“Electrification” has become a ubiquitous term these days, although depending on who you ask, it might have different meanings. However defined, a critical component of electrification as a policy choice to reduce reliance on fossil fuels is the need to fully evaluate both its practicality and the transparency of its cost impacts, particularly as that relates to lower income and middle class families, as well as small business ...
Not long ago, the idea of having a national transport strategy about data would have seemed outlandish. From around five years ago, we’ve had predictions of a lifestyle revolution based on the value of data. Now, that revolution has gone mainstream, and with it, the world of planes, trains and automobiles ...
Shoosmiths’ Public Inquiries team is delighted to present a series of podcasts in respect of reflections and experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Hayley Saunders and Alex Friston, we are delighted to be joined by a variety of speakers, each bringing something different to the table in relation to impacts, views and then thoughts towards the Public Inquiry, which is set to commence its first public hearings on 13 June ...
“I’ve been involved in ESG and sustainability for over 20 years and in the last few years the focus has increased significantly,” says Rich Hall, Head of Sustainability at leading accountancy and professional services firm RSM, on the shift in perception of ESG-related risk within corporate organisations. “Even before the pandemic, we were beginning to see more commentary on ESG issues, mainly centred around the environmental side ...
Shoosmiths has launched ESG 360, a free online compliance audit tool to enable organisations to understand their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. ESG 360 users receive a personalised report providing red, amber or green ratings in relation to various elements of ESG compliance performance, alongside commentary and suggestions for improvement. Built around an online questionnaire, ESG 360 allows users to assess their general ESG performance or focus on specific aspects ...
The Chilean Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has recently announced the possibility to apply to a program for fast-tracking patent’s and utility model’s applications, provided that said applications relate to technical solutions capable of impacting the environment positively ...
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And lawyers, being trained to answer them, will want to address their clients' questions. But a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court means that Georgia lawyers generally cannot ethically advise participants in this new program ...
Back in March 2022, a furore erupted over the mass redundancies by P&O Ferries of its workers and their replacement with an international crew on much lower wages. Amidst all the calls for changes to prevent ‘fire and rehire’ tactics, the only relevant change to employment legislation to have made it onto the statute book so far is The Seafarers' Wages Act 2023 (SWA 2023), which came into force on 23 March 2023 ...
The development of Bermuda's insurance regime is a result of prevailing market conditions and considerations. Recent enhancements to Bermuda's insurance regime have focused on commercial insurers (particularly in the life sector) and this trend looks to continue through and beyond 2023. That said, the BMA recently updated the Insurance Code of Conduct (the Code) in September 2022 ...
On 1 September 2023, the legal framework for seed farming in Russia will take effect. At present, lawmakers are preparing highly controversial regulations, which essentially aim to limit foreign investments in the Russian seed farming sector. The central idea is to implement a set of rules that require Russian companies involved in the production of agricultural plant seed varieties and hybrids to localize their activities (“Localization Rules”) ...
Law and regulation in this area are developing at pace and it’s no longer just those businesses looking for ESG linked products which need to be analysing their Environmental, Social & Governance (‘ESG’) behaviours. This article considers what businesses may wish to be doing voluntarily, either as good practice or in preparation for a financing, in terms of developing their ESG practices ...
This article looks at what ESG means, what we really mean when we talk about ‘ESG lending’, and the types of ESG lending available. When people talk about ‘ESG Lending’ they’re often talking about sustainable lending - encompassing social loans, green loans and sustainability linked loans. Potentially available to all businesses, now is a great time to get familiar with these types of products, as well as the corresponding jargon ...
The Regulation’s overall goal is to encourage Member States to carry out Strategic Mineral Projects involving minerals such as e.g. Copper, Titanium, Nickel – battery grade, Lithium – battery grade, and Rare Earth Elements for magnets. The aim for the EU’s extraction capacity is set to be at least 10 % of the Union’s consumption of strategic raw materials ...
Derby has today (21 March 2023) been named as the national headquarters of Great British Railways (GBR) – a key moment in the government’s plan to reform the rail network. Commenting on the announcement, Michelle Craven-Faulkner, partner and rail lead at Shoosmiths, said: “The long-awaited headquarters of Great British Railways has finally been announced ...
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are increasing their scrutiny and enforcement of ‘green claims’ to protect consumers from 'greenwashing'. What are green claims? Green claims (also known as ‘environmental claims’ or ‘eco-friendly claims’) are claims that a product, service, or business provides a benefit or is less harmful to the environment ...
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar intends to promote foreign investments in the electric vehicle sector in Myanmar by means of a mix of legal and policy initiatives aimed at incentivizing such investments. For the purpose of this article we have considered the year 2022 as the most critical year for legal regulations on electric vehicles (“EVs“) and have pivoted our discussion on legal developments prior to, during and after 2022” ...
Recent months have seen sustained industrial action in the rail sector. On 20 February 2023, the government launched a 12-week consultation on setting minimum service levels for passenger rail. Unlike in many European countries, there are currently no limits in the UK on the number of employees who are able to take part in strike action together ...
There are so many things to celebrate following the news announcement earlier this week that GWR had purchased Vivarail’s assets following it having sadly entered into administration at the end of last year. Naturally the saving of a number of jobs is great to hear but in addition the protection of the highly innovative technology which will ultimately help to support the introduction of battery powered trains onto our network has to be a good thing ...
In 2018, second-term Governor Roy Cooper issued climate-related Executive Orders, which was followed in 2019 by the state’s clean energy plan ...
Hydrogen's potential to support the UK’s journey to net-zero depends in large part on how carbon-intensive the hydrogen we produce is. One of the challenges this presents is transparency. Much like electrons in a wire look the same (whether generated from coal or from wind), a hydrogen molecule looks the same whether produced by electrolysis powered by renewables or from carbon-intensive steam methane reforming ...
Hydrogen is often touted as the future of green industry, heating and fuels. It certainly has the capability to be just that, but there are many hurdles along the way to be overcome. In truth, while there are many methods to produce hydrogen, only four could potentially reach carbon zero ...
In some ways, the 2023 proxy season might be met with a sigh of relief as some extraneous factors impacting United States capital markets—such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict—have stabilized in terms of their increased effect. In that same vein, some changes that may have once been viewed as “trends” in disclosure are very much here to stay ...
Buoyed by consumer demand and legislative support, respondents to Dykema’s 2023 Automotive Trends survey enter the year in a period of cautious innovation. After analyzing survey responses, the firm's 2023 Automotive Trends Report compiles insights from key decision-makers to understand what trends will have the greatest impact on the automotive industry in the following year and beyond ...
