Green Building Law Update

JANUARY 23, 2022

Clothing is worn by almost everyone, almost all of the time. Across the globe, the $1.3 Trillion clothing industry employs more than 300 million people. Over the last 15 years, clothing production worldwide more than doubled and during that period people bought 60% more garments than before but kept them, on average, only half as long. As described by Sofi Thanhauser in her new book, Worn, “by 2017, one garbage truck of clothes (5,787 pounds) was burned or sent to landfills every second.”.

New York 156

New York Retail Sustainability Accounting 156

Green Building Law Update

JANUARY 16, 2022

A business that generates renewable energy, say, with solar panels, but sells the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for that renewable energy may not then claim it “uses” renewable energy. The Federal Trade Commissions has prescribed that such would be deceptive. That guidance from the FTC is not new, but as both onsite and offsite renewable energy has become a national holy grail, increasingly businesses are communicating to others about their green power, including as part of ESG disclosure

Regulation 156

Regulation Claims Green Electrical 156

Green Building Law Update

JANUARY 2, 2022

ESG will be the environmental issue of the year, if not also among the biggest business issues of the year. ESG is everywhere. And yes, this is with appreciation that environmental is only the E in ESG. This is more than a Magic 8 Ball prediction, although we do regularly consult one of the 1960s era plastic spheres I keep on my desk. There has been an obvious if not dramatic shift in Western society’s demand for matters ESG.

Legal 156

Legal Regulation Sustainability Consulting 156

Green Building Law Update

DECEMBER 26, 2021

As we look back in this ‘year in review’ at our most read blog posts in 2021, at a time when most of us have accepted that we will never go back to exactly the way things were, we are no doubt collectively ready for a new year. And we are incredibly excited about the prospects for our clients to maximize the opportunities ESG presents. 2022 will be the Paleolithic year of ESG law.

Risk 156

Risk US Regulation Innovation 156

Green Building Law Update

DECEMBER 19, 2021

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, from time to time, what companies think their ESG claims mean and what others really understand are two different things.

Claims 156

Claims Sustainability Legal Risk 156

Green Building Law Update

DECEMBER 5, 2021

I am excited to be presenting a fast paced and fun one hour virtual program, “ESG an Emergent and Fast Growing Area of the Law” for the Maryland State Bar Association, and Not just for lawyers, on December 14, 2021 at noon. Register today for the live virtual program. Potable water use reduction may be the most important ESG factor. It is widely accepted that a person can only survive without water for 3 days.

Mississippi 156

Mississippi New York New York City Memphis 156

Green Building Law Update

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

I am excited to be presenting a fast paced and fun one hour virtual program, “ESG an Emergent and Fast Growing Area of the Law” for the Maryland State Bar Association, and Not just for lawyers, on December 14, 2021 at noon. Register today for the live virtual program. We are currently undertaking a survey to assess and gauge ESG activity in the marketplace.

Regulation 156

Regulation Legal Consulting Maryland 156

Green Building Law Update

NOVEMBER 14, 2021

I am excited to be presenting a fast paced and fun one hour virtual program, “Environmental Social Governance (ESG) an Emergent and Fast Growing Area of the Law” for the Maryland State Bar Association, and Not just for lawyers, on December 14, 2021 at noon. Register today for the live virtual program. The impact of ESG is not limited to public companies.

Maryland 177

Maryland Regulation Electrical Legal 177

Green Building Law Update

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

I am excited to be presenting a fast paced and fun one hour virtual program, “Environmental Social Governance (ESG) an Emergent and Fast Growing Area of the Law” for the Maryland State Bar Association Environmental & Energy Section on December 14, 2021 at noon. Registration will be open to all; not just lawyers. Registration for the live virtual program opens soon.

Legal 156

Legal Maryland Security Commissioning 156

Green Building Law Update

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

I am pleased to be speaking on “Environmental Social Governance (ESG) an Emergent and Fast Growing Area of the Law” at the Maryland State Bar Association 2021 Legal Excellence Week, Corporate Council Institute on November 16, 2021. You can register to attend in person or online. While there is much speculation about what the federal government will mandate the coming days about ESG disclosures, little attention has been paid to existing Securities and Exchange Commission required climate change

Legal 156

Legal Regulation Risk Security 156

Green Building Law Update

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

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 we can assist you or someone you work with in ESG strategy and solutions, from policy to project implementation, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Legal 156

Legal Risk Green Claims 156

Green Building Law Update

AUGUST 22, 2021

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 we can assist you or someone you work with in ESG strategy and solutions, from policy to project implementation, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Legal 177

Legal Risk Sustainability California 177

Green Building Law Update

AUGUST 15, 2021

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 we can assist you or someone you work with in ESG matters, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Legal 156

Legal Bargains Sustainability IDEA 156

Green Building Law Update

AUGUST 1, 2021

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 will be publishing a new blog beginning later this month at www.ESGLegalSolutions.com. And if we can assist you or a client of your in ESG matters, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Risk 156

Risk Legal Sustainability Security 156

Green Building Law Update

JULY 18, 2021

The State of Delaware and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, The Chemours Company, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. and Corteva, Inc. (all “DuPont” related companies), businesses having operated in the State for more than 200 years, announced a sweeping settlement agreement last week. Under the settlement agreement, the DuPont agreed to pay $50 million for environmental restoration, improvement, sampling and analysis, community environmental justice and equity grants, and other natural resource needs.

