LITIGATION TRENDS 2025 | 55 T O C E M P E S G A N T I I P C A P R O W C S P O R T C O N T A C T I N T A P P P A T C C L S E C Regulatory Focus on Greenwashing Over the course of 2024, we saw a continued surge in global litigation and regulatory enforcement actions focused on companies’ public statements about their environmental, social, and governance marketing, initiatives, and aspirations. For several years, we have tracked a rise in litigation alleging that companies have engaged in “greenwashing,” a term used to refer to claims that a company has misled consumers or the public about the environmental impact of its products or activities. In past years, much of this litigation activity has been driven by private plaintiffs bringing class action claims under state consumer deception statutes or environmentally-focused nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) challenging marketing claims or practices. But, in 2024, we saw government regulators and enforcers step into the ring as more significant players in the “greenwashing” space. For example, in February, the New York Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint in New York state court against JBS USA, a major producer of beef products. The Attorney General alleged that JBS had misled the public about its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and, in particular, announcing that it planned to be “Net Zero by 2040.” The Attorney General said that JBS’s “Net Zero by 2040” goal was misleading because JBS had “no viable plan to meet its commitment” and had made the commitment “without having calculated the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions from its supply chain.” The complaint also took the position that JBS could not meet its 2040 commitment because “there are no proven agricultural practices to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero at the JBS Group’s current scale, and offsetting those emissions would be a costly undertaking of an unprecedented degree.” This action by the New York Attorney General came on the heels of a Better Business Bureau (BBB) National Advertising Division decision that had also recommended that JBS modify or discontinue its “Net Zero by 2040” claims. It illustrates that at least some state actors are monitoring other “greenwashing” allegations and activity and may use that as a launching pad for their own legal action. Another example of “greenwashing” litigation expanding to regulatory activity was the announcement of an SEC investigation and settlement with Keurig Dr Pepper. Keurig’s label claims that its single-serve coffee pods were recyclable had prompted the filing of a consumer class action in 2018 that ultimately resulted in a $10 million class settlement in 2022. In September 2024, the SEC charged Keurig with violations of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 13a-1, alleging that Keurig filed incomplete and inaccurate annual reports. The SEC alleged that Keurig had evaluated the recyclability of its pods by conducting testing and soliciting feedback from recycling companies. While tests showed that M P S Arianna Scavetti Partner Washington, D.C. arianna.scavetti@weil.com Hayley Lund Partner London hayley.lund@weil.com Environmental, Social & Governance CROSS-PRACTICE FOCUS 54 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
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