Welcome to the February edition of the Plastics newsletter. Published monthly, we provide key litigation, regulatory, and newsworthy updates across the US, EU, UK, and APAC regions with regard to plastics....more
3/2/2026
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Dormant Commerce Clause ,
Due Process ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) ,
Greenwashing ,
Plastics ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Recycling ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
Tariffs
For over a year, the EU has been working to reduce the scope of and simplify two flagship ESG rules, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D)....more
3/2/2026
/ Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices
On February 23, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for writ of certiorari in Suncor Energy, Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County (No. 25-170). In addition to addressing the question presented by...more
3/2/2026
/ Article III ,
Certiorari ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Jurisdiction ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
State and Local Government ,
Suncor Energy Inc v County Commissioners of Boulder County
On February 6, 2026, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction in National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) v. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), temporarily halting enforcement of the...more
2/23/2026
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Policies ,
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) ,
Government Agencies ,
Oregon ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Recycling ,
State and Local Government ,
Supply Chain ,
Wholesale
On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized the repeal of the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, which had served as the legal foundation for federal greenhouse gas regulations....more
2/18/2026
/ California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Deregulation ,
Endangerment Finding ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government
On February 3, 2026, the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, or Defra, published the first comprehensive, UK‑wide policy paper ("PFAS Plan") on per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), which are...more
2/13/2026
/ Chemicals ,
Contamination ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Hazardous Substances ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
UK ,
Waste Management
The district court's ruling reopens opportunities for financial and other companies to do business with Texas state investment funds and other government entities, but the ruling may not be the final word on the issue.
On...more
2/13/2026
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Energy Sector ,
First Amendment ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Government Entities ,
Investment ,
Oil & Gas ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Texas
On January 20, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order ("EO"), "Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers," which focuses on restricting large institutional investors from purchasing...more
1/30/2026
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FHFA ,
Housing Market ,
HUD ,
Institutional Investors ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Single Family Housing ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
It has been the case for many years that promotional materials in the EU must be “fair, clear, and not mis-leading”. However, how should managers interpret this high-level requirement when describing their approach to ESG...more
1/19/2026
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Fund Managers ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Funds ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
Latest Developments on the EU Taxonomy Regulation -
As part of the broader "Omnibus" package for the simplification and revision of recent EU ESG rules, the European Commission has moved...more
12/15/2025
/ California ,
Emissions Trading System ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Taxonomy ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Waste Management
On November 18, 2025, the Ninth Circuit temporarily enjoined the implementation of California Senate Bill 261 ("SB 261")—California's climate disclosure law—but rejected a similar challenge to Senate Bill 253 ("SB 253")'s...more
11/20/2025
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
California ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
First Amendment ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Injunctions ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays
After previously failing to come to an agreement, the European Parliament yesterday adopted its negotiating position on the Omnibus package. This time, the position was adopted with a resounding majority — 382 votes in...more
On October 23, 2025, the Paris Judicial Court issued its long-awaited judgment in the so-called "greenwashing" case brought by Greenpeace and other NGOs against TotalEnergies SE and its subsidiary TotalEnergies Electricité et...more
10/27/2025
/ Advertising ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
France ,
Greenpeace ,
Greenwashing ,
Misleading Statements ,
NGOs ,
Oil & Gas ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In January 2025, the Northern District of Texas ruled that ESG factors influenced investment decisions by 401(k) plan fiduciaries in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), despite those decisions...more
10/14/2025
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting ,
Retirement Plan
On September 12, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit paused challenges to the SEC’s climate-related disclosure rules. Earlier this year, the SEC stopped defending the rules in court—while at the same time...more
Back in August, we wrote about a federal court’s refusal to issue a preliminary injunction that would have blocked California’s new climate disclosure statutes—SB 253, requiring large companies to disclose greenhouse gas...more
9/16/2025
/ Appeals ,
California ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
As a follow-up to the political agreement reached between U.S. President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding cross-Atlantic trade on July 27th, 2025, the United States and the EU issued a...more
8/25/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Framework Agreement ,
Popular ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On August 13, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to halt enforcement of SB 253 (emissions disclosure) and SB...more
8/15/2025
/ California ,
CARB ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government
On August 6, the UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") released its findings following a multi-firm review of climate reporting by asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension providers....more
8/11/2025
/ Asset Management ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
The International Court of Justice ("ICJ") stated that States have legal obligations to regulate emissions and may be held internationally responsible for climate inaction—including the failure to effectively regulate...more
On May 29, 2025, a virtual public workshop held by the California Air Resources Board ("CARB") offered direction on how it interprets certain elements of California's climate disclosure laws. While CARB has a July 1, 2025,...more
6/5/2025
/ California ,
Cap-and-Trade ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Filing Requirements ,
Government Agencies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
On March 19, 2025, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ("CFA") issued a landmark ruling on the enforceability of "keepwell deeds" in Peking University Founder Group Company Limited v. Nuoxi Capital Limited....more
As currently drafted, the PROTECT USA Act, introduced on March 12, 2025, may have the unintended impact of creating a significant tension between compliance with U.S. and EU laws by U.S. and non-U.S. companies....more
The European Union published its long-awaited "Omnibus" package, proposing to delay key European ESG rules, while simultaneously reducing the applicability and burden of corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence...more
2/27/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Investors ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sustainability
Acting Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or the "Commission") Chairman Mark Uyeda directed SEC staff to request that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals not schedule an oral argument in the pending litigation...more