Even though Belgium is lagging behind when it comes to enacting specific legislation, companies doing business in Belgium should be aware of the risk of being held accountable for human rights violations or environmental pollution up or down their value chain. Human rights violations are a ‘hot’ topic and businesses are confronted with ethical challenges in this respect ...
The Royal Decree No. 750 (B.E. 2565) issued under the Revenue Code regarding income tax exemption on investment in Thai startups (the “Royal Decree”) was recently published in the Government Gazette, in cases where the funding for the startups is provided directly or indirectly through Venture Capital (VC), Corporate Venture Capital (CVC), or private equity trust (PE Trust). This Royal Decree aims to unlock capital gains tax on investment in startups under the Royal Decree No ...
On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would modify its requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule would revise and replace the EPA’s water quality certification rule promulgated in 2020 (the “2020 Rule”) ...
With its increasing population and urbanization, Thailand cannot escape from the mountains of solid waste generated in households and in communities across the country. The inappropriate disposal of solid wastes will cause serious ramifications which would be a national nightmare, such as air pollution, water pollution and contagious diseases. All of these issues are harmful not only in the environmental scale, but also in respect of the public health of each domestic sector ...
In conversation with... Our panel of experts - Nina Pindham of No.5 Chamber, Sam Grange and Will Thomas from Shoosmiths and Rhys Bradshaw from DLP Planning took a fresh look at the new "Planning" Bill and gave us their thoughts. There are many questions that many have about the new ‘Planning’ bill... Is this the final Act for s ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 Sold Products emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’. The event featured guest speakers: Emma Watson, Net Zero Senior Manager, CDP & Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi); Mark Lancelott, Consulting Director, PA Consulting; and Emma Darroch, Responsible Business Manager, Sky ...
In the last edition of The Site Report, we discussed the legal issues surrounding the damage caused by Skanska's construction barges to the new Pensacola Bay Bridge ("Bridge") between Pensacola, Florida and Gulf Breeze, Florida during Hurricane Sally ...
Prepared following concerns expressed by MPs about the government’s oversight of the waste industry. The National Audit Office (NAO) has recently published its report ‘Investigation into the Government’s actions to combat waste crime in England’ ...
While Oregon has enjoyed a relatively mild spring, summer is right around the corner—and with it comes the risks of extreme heat and wildfires. Although Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA) previously issued guidance for employers to protect their employees from these risks, the agency recently adopted formal rules related to exposure to heat and wildfire smoke ...
In this recent article published in Engineering News, WSG Member Mihlali Sitefane, Senior Associate at ENSafrica, provides insightful information on the importance of renewable energy project developers paying closer attention to stakeholder management to avoid pitfalls ...
The U.S. EPA proposed a new rule under the Clean Water Act reversing the Trump Administration’s rule for water quality certifications under section 401 of the Act. Section 401 provides states and tribes with authority to protect waters within their jurisdiction from pollutant discharges originating from federally-licensed or -permitted projects ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 waste-related emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
Charles Arrand considers the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, with a focus on both the potential business and human costs of failing to discharge obligations under the Order. Fire safety is regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Order), which applies to almost all buildings, places and structures other than individual private homes ...
What follows is a cautionary tale for anyone involved who fails to follow a natural disaster preparedness plan. Taking short cuts and failing to follow agreed upon emergency preparedness plans are a recipe for disaster. While the litigation we analyze in this article stems from bridge construction in Florida, the lessons learned from this real situation are applicable all across the country ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 transportation and distribution emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
By: Gwenneth O’Hara, Nora Sheriff, Jonathan Kendrick, and Lillian Rafii After extensive collaboration with other state agencies and nearly a year’s worth of public workshops on scoping plan topics and modeling, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released its Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update (Draft Scoping Plan) on May 10, 2022 ...
“ESG” is an acronym that is being used with growing frequency across the investment community. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance criteria, which are increasingly used by socially conscious investors when deciding whether or not to invest in a company. Environmental criteria are effectively a company’s green credentials. Social criteria relate to the people the company works with and the community it serves ...
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have taken on an increased significance in recent years, and the pace of change is accelerating. ESG performance is becoming an additional standard by which businesses are being judged by consumers, investors and other stakeholders ...
On March 30, 2022 the Division of Examinations of the United States Securities & Exchange Commission published the 2022 Examination Priorities. As in other years, the 2022 Examination Priorities document provides certain data regarding the scope of the examination program and the growth of the investment adviser community ...
Decree-Law 30-A/2022was published on 18 April to approve the exceptional measures intended to ensure the simplification of the procedures for producing energy from renewable sources. These measures came into force on 19 April and will be in force for a period of 2 years. These exceptional measures have been published by the Government in the current macroeconomic and geopolitical situation ...