by Cynthia Thyfault (QuantaVision/Biofuels Digest) The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently finalized a climate disclosure rule that has sparked intense debate across political, corporate, and environmental spheres. Initially expected to align with the stringent climate regulations of the European Union, the SEC’s
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Back TO HOMEExecutives Say Emissions Disclosures Are Here to Stay Despite Challenges to U.S. Rules
by Leah Garden (Trellis) California and the EU's corporate disclosure mandates are acting like a port in a storm amidst federal upheaval. -- In recent months, new mandates requiring public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions have been challenged in the
August 06, 2024 Read Full Article
SEC Adopts Rules to Enhance and Standardize Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings. The final rules reflect the Commission’s efforts to respond to investors’ demand for more consistent,
March 08, 2024 Read Full Article
Delta’s Refinery Produces Test Batch Of Renewable Diesel, Considers SAF Production
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) A Pennsylvania refinery operated by a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc. is evaluating the possibility of producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other renewable fuels, according to information contained in the company’s annual report. Delta filed
February 28, 2024 Read Full Article
Keeping Pace With Climate Regulations --- February 6, 2024 --- ONLINE
New regulations related to sustainability and climate change are piling up, requiring companies to make frequent updates to their programs and reporting. Explore the significance of new rules, compare different approaches around the world and examine what companies need to
January 10, 2024 Read Full Article
Timeline 2024: 28 Sustainability Policies, Guidelines and Targets to Track
by Elsa Wenzel (GreenBiz) ... The business of sustainability continues to evolve rapidly. Here are the most important changes to expect in the coming year. Below are some defining moments that will drive change in the business of sustainability in the
December 20, 2023 Read Full Article
Reuters IMPACT: Tracking the Evolution of Sustainability Strategies and Investments across the Globe
by Liam Stoker (Reuters) With sustainability increasingly climbing up corporate agendas, decision-makers are navigating two primary disruptions — the pressure to decarbonize operations and the regulatory need to report Many businesses are preparing for more comprehensive sustainability reporting requirements by investing in
October 27, 2023 Read Full Article
Q&A: The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – To Whom Does It Apply and What Should EU and Non-EU Companies Consider?
by Greg Norman, Simon Toms, Adam M. Howard, Kathryn Gamble (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP) As part of its commitment to strengthen sustainability disclosure in its 2018 Sustainable Finance Action Plan, the European Commission (EC), together with the European Financial
October 20, 2023 Read Full Article
California’s Climate Disclosure Bill Could Have Nationwide Impacts
by Kristoffer Tigue (Inside Climate News) The legislation, passed by the state lawmakers this week, still needs the governor's signature. But it could be the first to require companies to report carbon emissions from supply chains. Large corporations that want to do
September 16, 2023 Read Full Article
Pro Take: Forget the SEC, International Climate Reporting Standards Could Become the Global Baseline
by Rochelle Toplensky (Wall Street Journal) New international sustainability reporting standards could fulfill their ambition in becoming the global baseline as the advantages of using a single standard worldwide may, for many companies, outweigh the disadvantages of being more demanding than
June 29, 2023 Read Full Article
NextEra to Swap Gas Pipelines for Renewables and Green Hydrogen
by Janet Wood (WindPower Monthly) Florida-headquartered NextEra Energy Partners has announced plans to divest its natural gas pipeline assets in order to invest up to $20 billion in green hydrogen and renewable energy. READ MORE NextEra Energy Partners, LP announces plan
May 31, 2023 Read Full Article
Bernstein Liebhard LLP Announces that a Securities Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed against Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR)
(Bernstein Liebhard/PR Newswire) Bernstein Liebhard LLP announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Vertex Energy, Inc. ("Vertex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: VTNR) between April 1, 2022 and August 8, 2022, inclusive
March 20, 2023 Read Full Article
Podcast: The SEC’s Climate Risk Rule Dilemma
(Politico) Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is reportedly considering scaling back the historic 'climate risk disclosure' rule, which would require large companies to disclose the carbon emissions from their supply chain. POLITICO’s Declan Harty breaks down the potential
