Sustainability: Legal and Business Drivers, and Recent Trends

In the United States, achieving sustainability is not specifically mandated by law. So, without a specific mandate, why would domestic governmental and private corporations pursue sustainability goals? In short, to mitigate risk. Environmental and energy law and regulation and compliance, while generally not specifically requiring sustainability, are relevant to sustainability, such that unsustainable and wasteful approaches present both legal and business risk as well as a heightened risk of regulatory noncompliance. Additionally, governmental and private entities are compelled to fulfill fiduciary duties to rate payers and shareholders respectively, while private entities are sensitive to underlying corporate requirements to comply with law and fulfill fiduciary duties, including mitigating material risk that may arise from such unsustainable approaches. Finally, private entities are subject to market sensitivity and potential risk to brand recognition from publicized unsustainable practices. This presentation will review these legal and business drivers for sustainability, as well as recent trends in sustainability arising from recent deregulation, the global approach to plastic waste and our recent experience with COVID-19.