Sustainability & Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory Practice
Sustainability & Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory Practice
Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance.
California Climate Accountability Package & Anti-Greenwashing Measure
December 8, 2023 Download PDF
This client memorandum is a newly revised version of an alert that was published on December 4, 2023, reflecting important updates to the required disclosure deadline under California’s Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law three climate-related disclosure bills. Under two of the laws, which were the focus of our prior alert, U.S. companies that satisfy monetary thresholds and do business in California will be required to publicly disclose their direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-related financial risks. The third law, which applies to all companies operating in California that make claims about net zero, carbon neutrality, significant GHG reductions, or that purchase or use carbon offsets, requires public disclosures to substantiate all such claims. This memo provides a high-level overview of the scope of these laws, including reporting obligations, reporting deadlines and penalties for noncompliance.