February 09, 2023 Read Full Article
Petron Gets Regulatory Nod on Biofuels Business
by Ashley Erika O. Jose (BusinessWorld) Petron Corp. has secured regulatory approval on its planned biofuels venture, the company announced on Tuesday. In a regulatory filing, Petron said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved an amendment to the company’s articles
January 09, 2023 Read Full Article
Delta and Other Firms Are Struggling to Meet Sky-High Climate Pledges
by Steven Mufson (Washington Post) Some corporations started out using their sustainability goals as a marketing tool, underestimating the challenges. Now they face charges of “greenwashing” and even litigation. -- Delta Air Lines has embraced one of the corporate world’s most
November 11, 2022 Read Full Article
On a High Note: London Stock Exchange Boosts Carbon Credits
by Elizabeth Love (World War Zero) The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has become the first trading center in the world to publish listing rules regulating carbon trade, giving a boost to the carbon offsets industry. Under the new regulations, companies will be able to submit
October 18, 2022 Read Full Article
Follow the Carbon Trail: Quantifying a Corporate Carbon Footprint
(Climate Now) With Charles Cannon of RMI. Calls for transparent information on the carbon footprint of a product, service, company or government are getting louder from consumers and investors, and will likely be soon codified in regulations like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed
September 20, 2022 Read Full Article
The Future of SEC Regulation and How to Prepare --- September 20, 2022 --- ONLINE
Helping investors make better decisions may be the driving force. But the reality is that the U.S. may be moving closer to mandated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures for the first time. On March 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
September 12, 2022 Read Full Article
Enhanced Disclosures by Certain Investment Advisers and Investment Companies about Environmental, Social, and Governance Investment Practices Public Comment DEADLINE: August 16, 2022
(Securities and Exchange Commission/Federal Register) The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is proposing to amend rules and forms under both the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”) to require registered
July 18, 2022 Read Full Article
Meeting Corporate ESG Goals in the Near-Term
by Marc Rowe (Trillium/Advanced Clean Tech News) Corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals are transitioning from a buzz word to something companies need to proactively implement. ESG reports demonstrate how companies are taking the initiative to protect the environment, address social
July 07, 2022 Read Full Article
Biofuel, Ag Groups Comment on SEC Climate Disclosures Rulemaking
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) ... Growth Energy’s comments focused on the calculation of biofuel GHG emissions. “The proposed rule would require many public companies to calculate and disclose GHG emissions from throughout their entire supply chain and production cycle,” Growth Energy
June 26, 2022 Read Full Article
NAFA Partners With ESG Integrity to Assist Its Members With SEC Requirements on Environmental And Social Governance Regulations
(Fuels Institute) ESG Integrity, a Fuels Institute program, and the National Association of Fleet Managers (NAFA) announced a partnership to assist the fuels and transportation industries with meeting the growing demand for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) planning and reporting. ESG
June 09, 2022 Read Full Article
Complying with SEC-Mandated Carbon Emissions Reporting --- June 14, 2022 --- ONLINE
The recent SEC proposed rule that would require public companies to include certain climate-related information is being seen as a game-changer in ESG reporting. It also stands to accelerate boards of directors and the C-suite to hone their products, processes
May 30, 2022 Read Full Article
Q&A: Why the Chemical Industry Is Leading the Way in ESG
by Bryan Sims (Opportune LLP) Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies present supply chains with a double-edged sword of opportunity. Global companies must consider the humane treatment of workers, strive to reduce their emissions profile, and implement sound business ethics and board
May 27, 2022 Read Full Article
Explaining the SEC's Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules
(Climate Now) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants to standardize climate disclosures for publicly traded companies. What does that mean? On March 21, 2022 the SEC released a proposal for a new rule: publicly traded companies will have to provide disclosures
April 12, 2022 Read Full Article
With SEC Proposed Rule Change, Fleet Advantage Certifies Truck Fleets’ GHG Output
by Ariana Fine (NGT News) Fleet Advantage, a truck fleet business analytics, equipment financing and life cycle cost management (LCCM) company, has released a program to help corporate truck fleets certify their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) output, which was recently mandated