Delaware 156

Delaware Claims Equity Agreement 156

Green Building Law Update

JULY 4, 2021

In a literally explosive example of the right balance between environmental protection and people’s desire to celebrate is no environmental regulation, despite that fireworks degrade air quality with particulate matter, in the United States society has decided that the pyrotechnic festivities must go, especially after many were cancelled in the pandemic last year.

Regulation 156

Regulation San Diego United States Permits 156

Green Building Law Update

JUNE 20, 2021

Last week the Environmental Protect Agency and Department of the Army announced the agencies’ intent to initiate new rulemaking that restores the Obama era waters of the United States rule that was in place pre-2015, and before the current Trump era rule. This proposed rule will impact large swaths of America not only those directing the course of a ship (as its name implies), but will restrict farming, real estate development, road building and other large areas of economic activity across the

United States 156

United States Permits Colorado Insurance 156

Green Building Law Update

JUNE 13, 2021

Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposed rule to restore criminal penalties for accidental killing of migratory birds, revoking the January 7, 2021, final regulation that limited the enforcement of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. “The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is a bedrock environmental law that is critical to protecting migratory birds and restoring declining bird populations,” said Secretary Deb Haaland.

Electrical 278

Electrical Regulation Estimating United States 278

Green Building Law Update

MAY 30, 2021

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 they face increasing pressure not only from environmentalists, but also from elected officials, regulators and even their lenders.

Regulation 156

Regulation Sustainability IDEA United States 156

Green Building Law Update

MAY 9, 2021

Two creeks, a marsh and two lakes are plaintiffs in a first of its kind complaint filed last month against a real estate developer and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Wilde Cypress Branch, Boggy Branch, Crosby Island Marsh, Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane, tributaries of the Kissimmee River are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief that Beachline South Residential, LLC’s proposed “Meridian Parks Remainder” mixed use real estate development violates the water bodies’ own righ

Florida 398

Florida Residential United States Permits 398

Green Building Law Update

APRIL 4, 2021

Green building bonds, which are higher rated and could provide cheaper capital for green building projects, can correct the current market that prices mortgages, green building or nongreen, the same, stimulating the economy and repairing the planet. The financial value of green buildings is well documented, from commanding higher rents, greater occupancy rates, and increased occupant satisfaction, to lower operating costs for everything from reduced insurance premiums and less energy utilized, e

Green 293

Green Debt Security Commercial 293

Green Building Law Update

MARCH 21, 2021

Covid-19 school closures and lockdowns resulted in thousands of children having increased blood lead levels. In a study of this consequence of Covid-19, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to describe blood lead level testing among young children during the Covid-19 pandemic, the CDC analyzed data reported from 34 state and local health departments about blood lead level testing among children aged 6 years and under.

United States 257

United States Estimating Housing Education 257

Green Building Law Update

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

On February 24, acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Allison Herren Lee, offered insight into the future direction of mandatory climate change disclosures and new ESG regulation, when she directed the Division of Corporation Finance to enhance its focus on climate related disclosure in public company filings. The Commission provided guidance in 2010 to public companies regarding then existing disclosure requirements as they apply to climate change matters.

Commissioning 156

Commissioning Finance Security Risk 156

Green Building Law Update

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

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 slavery worldwide. Modern slavery exists in every industry, in every country in the world.

Equity 257

Equity Sustainability Defense Green 257

Green Building Law Update

JANUARY 24, 2021

Public companies in the U.S. find themselves at a dynamic time of emergent environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) disclosures. New appointees in the Biden Administration, from the SEC and the Labor Department to the top White House economic advisor, all signal mandatory ESG disclosures. The idea of ESG began in 2004 with a United Nations initiative to influence capital in non Western markets.

Regulation 156

Regulation Claims Risk Legal 156

Green Building Law Update

JANUARY 17, 2021

Michigan prosecutors last Thursday announced that 9 individuals have been indicted on a total of 42 counts related to a series of alleged actions and inactions that created the Flint water crisis. Interestingly, the Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit in Genesee County appointed Judge David Newblatt to act as a one-man grand jury to investigate crimes related to the crisis.

