Issue - September 22, 2026

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, September 22, and this week’s ESG Litigation Weekly covers a legal challenge to the U.S. EPA’s partial repeal of power plant carbon standards, Accenture’s $25 million settlement over federal contracting discrimination allegations, EFRAG’s consultation on digital sustainability reporting, and more.

Environmental and Health Groups Challenge EPA Repeal of Power Plant Carbon Standards
Environmental and public health groups petitioned the D.C. Circuit to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) partial repeal of its 2024 greenhouse gas standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. The final rule repeals emissions guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired steam generating units and carbon capture and storage-based standards for certain modified coal plants and new baseload combustion turbines. EPA says its reevaluation found that the underlying technologies were not adequately demonstrated or achievable at reasonable cost within the required timelines. The petitioning groups contend that the repeal conflicts with EPA’s obligations under the Clean Air Act. EPA separately proposed eliminating the remaining power plant greenhouse gas requirements.
🔗 Read more → Environmental Defense Fund (Court Filing, Press Release), EPA (Press Release, Rule Materials)

Accenture Agrees to $25 Million Settlement Over Federal Contracting Discrimination Allegations
Accenture Federal Services, Accenture plc, and Accenture LLP agreed to pay $25 million plus interest to resolve U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations under the False Claims Act. DOJ alleged that Accenture Federal Services falsely certified compliance with federal anti-discrimination requirements while considering race or sex in certain employment practices. The alleged conduct, covering 2017 through the settlement’s effective date, included demographic goals affecting hiring and promotion and restrictions on access to certain training and development opportunities. The settlement includes approximately $11.6 million in restitution. Accenture denies the alleged conduct, and the agreement is not an admission of liability. It resolves specified civil claims while preserving, among other matters, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s authority over pending or future charges.
🔗 Read more → DOJ (Press Release, Settlement Agreement)

Starbucks Settles Florida Lawsuit Over Diversity Practices
Starbucks reached a settlement resolving a Florida Attorney General lawsuit filed in December 2025 alleging race- and sex-based discrimination under the Florida Civil Rights Act. According to the Attorney General’s announcement, Starbucks committed to comply with the Act, which the office says prohibits race- and sex-based goals, quotas, and preferences in areas including hiring, promotion, compensation, mentorship, supplier selection, and board composition. Its chief legal officer must submit annual compliance certifications for four years, and the company will pay $1 million to reimburse the state’s costs. The agreement includes no admission of liability or wrongdoing. Starbucks said it was pleased to resolve the matter and would continue offering employment and career opportunities.
🔗 Read more → Florida Attorney General (Press Release)

Federal Court Allows Some Firefighters’ PFAS Gear Claims to Proceed
A Connecticut federal court allowed portions of a proposed class action by firefighter unions and individual firefighters against 3M, DuPont, Chemours, Corteva, Honeywell, and other companies to proceed. The case concerns alleged PFAS exposure from protective turnout gear. The court found that individual firefighters sufficiently alleged present subcellular injury to seek damages and medical monitoring without manifested disease. Unions could pursue their own alleged injuries, but could not seek damages or medical monitoring on members’ behalf. The court dismissed the design-defect claim against 3M concerning PFAS chemicals themselves, while allowing claims involving gear materials, negligence, and failure to warn. Standalone claims for medical monitoring and statutory punitive damages were dismissed, but those remedies remain potentially available. The ruling did not establish liability.
🔗 Read more → Court Ruling via Justia, Reuters

EFRAG Consults on Draft XBRL Taxonomy for Revised ESRS
EFRAG released a draft XBRL taxonomy for the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and opened consultation through November 11, 2026. The taxonomy provides a technical structure for machine-readable sustainability disclosures and aligns with EFRAG’s draft datapoint list released in August. It would replace the 2024 taxonomy and reflects the revised ESRS adopted by the European Commission in July 2026. Publication of the draft does not make digital tagging mandatory. Implementation under the European Single Electronic Format requires further action by the European Securities and Markets Authority and the Commission. EFRAG plans to submit the final taxonomy to both institutions by the end of 2026.
🔗 Read more → EFRAG (Press Release, Consultation Materials)