March 29, 2022 Read Full Article
SEC Plans to Force Public Companies to Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emissions Public Comment DEADLINE: June 17, 2022
by Douglas MacMillan and Maxine Joselow (Washington Post) From Coca-Cola to Tesla, companies report emissions in widely different ways. A new federal rule is expected to standardize climate disclosures, putting the U.S. on closer footing with other countries. -- The
March 17, 2022 Read Full Article
Companies Worry U.S. SEC Climate Rule May Require Broad Emissions Disclosures
by Katanga Johnson (Reuters) As the U.S. securities regulator wraps up a draft of a landmark new climate change rule, environmental campaigners and activist investors want it to require companies to disclose not only their own greenhouse gas emissions but those
January 19, 2022 Read Full Article
Emerging Fuels Technology Announces Regulation A+ Offering to Commercialize Breakthrough Tech that Converts Waste Sources into Fuels that Greatly Reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
(Emerging Fuels Technology/Globe Newswire) With its small, BioGTL and FlareBuster™ plant technology, EFT is addressing the immediate need for more sustainable, cleaner fuel sources -- Emerging Fuels Technology (EFT), a technology company focused on transforming a number of waste sources of carbon
October 15, 2021 Read Full Article
API's New Climate Disclosure Formula
by Matthew Choi (Politico's Morning Energy) The American Petroleum Institute unveiled a voluntary template for its members to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. Ben breaks down what it entails: “The template put forward by API includes five data sections, including
June 25, 2021 Read Full Article
Biden Prepares Sweeping Order on Climate-Related Risks
by Lorraine Woellert (Politico) In a draft executive order, President Joe Biden reaches into all corners of the federal government with plans that would touch every sector. -- President Joe Biden is preparing to instruct federal agencies to take sweeping
April 16, 2021 Read Full Article
Biden Administration Wants the Financial Sector to Face up to Climate Risk
by Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission aims to create a new Climate Risk Unit, joining initiatives at Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Reserve -- A growing number of federal
March 18, 2021 Read Full Article
Now You Can Give the SEC Your “Two Cents” On Climate Disclosures DEADLINE June 15, 2021
(Our Daily Planet) The Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission wants to know what you want to know about how corporations are dealing with climate change and other environmental risks. In a speech yesterday to the liberal think tank the Center
March 16, 2021 Read Full Article
House Democrats Unveil Sweeping Climate Legislation to Transform Country’s Energy Mix
(Aken Gump) On Tuesday, March 2, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee introduced a sweeping climate proposal—the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act—an amended version of draft legislation released last year in the
March 03, 2021 Read Full Article
SEC to Toughen Climate Rules on Companies
by Avery Ellfeldt (E&E News) The acting head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is expanding the agency's efforts to push public companies to be transparent about the threats they face from climate change. Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee announced yesterday
February 26, 2021 Read Full Article
Auto Industry Peers into an Electric Future and Sees Bumps Ahead
by Steven Mufson (Washington Post) ... (T)he question is not, ‘Can we sell to the wealthy?’ It is, ‘Can we get the everyday household in mainstream America to buy an EV?’ and we’re still a long way away from that.” Meanwhile,
February 12, 2021 Read Full Article
SEC Commissioner Talks Climate
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Securities and Exchange Commission member Allison Herren Lee said on Tuesday that "climate change presents a systemic risk to the financial market" and that "there's certainly evidence that climate risks are currently underpriced." Lee, who
September 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Biodiesel Fraud Suit Nets $70 Million for Whistleblower, Feds
(Bloomberg Law) Scheme to defraud EPA renewable fuel program; Criminal cases made damages easy to calculate e-Biofuels LLC and other defendants face a $70 million liability for violating the False Claims Act by engaging in a scheme to defraud the EPA’s renewable
May 04, 2020 Read Full Article
Inslee’s “Evergreen Economy” Plan Includes Green Infrastructure and Climate-Smart Ag, but Barely
by Declan Foraise (Ecosystem Marketplace) Washington state Governor Jay Inslee has built his entire campaign on climate change, and today (May 16, 2019) he unveiled his “Evergreen Economy” proposal to redirect more than two dozen existing US programs towards the climate challenge.
