In the past several years, systems for rating corporate sustainability regimes have burgeoned, and more than 100 ratings, rankings, and indices are now available for use by investors, consumers, and others interested in comparing one company to another based on its sustainability and corporate responsibility program.

Regulators and prosecutors are flexing their enforcement muscles in new and sometimes novel ways.

Beverage and pharma producers beware: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently has shown an interest in enforcing the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

The US Government has for some time had in place sustainability procurement requirements, pursuant to Executive Order 13514, which mandates that 95% of new contract actions must be "green," including new task orders.

On October 30, 2017, in a matter of first impression in any Court of Appeals, the Second Circuit held in Bascuñán v. Elsaca that plaintiffs who allege injuries to tangible property located within the United States can satisfy the domestic injury requirement for claims brought under Section 1964(c) of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO").

The Federal Reserve’s decision to begin tapering its bond buying program is likely to put a dent in M&A activity in 2014 because it will likely lead to higher interest rates, making deal financing more expensive, according to a panel of experts.

Pepper Hamilton LLP and Freeh Group International Solutions are presenting two in-person seminars on "The New SEC Conflict Minerals Rule: Overcoming the Challenges of Compliance."

Congratulations to the Hamilton Spectator for their investigative journalism on hazardous waste and contaminated sites: Toxic Past and Present.

This paper introduces the Business Enterprise Income Tax (BEIT), a comprehensive and detailed proposal for reforming business income taxation.

On August 14, 2013, in Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. v. Sunbeam Prods., Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment that claims 1 and 3-7 of U.S. Patent No. 7,947,928, which related to a portable slow cooker, were invalid as anticipated.

Lewis Hamilton has recently been crowned Formula One World Champion for a record-equalling seventh time but, move from the race track to the slightly less glamorous arena that is trade mark law, and things are not looking quite so rosy.

In a watershed moment, Standard & Poor’s recently gave a BBB+ rating to bonds backed by solar power contracts that are expected to raise $54.4 million for SolarCity, an installer of residential and commercial solar panels.

As discussed previously on the blog, the IRS released Notice 2013-29 on April 15 which provided guidance on determining when construction has begun on a qualified renewable energy facility for purposes of the production tax credit.

In results reported by the American Wind Energy Association on October 17, the U.S. wind industry saw installations rise 40% during the first three quarters of 2012 compared to the first three quarters of 2011.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has recently issued a press release that it has received $7.25 million in funding from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to complete the agency’s Sunshine Solar Program.

In 2012, insurance regulators in three states, California, New York and Washington, required insurers that write premiums in excess of $300 million and do business in those states to disclose their climate-related risks.

The IRS issued a relatively brief Private Letter Ruling 201310001 holding that an Indian tribal government is neither a governmental unit described in Section 50(b)(4) nor an organization exempt from tax imposed by Chapter 1 for purposes of Section 50 of the Code.

Registration is now open for the 2013 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo to be held on November 20-22 in Philadelphia.

The IRS released a private letter ruling on March 15 regarding the placed in service date for a wind farm for purposes of claiming the production tax credit and depreciation.

In recent decades, companies seeking to reduce manufacturing costs and improve profit margins have increasingly employed contract manufacturing – that is, the outsourcing of partial or complete manufacturing of products to third party producers, particularly those in countries with lower labor costs such as China, India, and the like.