Regulations


  • Screenshot of Trellis webinar: How to Shift to More Sustainable Packaging in the ‘EPR’ Era
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    Maria Rachal/ESG Dive, data from Trellis
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    The ‘EPR era’ brings new opportunities for packaging sustainability

    Sustainability leaders from Amcor, Stonyfield and MegaFood shared some of their experiences and outlooks for redesigns during a virtual event Tuesday.

    By Maria Rachal • Aug. 28, 2025
  • Man in blue suit standing at a podium with sign reading "America is building again" with a large audience watching.
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    Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
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    FTA seeks to eliminate environmental criteria from capital investment grant guidelines

    The Federal Transit Administration requests public comment on updated guidelines that would remove the “social cost of carbon” calculation and make broader changes to the multibillion-dollar program.

    By Dan Zukowski • Aug. 27, 2025
  • Visual displaying components of ESG. Explore the Trendline
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    TarikVision via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from ESG Dive

    This year has shaped up to be a formative one for ESG, from the U.S. pulling out of major climate agreements to federal agencies recalibrating their approach to sustainability under the new administration.

    By ESG Dive staff
  • U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shake hands after concluding trade negotiations on July 27, 2025, in Turnberry, Scotland
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    Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
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    EU promises to ‘reduce administrative burden’ of sustainability laws on US companies

    A joint statement on the new trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union also promised “flexibility” regarding import fees tied to carbon emissions.

    By Lauren Schenkman • Aug. 26, 2025
  • Offshore wind turbines generate electricity
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    John Moore via Getty Images
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    Trump administration halts work on 700-MW Revolution Wind

    Developer Ørsted said the project, located in federal waters about 15 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, is about 80% complete. The company’s shares tumbled to an all-time low following the news.

    By Diana DiGangi • Aug. 26, 2025
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a news conference
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    CARB to propose California’s long-awaited climate-risk disclosure regulations this fall

    The California Air Resources Board, tasked with implementing the rules, said at its latest public workshop that it would issue a notice of proposed rulemaking for the laws on Oct. 14.

    By Aug. 25, 2025
  • Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (L) speaks to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (R)
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    Jim Vondruska via Getty Images
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    Collection, not public disclosure, may doom Illinois demographic data law

    Anti-DEI collective American Alliance for Equal Rights alleged that SB2930 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

    By Caroline Colvin • Aug. 25, 2025
  • Rivian Georgia plant rendering Clayco
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    Provided by Clayco

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    Rivian moving forward on $5B Georgia EV plant

    The battery electric vehicle maker will host two events next month to mark the restart of construction in 2026. 

    By Larry Avila • Aug. 21, 2025
  • California state flag and state capitol building in Sacramento
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    DustyPixel via Getty Images
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    California’s climate disclosure laws survive preliminary injunction request

    The ruling means companies won’t see a reprieve from the coming deadlines in California Senate Bills 253 and 261, says Juge Gregg, partner at the law firm Crowell & Moring.

    By Aug. 20, 2025
  • Plastic bottles and trash on a beach
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    Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
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    Waste and recycling groups ‘disappointed’ by lack of plastics treaty

    Recycling groups will monitor the next round of talks for clues on infrastructure and end-market impacts. Plastics groups will push recycling over environmentalists’ calls for plastic production caps.

    By Megan Quinn • Aug. 20, 2025
  • Rows of wind turbines and solar panels viewed through a chain-link fence, with mountains visible in the background under a pale blue sky.
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    Alamy
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    Energy demand, permitting top of mind at Congressional renewables expo

    Speakers from industry and national labs warned of obstacles to meeting the surge in energy demand expected in the next five to 10 years at July’s Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Expo.

    By Lauren Schenkman • Updated Aug. 22, 2025
  • Workers install solar panels on a roof.
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    adamkaz via Getty Images
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    Wind, solar must show ‘significant’ work but ‘no fixed minimum’ under new Treasury rules

    To qualify for tax credits, projects will need to meet less cut-and-dried physical construction requirements instead of spending at least 5% of project costs to prove construction had commenced.

    By Diana DiGangi • Aug. 19, 2025
  • A Tesla car sits parked at an electric vehicle charging station
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    DOT relaunches EV charging fund with stripped-down guidance

    Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he does not "agree with subsidizing green energy," but he will run the NEVI program "efficiently." Critics said all he did was delay implementation.