June 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Ethanol Credits Criticized by Icahn Drop to Pennies Under Trump
by Mario Parker and Jennifer A Dlouhy (Bloomberg) Gradual drop seen as refiners, farmers debate White House deal; Icahn owns 82% stake in independent oil refiner CVR Energy -- The biofuel compliance credits used by refiners and criticized by billionaire Carl Icahn have tumbled
September 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Company Ordered to Pay $31.9M to SEC for Biofuel Fraud
by Dave Stafford (The Indiana Lawyer) Evansville-based Imperial Petroleum Inc. has been ordered to pay nearly $32 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission after it failed to reply to the SEC’s court filings seeking damages in a biofuels fraud case that
September 21, 2018 Read Full Article
Leveling the Playing Field: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Renewable Reserves Accounting
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In November 2011, the Digest ran a story on a remarkable proposition — advanced by Richard Hamilton, then CEO of Ceres — that biofuels companies – on the “level playing field” theory advanced by opponents of
July 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Investors Stunned over Oil Producer’s Climate-Change Exemption
by Amy Harder (Axios) ... Trillium proposed a resolution calling on EOG to set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. EOG complained to the SEC in late December that the proposal would micromanage the company, calling it a "rigid, time-bound" target, and asked
April 04, 2018 Read Full Article
U.S. Subpoenas Icahn Over Biofuel Action While Trump Adviser
by Miles Weiss, Jennifer A Dlouhy, and Mario Parker (Bloomberg) U.S. Attorney for Southern District of N.Y. seeks information; Icahn Enterprises discloses request in securities filing -- Federal investigators have issued subpoenas for information on Carl Icahn’s efforts to change biofuel policy while
November 09, 2017 Read Full Article
Biofuel Case: $4.5M for Investors under Federal Settlement
by Jeff Amy (Fox Business/Associated Press) A federal judge has approved a $4.5 million settlement for private shareholders of failed biofuel maker KiOR, and a lawsuit by the state of Mississippi seeking to recover a much larger amount continues. U.S. District
June 12, 2017 Read Full Article
CFTC Says It Is Not Probing Icahn's Activity in Biofuels Credits
by Timothy Gardner (Reuters) The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission informed eight Democratic U.S. senators last month that it is not investigating biofuels credits after the lawmakers had urged it to probe billionaire Carl Icahn's activity in that market, according
June 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Senators Call on SEC, EPA, CFTC to Investigate Trump Advisor Carl Icahn for Possible Insider Trading, Market Manipulation in Renewable Fuel Credit Market
(Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren) U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), called on the heads of the Commodities Futures
May 18, 2017 Read Full Article
CEO of Publicly Traded Company along with Two Others Sent to Federal Prison
(Department of Justice) Defrauded biodiesel purchasers and shareholders -- United States Attorney Josh Minkler and Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced today the sentencing of two individuals who
December 06, 2016 Read Full Article
Blue Marble Biomaterials to Offer Equity Shares to the Public via Reg A+
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Montana, Blue Marble Biomaterials will become the first biomaterials company to utilize Regulation A+, a type of equity crowdfunding regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will offer equity shares to the public. Regulation
November 30, 2016 Read Full Article
KiOR: The Inside True Story of a Company Gone Wrong. Part 5, The Collapse
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In 2011, KiOR raised $150 million in its June IPO, claiming that it was generating yields of 67 gallons per ton in its Demo unit operations. But it was miles short of that. In our previous
November 25, 2016 Read Full Article
KiOR: The Inside True Story of a Company Gone Wrong. Part 4, the Year of Living Disingenuously
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... But so far, the company and its celebrity investors and directors such as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and famed venture capitalist Vinod Khosla had escaped close scrutiny. ... The methods for keeping the truth bottled
September 19, 2016 Read Full Article
Securities Fraud Related to Biodiesel Fraud Scheme Convicted in Jury Trial
(U.S. Department of Justice) U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana announced today the guilty verdict after an eight-day jury trial of Jeffrey Wilson of Evansville, Indiana, who was charged with securities fraud related to a
August 17, 2016 Read Full Article