European Parliament Backs Broader CBAM Scope and Anti-Circumvention Rules
The European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on proposed changes to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on September 15. Parliament supports extending the mechanism to a broader range of downstream steel and aluminum products and strengthening measures against circumvention. The proposed expansion would bring more manufactured goods within the mechanism, which addresses carbon costs associated with imports. The file was referred back to the responsible committee for negotiations with the Council. Parliament’s amendments are not yet final law.
🔗 Read more → European Parliament (Adopted Text, Legislative Observatory)

SEC Proposes Rescinding Shareholder Proposal Rule and Changing Proxy Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rescinding Rule 14a-8, which governs when companies must include shareholder proposals in their proxy materials. If adopted, inclusion would instead depend on applicable state law and company governing documents. Proposed changes to Rule 14a-4(c) would expand companies’ discretionary voting authority over certain proposals not separately listed on their proxy cards, subject to disclosure requirements and a shareholder opt-out. A separate proposal would eliminate certain annual-report delivery requirements, end both mandatory and voluntary submissions of Notices of Exempt Solicitation, and shorten the minimum broker-search period from 20 to five business days. Each proposal provides for a 60-day comment period following Federal Register publication.
🔗 Read more → SEC (Press Release, Proposed Rules: 14a-8 and 14a-4(c), Proxy Solicitation Modernization)

Verra Launches Scope 3 Standard for Value Chain Climate Projects
Verra launched the first version of its Scope 3 Standard Program, a framework for quantifying and certifying emissions reductions and removals within corporate value chains. Each Scope 3 Unit, or S3U, will represent one metric ton of CO₂e reduced or removed relative to a project baseline, with information linking the outcome to an affected product. The initial release permits project listing using adapted methodologies for improved agricultural land management and low-carbon concrete production. Later updates will enable registration, validation, verification, and issuance. Version 2 will address companies’ verified connections to affected products and corresponding nontransferable reportable units. The program is intended to complement Verra’s existing Verified Carbon Standard.
🔗 Read more → Verra (Press Release, Information for Companies, Information for Project Developers)

Unlock a focused set of AI strategies built to streamline your work and maximize impact. This guide delivers the practical tactics and tools marketers need to start seeing results right away:

Stay ahead of the curve with these top strategies AI helped develop for marketers, built for real-world results.

Download the Free Report

Report Challenges NVIDIA’s Climate Claims and Emissions Disclosures
A Greenpeace-backed analysis argues that NVIDIA’s climate messaging understates emissions associated with its expanding AI business. Comparing published disclosures, the report identifies an increase of more than 700% in reported Scope 3 emissions between fiscal years 2020 and 2026, largely associated with manufacturing supply chains. It notes the absence of a disclosed Category 11 total for emissions from using sold products. Separately, it estimates that one year of operating all NVIDIA products sold from 2022 through the end of 2025 would produce between 4 million and 21 million metric tons of CO₂e, depending on assumptions. The report further challenges NVIDIA statements emphasizing AI’s potential climate benefits, demand-response capabilities, and energy-efficiency improvements, arguing that these claims do not sufficiently account for rising absolute electricity demand and emissions. The analysis represents the authors’ assessment.
🔗 Read more → Greenpeace International (Press Release, Report)

Study Links CEO-CFO Tenure Differences to Lower Greenwashing Scores
A study by Sun et al. in Business Strategy and the Environment links greater differences between CEO and CFO tenure to lower greenwashing index scores among Chinese listed companies. The analysis covers 11,083 firm-year observations from 1,281 nonfinancial A-share companies during 2011-2023. Its index measures the gap between industry-standardized ESG disclosure scores and ESG performance ratings. The researchers identify performance volatility and investment inefficiency as plausible channels explaining the association, which was stronger under greater market competition, weaker CEO power, and lower board independence. The authors caution that the index cannot establish deliberate greenwashing, the observational design limits causal conclusions, and the findings may not generalize beyond China.
🔗 Read more → Wiley Online Library (Research Article)

Catch up on previous editions → ESGLitigation.com

Enjoyed this issue? Please share it with your colleagues.
Have feedback or collaboration ideas? Contact us at [email protected]