Green Building Law Update

Environmental Law and Sustainability for Business

Archives: Sustainability

A Corporate Diversity Benchmark in ESG

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 … Continue Reading

The S in ESG may be the Most Impactful

By Stuart Kaplow on August 22, 2021 Posted in Environmental, ESG, Sustainability, Uncategorized

IPCC Fanning the Flames of ESG

By Stuart Kaplow on August 15, 2021 Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, ESG, GRESB, Sustainability

A Call for Comprehensive and Clearer ESG Disclosures

By Stuart Kaplow on May 30, 2021 Posted in Environmental, ESG, Green Washing, LEED, Sustainability

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

Labor Department Will Not Enforce Anti ESG Rule

By Stuart Kaplow on April 11, 2021 Posted in Environmental, ESG, GRESB, Sustainability

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it will not enforce recently published final rules by the prior Administration on “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” and “Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights.” This policy statement is in furtherance of the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 13990, entitled “Protecting Public Health and … Continue Reading

There are More than 40 Million People in Modern Slavery

By Stuart Kaplow on February 7, 2021 Posted in ESG, LEED, Sustainability

A January 18, 2021 report by the UK Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner is both a wake-up call and a useful guide on preventing modern slavery and human trafficking. In the Western world there are low levels of awareness of the prevalence of modern slavery. Yet today there are more than 40 million people in modern … Continue Reading

ESG Going the Way of the Dodo?

By Stuart Kaplow on August 23, 2020 Posted in Environmental, GRESB, Sustainability

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Labor put another nail in the coffin of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) disclosures. Media sources have reported that the Employee Benefits Security Administration in the Department of Labor sent letters to a group of Registered Investment Advisors requesting detailed information within 2 weeks about their use of … Continue Reading

ESG Disclosure Simplification Act Passes Committee But Will Fail

By Stuart Kaplow on October 13, 2019 Posted in Environmental, Federal, Sustainability

On September 20, 2019, the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4329, the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act of 2019. The bill would require all public companies to disclose “environmental, social, and governance [ESG] metrics” as material information about the company. Although there is little if any chance that the bill … Continue Reading

ESG, including Advantaged by Green Building, Requires Risk Oversight

By Stuart Kaplow on September 9, 2018 Posted in Environmental, Green Building, Sustainability

Stuart Kaplow ESG Report

Investments by individuals and institutions driven by environmental, social and governance matters continue to remain front and center in the minds of boards of directors, government regulators and the media. Of course, there is no single or even widely accepted definition of ESG and some have suggested that any analysis of environmental, social and governance … Continue Reading

Modern Slavery Exists and We Must Stop It Now

By Stuart Kaplow on September 2, 2018 Posted in Green Building, Sustainability

There is a lot of green building going on at BREEAM USA from a pilot program for BREEAM In-Use with multifamily properties to the certification of the first BREEAM USA In-Use office tower, but what is no doubt most impactful is the BRE Ethical Labour Sourcing Standard enabling businesses to commit to eliminating any possibility of … Continue Reading

Jury Awards Millions in Sustainable Hog Case

By Stuart Kaplow on August 5, 2018 Posted in Environmental, Sustainability

Last week a jury in federal court awarded more than $470 million to six people who live from one-third of a mile to one mile away from a hog farm, run by Murphy Brown an affiliate of Smithfield Foods, in a rural patch of Pender County, North Carolina. The lawsuit is the third to go … Continue Reading

The Hottest Environmental Trend is Sustainable Business Practices

By Stuart Kaplow on June 24, 2018 Posted in Environmental, Green Building, Sustainability

In a dramatic shift the fastest growing environmental issue in 2018 is sustainable business practices. At a time when many issues are politically charged, including environmental matters, a major shift in public opinion is happening. There are dramatic changes ongoing as a consequence of the last Presidential election that will result in less and different … Continue Reading

The Systole and Diastole in Recycling

By Stuart Kaplow on October 29, 2017 Posted in recycling, Sustainability

Recycling is not new. 11,000 years before Christ the people in the Nile valley recognized the intrinsic value of reusing waste. But maybe not since that dawn of civilization has recycling undergone the wide fluctuation, good and bad, that we are seeing right now. The bad news is that on July 18, China notified the … Continue Reading

You Need a Green Building Consultant (Who Speaks for the Trees)