Detroit 156

Detroit Michigan News Office 156

Green Building Law Update

JANUARY 10, 2021

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133, signed into law by President Trump on December 27th, extended the 45L energy efficient home $2,000 tax credit, which had been scheduled to expire last year, to cover qualified new energy efficient homes sold or leased through 2021. And yes, regular readers of this blog will notice that I am writing about the same Act of Congress I posted about last week, but the $2.3 trillion, 5,593 page bill, the second largest ever passed by Congress, provid

Leases 280

Leases Certification Claims Renovating 280

Green Building Law Update

DECEMBER 27, 2020

As we look back at my most read blog posts in 2020, at a time when most of us have accepted that we will never go back to exactly the way things were, we are no doubt collectively ready for a new year, and I am incredibly excited about the prospects for environmental law. I am supremely confident that our longtime business philosophy of “environmental risk as an opportunity” is right for the times.

Maryland 156

Maryland Green Profitability US 156

Green Building Law Update

DECEMBER 13, 2020

Three weeks ago the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a regulation to finally resolve and codify the legal principal that an incidental bird take resulting from an otherwise lawful activity, for example a sparrows flies into a solar panel, is not prohibited under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service is the federal agency delegated the primary responsibility for managing migratory birds consistent with four international migratory bird treaties (between the United St

Regulation 288

Regulation Legal United States New York 288

Green Building Law Update

DECEMBER 6, 2020

The City of Portland is proposing a carbon tax that would be the first of its kind anywhere in the country. Given the increased emphasis on climate change by the incoming Biden Administration the proposed ordinance should be on your required reading list. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are changing the climate. Energy prices do not currently reflect these costs of greenhouse gases.

Portland 280

Portland Rhode Island Maryland Income 280

Green Building Law Update

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

With Covid-19 spreading across the U.S. and some places reclosing in reaction to the new surge, considered against a backdrop of more than 2,000 new statutes, regulations and executive orders addressing the pandemic that have been enacted in a matter of months, many commercial real estate owners are questioning if they can be liable for damages when someone, whether an employee of a business tenant or someone else, claims to have contracted the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) at their building?

Liability 293

Liability Legal Claims Insurance 293

Green Building Law Update

NOVEMBER 1, 2020

Last Friday the U.S. Department of Energy issued a final rule effective November 30, 2020, that will once again permit American households to purchase dishwashers that actually clean dishes, as they had done for most of the machine’s 130 year history. The October 30 final rule does not force anyone to change their currently installed dishwasher. And new machines will not be available for this year’s Thanksgiving meal, as future rulemaking is contemplated and manufacturers must produce the new cl

Regulation 257

Regulation Bargains Residential Products 257

Green Building Law Update

OCTOBER 25, 2020

Among the most misunderstood term in a Phase I environmental site assessment is the Historical Recognized Environmental Condition. The environmental professionals who perform these assessments by and large do not take heed of Eduardo Galeano’s quote, “History never really says goodbye. History says, ‘see you later.’”. By way of background, a Phase I environmental site assessment is the process of evaluating a property’s environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for contamination

Liability 156

Liability Site Environment Commercial 156

Green Building Law Update

OCTOBER 11, 2020

While this week the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett begins in earnest before the Senate Judiciary Committee, last week the U.S. Supreme court granted BP’s petition for a writ of certiorari in BP P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore , a much watched climate change case. In 2017, a number of state and local governments began filing lawsuits in state courts against various energy companies, alleging that the companies’ worldwide extraction, production, sale, and promotion of fossil

Baltimore 207

Baltimore Maryland Claims Connecticut 207

Green Building Law Update

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

During the 2019 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly enacted what will be the first statewide ban of expanded polystyrene foam. In the Spring of 2019 law makers did not foresee a pandemic that would shift restaurant dining (not to mention school meals and much more) to carry out in transportable food containers, but today in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 with a huge increase in takeout and the CDC recommending that everything in a restaurant be disposable, single use plas

Maryland 156

Maryland Products New York Regulation 156

Green Building Law Update

SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

A final rule the SEC adopted on August 26, 2020 and effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register may be more significant for what is not in the rule. The rule is silent on ESG disclosures, including climate risk. SEC disclosure requirements, which had not undergone significant revisions in over 30 years, impact a broad breadth of environmental matters, for not only the thousands of public companies, but also for the millions who invest in them, when the Commission alters the descr

Regulation 177

Regulation Risk Materials Legal 177

Green Building Law Update

AUGUST 30, 2020

For those concerned about the state of the environmental industrial complex during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, I can report that last Friday I reviewed my 1,000th Phase I Environmental Site Assessment this year. In context, last year I did not hit that 1,000 mark until late September, and while it is an unscientific indicator, because it is often a gateway assessment into matters of environmental law, I find, annually, it is an accurate gauge of environmental law activity.

Site 156

Site Liability Leases Defense 156