    By Robert Walton • Aug. 18, 2025
  • Solar panels are laid out on the roof of a factory.
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    Creative via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Navigating sustainability in business in the era of regulatory fatigue

    Companies aren’t asking for less scrutiny from regulators — they’re asking for rules that make sense, and that help them focus on real results, says an EcoVadis executive.

    By Pierre-Francois Thaler • Aug. 18, 2025
  • Wind turbines stand against a backdrop of green fields and mountains.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    GOP attorneys general probe Science Based Targets initiative

    A coalition of 23 state attorneys general are seeking information on SBTi and its recently rolled out net-zero standard for financial institutions.

    By Aug. 15, 2025
  • Workers hoist a solar panel on the rooftop of a home
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Homeowners rush to install solar ahead of expiring tax credits

    Business is booming for residential solar installers, but with an important residential tax credit expiring at the end of this year, the increase could be short-lived.

    By Meris Lutz • Aug. 15, 2025
  • a close-up of recycled consumer batteries
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    Megan Quinn/ESG Dive
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    Battery recycling facilities and programs ramp up in U.S. and Canada

    Princeton NuEnergy’s black mass facility has opened, while Washington seeks comments on its battery EPR rulemaking and two Canadian programs join forces on battery recycling education.

    By Megan Quinn • Aug. 14, 2025
  • Donald Trump, holding a gavel, celebrates his signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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    Samuel Corum via Getty Images
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    Renewable power purchase agreement prices rising in wake of One Big Beautiful Bill Act

    The average price of new wind and solar power purchase agreements is up 4% since the OBBBA’s passage. Almost a third of developers surveyed said they plan to suspend or cancel projects as a result of the reconciliation bill.

    By Emma Penrod • Aug. 14, 2025
  • Navistar trucks at a dealership.
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    jetcityimage via Getty Images
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    Truck manufacturers sue CARB over zero-emission vehicle plan

    Four truck manufacturers filed the lawsuit in a move to bring clarity regarding a state and federal conflict over which emissions regulations the companies must follow.

    By David Taube • Aug. 13, 2025
  • The Capitol's second-floor Rotunda is a geometric mosaic of earth-toned shapes, creating a "marquetry" effect similar to the inlaid woodwork in Renaissance Revival furniture.
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    Alamy
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    Opinion

    Countdown to compliance: Decoding California’s climate disclosure FAQs

    As the California Air Resources Board works to finalize the state's climate-risk disclosure regulations, companies should work to understand how the laws apply to them, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius says.

    By Ari Selman, Elizabeth Goldberg, Levi McAllister, Rick Rothman, Carl Valenstein, Rachel Mann • Aug. 13, 2025
  • Heavy smoke clouds of carbon emissions spew from three cylindrical columns rising from a factory in the background, partly obscured by trees, with the roof of a house barely visible in the foreground.
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    Mark Wilson via Getty Images
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    BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street bid to dismiss coal antitrust case fails

    A federal judge ruled that the case against the nation’s largest asset managers can proceed, as the states have alleged plausible claims.

    By Aug. 11, 2025
  • President Donald Trump speaks at a multilateral lunch with leaders from African countries in the State Dining Room of the White House on July 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Trump takes aim at alleged debanking of conservatives

    An executive order the president issued Thursday demands that regulators remove reputational risk from evaluations and review complaint data for instances of religion-based debanking.

    By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Aug. 11, 2025
  • A silhouette bulldozer pushing through a landfill at sunset as a flock of seagulls fly overhead.
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    Alamy
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    European Union seeking input on proposed Circular Economy Act

    Part of the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal, the act aims to make 24% of the region’s materials circular by 2030.

    By Lauren Schenkman • Aug. 11, 2025
  • A member of the Peoples Armed Police stands guard in front of the flag of the European Union displayed on the side of a building.
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    Kevin Frayer via Getty Images
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    Over 300 organizations ask EU to preserve scope and rigor of sustainability legislation

    Financial institutions, companies and advocacy groups released a joint statement calling for the European Union to maintain key aspects of the CSRD and CSDDD.

    By Lauren Schenkman • Aug. 8, 2025
  • Two men install solar panels on a roof.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    EPA considers terminating $7B Solar For All program

    If the Trump administration moves forward to claw back the funding, “we will see them in court,” said Kym Meyer, litigation director at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

    By Diana DiGangi • Aug. 7, 2025
  • People seen walking down Wall Street.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    State finance officials press US asset managers to denounce ESG, climate

    A coalition of 26 Republican state finance officials sent letters to executives at 25 firms, pushing them to denounce climate and net-zero commitments.

    By Aug. 4, 2025