ESG Outlook for 2024

January 2024 

By Patrick Miller

California Lawyers Association’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee hopes that everyone has a wonderful start to 2024 and is looking forward to making progress on a number of ESG initiatives. 

We are hoping that the SEC will release its final rules on climate-related disclosures this year. We’re also actively monitoring the implementation of SB 253 and SB 261 here in California, which will impact how companies go about reporting on their environmental impact.

On the human rights front, we’re hoping that the European Union will become a leader in this space through its Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive. The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal on this in December 2023. We’re also continuing to monitor the U.S. government’s enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which is one of the key ways the U.S. has begun to enforce the prohibition against products produced through forced labor from entering the country. 

These are just a few of the exciting topics on the horizon involving ESG and the law. The ESG Committee is also looking forward to releasing several new episodes of its ESG-in-Law series on YouTube which is hosted by Patrick Miller. Many of the episodes in 2024 will focus on ESG litigation, including greenwashing claims, shareholder derivative suits, and strategic human rights litigation.

Patrick Miller is a member of California Lawyers Association’s ESG Interest Group. He is the founding attorney at Impact Advocates APC, a Los Angeles-based law firm that focuses on commercial litigation and international arbitration, as well as ESG advisory services such as implementing responsible supply chain frameworks.