By Stuart Kaplow on June 18, 2017 Posted in Green Building, LEED, Sustainability

The Lorax Partnerships Team

We are often asked “what is the best way to assure success in a green building project?” Whether that query is from a Fortune 1000 businesses or an architect, the answer is the same, have the owner engage an experienced green building consultant as early as possible in the project. Which often leads to a … Continue Reading

Prospering thru Green Building in a Changing Environment

By Stuart Kaplow on April 2, 2017 Posted in Federal, Green Building, Paris Accord, Sustainability

I spoke to a gathering of construction industry attorneys the other day about changing environment of Federal government regulation portending huge business opportunities for green building. These were my prepared remarks for that talk. While much of the mass media hyperbole is focused on the new Administration’s 2018 “skinny” budget request of $5.7 Billion for … Continue Reading

FITWEL may be the Future of Building Sustainability

By Stuart Kaplow on March 26, 2017 Posted in Green Building, LEED, Sustainability

FITWEL, a cost effective, high impact, health promoting building certification, may be the best thing since sliced bread. The well being of building occupants is increasingly being described as the number one driver of sustainability. In the in the U.S. alone there are more than 120 million employees who spend an average of 8.1 hours … Continue Reading

The First BREEAM USA Certification

By Stuart Kaplow on March 12, 2017 Posted in Green Building, Sustainability

The Oaks, a 1.3 million square foot shopping mall located in Thousand Oaks, California, owned by Macerich is the first project achieve certification under the new BREEAM In-Use program for existing buildings. Macerich, a leading owner, operator and developer of major retail real estate with a portfolio of over 50 shopping malls, also earned the … Continue Reading

Deadline to Propose Changes to National Green Building Standard

By Stuart Kaplow on February 26, 2017 Posted in City, Green Building, Sustainability

Development of the 2018 version of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) is now underway. The NGBS is a collaborative effort between the National Association of Home Builders and International Code Council, the NGBS also known as the ICC 700 provides “green” practices that can be incorporated into new homes, including high rise multifamily buildings, … Continue Reading

California is a Model for PACE Loan Reform

By Stuart Kaplow on January 29, 2017 Posted in Energy, Environmental, Green Building, Local Government, Sustainability

California’s statutory changes to its existing residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program, that became effective January 1, 2017, may be a model for residential PACE programs across the nation. The first residential PACE program started in Berkeley, California in 2007. Today there are laws in at least 34 states that allow some form … Continue Reading

Is the New USDA Organic Rule Dead on Arrival?

By Stuart Kaplow on January 22, 2017 Posted in Environmental, Federal, Sustainability

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a new list of rules governing the treatment of animals that are ultimately sold to consumers as organic food. It is suggested that these amendments to the existing organic livestock and poultry production requirements are an exercise in futility both in that they were published … Continue Reading

Passive House is “In” in 2017

By Stuart Kaplow on January 8, 2017 Posted in Green Building, Sustainability

As you consider what’s “in” and what’s “out” in 2017, within the realm of green building, Passive House is in. It is not controversial to accept that a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings at low cost, while also improving occupant comfort, is to improve the thermal performance of the building envelope. By … Continue Reading

FTC Order Restricts use of “All Natural”

By Stuart Kaplow on January 1, 2017 Posted in Environmental, Federal, Sustainability

The Federal Trade Commission issued a summary decision against California Naturel, Inc., for falsely advertising its sunscreen product as “all natural” in violation of Sections 5 and 12 of the FTC Act. In a December 12, 2016 opinion, written by Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the FTC describes how the company promotes its “all natural” sunscreen on … Continue Reading

A Day in the Life of a Green Building Attorney

By Stuart Kaplow on December 18, 2016 Posted in Green Building, Legal, Sustainability

This blog post is not as epic as A Day in the Life, the last song on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album that Rolling Stone magazine ranked as the greatest Beatles song ever. But rather, this responds to a question I was recently asked when speaking at a law school forum on … Continue Reading

Less Climate Change Disclosure by Public Companies

By Stuart Kaplow on December 11, 2016 Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, Federal, Sustainability

Publicly traded companies are required to disclose material business risks to investors through regular filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since February 8, 2010, the SEC has expressly required disclosure related to climate change. While it has been controversial, the SEC’s 2010 interpretive guidance, the Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change, which … Continue Reading