January 2025
Our prime economic measure, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), fails to factor in environmental sustainability and well-being by undervaluing nature and making it too cheap to pollute. Yes, there have been a great many strides in protecting environmental, worker, and consumer rights in the past 100 years or so. But as the climate crisis worsens, and technology and science evolve, there are always areas that could, and should, be more strictly regulated.
Individuals can only recycle what has been designed to be recyclable. Companies spew endless pollution and greenhouse gasses that are hazards to health and environment, unless limits have been placed. Risks can be managed, only as thoroughly as the transparency behind them.
The US is making some headway in this area, though in many ways lags behind other major economies of the world. Today, with little federal support, states will take the lead on passing climate action and pollution reduction measures.
This blog summarizes 2024 legislation to keep you up to date.
Do you need a state-by-state legislation assessment for your business??
2024 Legislation Buckets:
1. Sustainability Disclosure Standards
2. Extended Producer Responsibility
3. PFAs
Most Applicable to:
1. Businesses, especially those in supply chains
2. Producers/importers of certain goods, consumers & waste management
3. Anyone who uses water
Sustainability Disclosure Standards
A sustainability disclosure standard is a set of requirements by which companies disclose information about their sustainability-related risks and opportunities. These disclosures allow investors and customers to make more informed decisions about their spending, and adds to accountability standards of responsible business. Disclosures typically take a "climate-first" approach, mandating disclosures on greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks as a bare minimum. However, other sustainability/ESG topics are not excluded, for example biodiversity and water use.
In a historic first for federal-level legislation in the United States, the SEC adopted sustainability disclosure standards for publicly-traded companies in early 2024. While the legislation is currently paused due to litigation, it mainly requires businesses to report their Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions, climate-related risks, and mitigation and adaptation strategies.
(While the SEC legislation would have been most impactful in terms of breadth, California passed similar legislation in 2023- which includes similar reporting standards including Scope 3 emissions and penalties, uniquely. This legislation impacts over 5,000 businesses operating in California.)
Extended Producer Responsibility
Local municipalities and tax payers have long been burdened with the financial and environmental costs of transporting, sorting, and disposing of the enormous mass of products that have been manufactured and sold without consideration for recyclability, repairability, or even durability.
Extended Producer Responsibility, or “EPR”, laws assign producers responsibility for the end-of-life of products (i.e. collection and recycling or disposal.) This type of legislation requires producers to establish industry organizations. These Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) will study, report on, fund research, and develop processes to increase recyclability and proper disposal of their products. This may look like rolling out educational programs, and take-back collection schemes.
In 2024, California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Jersey passed Extended Producer Responsibility Laws. Industries impacted include apparel/textiles (CA), batteries (IL, NJ), paint (MD), boat wrap (MN), and packaging (MN).
PFAS (Per and poly-fluoroalkyls)
Last, but certainly not least, it was a big year for PFAs restrictions, and rightfully so. PFAs are “forever chemicals” that never breakdown in the environment and are known hazards, causing cancers and other serious ailments. These chemicals leach into the web of life so effectively due to their ubiquitous use in consumer products, through waste water discharge, and because they are difficult to filter out. Clean water and safe products are fundamental rights.
In 2024, 155 bills related to PFAS and other toxic chemicals were adopted across 29 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.) These bills cover a variety of different aspects of regulation, from requiring facilities that have worked with PFAS to disclose one-time reports, to setting stricter limits in water sources, to outright banning PFAS in products like food packaging, beauty products, and firefighting materials. In an environmental justice win, several bills provided appropriations funding for communities suffering from PFAs exposure as well.
While the US may be behind other leading nations in this space, we celebrate every win no matter how small!
REFERENCES:
Climate Policy Dashboard: State Climate Policy Dashboard | State Climate Policy Dashboard
Building Code Dashboard: State Portal | Building Energy Codes Program
Extended Producer Responsibility (Products): EPR Laws Map - Product Stewardship Institute
Extended Producer Responsibility (Packaging): EPR Laws: Sustainable Packaging Coalition
PFAS: https://www.saferstates.org/bill-tracker/?toxic_chemicals=PFAS