KiOR: The Inside True Story of a Company Gone Wrong. Part 3, “You’ve Cooked the Books”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The company was beginning to hurtle towards an IPO. But the fuel yields were low; the fuel was not usable by their initial chosen downstream partner; the catalyst they were using to get even down
August 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Greens: Gas Developers Aren’t Telling Investors of Methane Leaks
by Devin Henry (The Hill) Natural gas developers are providing very restricted information about their methane emissions to investors, according to a report released Monday by a green group. According to an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) analysis, only 18 of 65 major
January 17, 2016 Read Full Article
SASB Issues Provisional Sustainability Accounting Standards for Renewable Resources & Alternative Energy Sector
(Sustainability Accounting Standards Board/PR Newswire) The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board™ (SASB)™, a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides sustainability accounting standards for publicly listed companies in the U.S., today issued provisional standards for six industries in the Renewable Resources & Alternative Energy sector,
December 16, 2015 Read Full Article
The Above Ground Oil Field: or, Why $65 and $94 Oil Are Inflection Points for Renewable Fuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Unlimited oil production, no exploration risk, positive on environment, cheaper than unconventional US crude — what’s not to like about certain biofuels? This year, Joule Unlimited noted that a “10,000 acre plant represents a reserve value
September 08, 2015 Read Full Article
Study Shows: Big Oil Is Chicken Little over Ethanol
by Ryan Koopmans (Des Moines Register) ... For the last decade, Big Oil has been running nervously through the halls of the U.S. Capitol and the EPA, screaming — to anyone who will listen — that the Renewable Fuel Standard is
April 06, 2015 Read Full Article
Investors Ask Oil Companies to Disclose Refineries' Risks from Climate Change
by Siri Srinivas (The Guardian) Shareholders ask the five largest US oil companies – Valero, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66 and Chevron – to disclose the risks their operations and facilities face from rising sea levels and storm surges. ... In letters
March 02, 2015 Read Full Article
Gevo Issues Plant Update, Transfers Common Stock Listing
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) On Jan. 8, Gevo Inc. issued an update of operations at its Luverne, Minnesota, plant, reporting that the facility produced more than 50,000 gallons of biobased isobutanol in December. The company also recently announced the
January 09, 2015 Read Full Article
Billionaire Vinod Khosla’s Big Dreams for Biofuels Fail to Catch Fire
by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) Just over a year ago, billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla was bubbling with optimism about one of his latest investments: KiOR, a biofuel outfit he said would turn wood chips into hydrocarbons that could
November 30, 2014 Read Full Article
Ex-Cofounder at KIOR Claims Technology not Working
(Global BioBusiness) A former cofounder of biofuel maker KiOR says he tried to warn other board members about problems with KiOR’s technology. The claims come from Mr. Paul O’Connor, who cofounded the company and worked there until June 2012 and
October 10, 2014 Read Full Article
More Trouble Brewing at KiOR
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Key figure and company director Paul O’Connor resigns. Allegations relating to possible inside trading, suppression of 3rd party technology report laid by the Board against O’Connor. O’Connor makes allegations concerning “KiOR’s management team and KiOR’s technology”. In
September 09, 2014 Read Full Article
Improving Access to Capital Markets
by Joe Leo (Biodiesel Magazine/BrownWinick Law Firm) Let’s be honest, despite the fact that the biodiesel industry is experiencing arguably its most successful year, it is still difficult for biodiesel producers to raise capital in the current investing climate. This
August 29, 2013 Read Full Article
Pomerantz Law Firm Has Filed a Class Action Against Kior, Inc. and Certain Officers -- KIOR
(PR NewsWire/ Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross) Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against Kior, Inc. ("Kior" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: KIOR) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District
August 20, 2013 Read Full Article
Breaking News: General Solicitation Ban Lifted on Investment Offerings
by Jim Lane (BioInvest Digest) Renaissance in biobased capital raising expected; register your interest in raising capital or seeing deal flow. In Washington, SEC Commissioners have voted 4-1 to lift the ban on general solicitation, and to create a new 506( c)
July 10, 2013 Read Full Article
SEC Wins Judgment against Rivera
by Kevin Cooper (Natchez Democrat) A federal judge ruled Thursday that would-be biofuels wizard John Rivera’s claims were not worth the hill of beans he claimed could be magically turned into fuel. U.S. District Judge David Bramlette handed down a summary