A growing number of American businesses and consumers are looking to invest in and purchase ESG friendly companies and their products and services. Companies have responded with ESG disclosures touting the environmental and social benefits of what they’re selling. Sidestepping for a moment those companies that set out to intentionally deceive other about their ESG bonafides, … Continue Reading
ESG has become such a large component of my law practice that I am now collaborating with a fabulous group attorneys in ESG Legal Solutions, LLC, a new non-law consulting firm. Nancy Hudes and I are now publishing a new blog at www.ESGLegalSolutions.com (.. yes, this blog will continue). This post originally appeared in that blog. If … Continue Reading
Last Wednesday, with a Dutch court finding Royal Dutch Shell partially responsible for climate change and ordering it to reduce emissions and two environmental activists being voted to Exxon Mobil board at the annual meeting, made clear how dramatically the landscape is shifting for all businesses in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) space, as … Continue Reading
By way of a federal court order that became final last month, Truly Organic Inc. and its founder will pay $1.76 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission greenwashing complaint alleging that their nationally marketed bath and beauty products are neither “certified organic” nor “vegan” as falsely claimed. According to the FTC’s complaint, in this … Continue Reading
Three weeks ago the Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to 5 providers of environmental certification seals and 32 businesses using those green seals, alerting them to the Agency’s concerns that the seals could be considered deceptive in violation of federal law. The FTC enforces the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45, which … Continue Reading