to the RCRA universal waste program took effect more than five years ago. Still, not everyone can manage aerosols as universal waste. Has your state adopted the rule?
Source: Lion
Up in the Air: EPA Opens Comment on Repealing Endangerment Finding, Motor Vehicle GHG Rules
August 7, 2025
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding and repeal all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines established under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 202(a) since 2010.
EPA’s primary rationale is that CAA Section 202(a) does not authorize the agency to regulate GHG emissions based on global climate change concerns, asserting that the CAA was designed to address air pollutants that contribute to dangerous air pollution “through local or regional exposures” rather than global atmospheric effects.
EPA proposes several other rationales, including that the scientific evidence is too uncertain, Congress did not clearly authorize EPA to regulate motor vehicle emissions as a response to climate change, the statute forbids stand-alone endangerment findings separate from a regulatory response and there is no technology capable of having a measurable impact on climate-based harms.
Source: Holland & Knight
Small Quantity Generators Must Re-Notify EPA by September 1
August 1, 2025
EPA’s 2016 RCRA Generator Improvements Rule added a provision to the hazardous waste regulations to require re-notification from SQGs once every four years on September 1 (40 CFR 262.18(d)(1)).
Source: Lion
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SOCIAL
OSHA Hosts Safe + Sound Week, August 11-17, Promoting Workplace Safety
August 6, 2025
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is teaming up with businesses across the country to celebrate Safe + Sound Week from Aug. 11-17, 2025.
This annual event recognizes the successes of workplace safety and health programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe. When businesses adopt effective safety measures, they can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards preventing injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line.
This year, Safe + Sound Week will emphasize emergency preparedness and response, recognizing that emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time. A workplace emergency is an unexpected event that poses risks to workers, customers, or the public, disrupts or shuts down operations, and can cause physical or environmental damage.
During the event, OSHA will provide resources to help businesses understand how to stay informed, develop effective emergency action plans, and prepare to respond when an emergency arises.
Any organization, regardless of size or industry, can take part in Safe + Sound Week to show their commitment to safety and improve their safety and health program. Last year, more than 5,000 businesses participated to raise awareness about worker safety and health.
Source: OSHA
GOVERNANCE
DEI in Transition: 2025 Corporate Diversity Disclosure Trends
August 20, 2025
Corporate public DEI messaging and communications are undergoing a legal- and risk-driven reframing in 2025, with companies reducing the visibility of DEI language while selectively preserving or embedding related goals in ways that are more cautious, controlled, and defensible.
Companies are taking a more cautious approach to workforce demographic disclosures, with a significant proportion narrowing their reporting on women in management and overall workforce diversity while maintaining internal tracking and data collection.
So far in 2025, board demographic diversity disclosures have plummeted—particularly on gender and race—driven by legal rulings, softened investor expectations, and rising litigation risk; by contrast, more companies are disclosing formal board committee oversight of DEI, reflecting a shift toward embedding DEI into internal governance to manage risk and enhance legal defensibility.
Disclosure of DEI-linked executive pay incentives declined sharply in 2025 amid legal and reputational concerns, although some firms appear to be reframing incentives around broader human capital priorities such as talent development and employee engagement.