Overview
Litigation
Jewelry brand David Yurman and direct to consumer brand Mejuri Inc. settled a lawsuit brought by Yurman in US District Court in the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleged that Mejuri copied certain of Yurman’s collections. While the suit asserted claims of trade dress infringement and dilution, it also raised ESG statements made by Mejuri. Specifically, Yurman alleged that despite marketing itself as a "socially-responsible" brand, Mejuri failed to live up to the promise. It is an example of how companies are increasingly scrutinizing ESG claims made by their competitors and finding creative avenues to bring challenges.
*The case is David Yurman Enterprises LLC, et al., v. Mejuri, Inc., et al., 1:21-cv-10821 (SDNY).
Legislation
On Wednesday, 19 April 2023, the European Parliament formally adopted the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products, which will require companies to ensure that certain products they place on the EU market have not contributed to deforestation or forest degradation throughout their supply chains. The EU Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the final text of the Regulation in December 2022. Now that the EU Parliament has adopted the instrument, there is only the formal adoption by the EU Council pending before the Regulation gets published and enters into force.
Regulation
The UK Advertising Standards Agency has banned two adverts in which Etihad Airways claimed it was engaged in sustainable aviation for being misleading to customers about the environmental impact of aviation. UK advertising regulations require sustainability claims to be supported by high levels of evidence. While acknowledging Etihad’s efforts to reduce its environmental footprint, the ASA found that the adverts included inadequate information to support the sustainability claims made.
Litigation
Environmental NGOs have filed two lawsuits against the European Commission’s decision to include gas and nuclear energy in its sustainable finance instrument – the so-called EU Taxonomy. The NGOs challenge the possibility of considering gas and nuclear as sustainable activities, calling their listing in the Taxonomy a "fake green label." The controversial inclusion is already the subject of separate litigation brought by Sweden, with support from Luxembourg against the European Commission.
Statement
"We urge the implementation of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures that provide consistent and decision-useful information for market participants and call for more partners beyond the G7 to join in this effort."
Communiqué, G7 Ministers' Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment, Sapporo, Japan, April 16, 2023
As per the communique released by the G7 ministers following their meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo, Japan this month, the climate and environment ministers of G7 countries are calling for mandatory disclosure of climate-related financial information. The move is deemed necessary to expedite sustainable finance and achieve global climate goals.
