Green Policies, Regulations & Standards

Greece’s Law 4122/2013 regulates building energy performance and introduces EPCs and nZEB standards. All new buildings must meet stringent energy requirements, and EPCs are mandatory for sales, rentals and major renovations. The law also mandates regular HVAC inspections and sets minimum energy-performance levels. It is a core component of Greece’s energy-efficiency policy.

The BISKO Standard (Bilanzierungs-Systematik Kommunal) is Germany's central methodology for preparing territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories at the municipal level. Developed under Germany's National Climate Initiative and first published in 2015, it provides a standardized approach for calculating and reporting emissions within a municipality's geographical boundaries. By enabling consistent and comparable inventories, BISKO supports climate action planning, progress monitoring, and the assessment of municipal climate neutrality goals.

DIN SPEC 91637 is a publicly available specification developed by the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) that provides a standardized methodology for measuring the impact of climate protection measures at the municipal, regional, and national levels. Published in September 2025, the specification establishes a common outcome logic for evaluating climate interventions, enabling governments to compare measures, improve climate planning, and make more evidence-based investment decisions.

The FTC Green Guides are guidance issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to help businesses ensure that environmental marketing claims are truthful, substantiated, and not misleading. First introduced in 1992 and most recently revised in 2012, the Guides explain how the FTC applies Section 5 of the FTC Act—which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices—to environmental advertising. Although they are not regulations themselves, the Guides are an important reference for businesses making environmental claims and are frequently cited in FTC enforcement actions against greenwashing.

The Fisheries Act is one of Canada’s core environmental protection laws and plays a significant role in climate and sustainability regulation through its pollution prevention and fish habitat protection provisions. The Act prohibits the deposit of deleterious substances into waters frequented by fish unless authorized by regulation, and it establishes strict liability for environmental harm. Amendments restored stronger habitat protections and broadened enforcement powers, including compliance orders and administrative penalties. The Act applies across sectors such as mining, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and manufacturing, making it a critical compliance risk for projects affecting waterways. While not climate-specific, it directly affects permitting, environmental risk management, and enforcement in climate-relevant projects.

Canada’s SUPPR establishes national prohibitions on listed single-use plastic products, with a defined exception regime for flexible straws and a broader legal backdrop involving CEPA listing litigation that is stayed pending appeal. Compliance requires product-level diligence, supplier controls, and careful handling of exceptions.

Denmark has introduced a Producer Responsibility for Packaging regulation that requires companies to take full financial and operational responsibility for the packaging they place on the market. From 2025, producers and importers must register, report annual packaging data, and contribute to recycling costs through collective schemes. The measure aligns with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and aims to boost circular economy practices, reduce waste, and encourage eco-design in packaging materials.

Greece’s Law 4818/2021 strengthens controls on waste shipments and hazardous waste movements, imposing strict documentation, notification, and traceability obligations. Producers and transporters must ensure compliance with EU and national shipment rules. Enforcement focuses on preventing illegal exports, with severe penalties for violations.

Bill C-59 is a large Canadian omnibus bill introduced in 2023 to implement economic and regulatory measures from the federal Fall Economic Statement. The bill includes significant sustainability-related provisions, notably amendments to combat greenwashing, new transparency rules for environmental claims made by businesses, and expanded oversight powers for regulators to address deceptive environmental marketing practices. Bill C-59 also implements fiscal, tax, and industrial-policy measures tied to Canada’s clean-economy strategy, including investment tax credits for clean energy, clean technologies, and sustainable manufacturing. It aims to strengthen consumer protection, enhance market integrity for environmental claims, and support Canada’s transition to a low-carbon, innovation-driven economy.

FINMA integrates climate-related (and increasingly broader nature-related) financial risks into Swiss prudential supervision. Regulated institutions are expected to embed these risks into governance, strategy, and risk management, supported by principle-based disclosure requirements and supervisory reviews. Implementation is proportional and phased, with transitional periods and evolving guidance. Non-compliance tends to appear as weak governance structures, inadequate scenario-based risk integration, or disclosures that do not meet supervisory expectations, triggering supervisory measures rather than simple fines.