Green Policies, Regulations & Standards

Norway’s Pollution Control Act requires pollution-risk activities to be controlled through permits and strict operational compliance. Industrial operators must obtain emission permits where required and comply with conditions designed to prevent illegal discharges and harmful emissions. The Norwegian Environment Agency supervises compliance, and serious breaches can be treated as environmental crime, with potentially very large corporate penalties, as illustrated by the high-profile Mongstad refinery enforcement action reported in 2025.

The French Eco-Energy Tertiary Decree (Décret Tertiaire) mandates significant energy-consumption reductions in large tertiary buildings. Owners and operators must cut final energy use by 40% by 2030, 50% by 2040, and 60% by 2050, relative to a validated baseline. They must report annual data through the OPERAT platform, define a reduction strategy, and implement efficiency measures based on building type, occupancy, and technical constraints. Exemptions apply to buildings under 1,000 m², temporary structures, and cases where reductions are proven technically or financially impossible. Non-compliance can lead to administrative fines and public naming. The decree is a central pillar of France’s building-sector decarbonisation strategy.

Norway’s Waste Regulations set binding rules for waste disposal (including landfill requirements under Chapter 9) and treatment pathways. A key climate-linked measure is the ban on landfilling biodegradable waste, implemented in 2009, which has driven major reductions in biodegradable waste to landfill. Landfill operators must comply with technical and environmental requirements and site permits, and breaches can trigger enforcement. Companies managing waste in Norway should ensure compliant classification, permitted disposal routes, and audit-ready documentation.

The Article 29 regime strengthens ESG, climate, and biodiversity reporting requirements for French financial institutions. Asset managers and insurers must publish annual reports detailing the integration of climate and environmental risks into strategy, governance, and risk processes. Disclosures must include portfolio GHG metrics, fossil fuel exposure, Paris alignment, and biodiversity impacts. Reports must be submitted within six months after year-end and made public. The regime complements EU SFDR and Taxonomy rules while adding national expectations. Supervisory authorities review disclosures and may impose warnings, fines, or public notices in case of non-compliance.

Norway requires enterprises whose wastewater includes process water and is connected to municipal sewer networks to obtain an emission permit, typically from the Norwegian Environment Agency or the county governor, depending on the case. Compliance is permit-driven and ongoing, covering limits, pre-treatment, monitoring, and reporting. Authorities can enforce compliance with coercive fines under the Pollution Regulations, and breaches are punishable under the framework of the Pollution Control Act.

France has transposed the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), significantly expanding mandatory sustainability reporting. Large listed companies, followed by other large entities and listed SMEs, must publish a detailed sustainability statement based on ESRS and double materiality, covering climate, environmental, social, and governance topics. Reports require external assurance and digital tagging and are filed alongside financial statements. SMEs can temporarily opt out, while micro-companies remain out of scope. Non-compliance may lead to administrative sanctions and reputational risks, making CSRD a central element of corporate reporting and net zero strategies.

The Climate & Resilience Law is France’s flagship climate framework, embedding decarbonisation into consumption, transport, buildings, advertising and land-use planning. It introduces low-emission mobility zones, tightens rental rules for inefficient housing, restricts fossil-fuel advertising and strengthens climate-related transparency for consumers. Municipalities must adapt mobility and planning to air quality and climate objectives, while businesses must comply with new rules on claims, labelling and building performance. The law operates through hundreds of articles and implementing decrees and is now a central reference for French climate policy and corporate compliance.

The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) define the detailed sustainability disclosure requirements for companies subject to the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The standards require companies to report structured information on environmental, social, and governance impacts, risks, and opportunities, using a harmonised framework designed to improve transparency and comparability across the European market.

The ZFE-m (Zones à Faibles Émissions mobilité) are mandatory low-emission mobility zones implemented across major French cities to reduce urban air pollution and accelerate the transition to cleaner transport. Within these zones, vehicle access is regulated based on the Crit’Air emissions sticker, with increasingly strict restrictions for older and more polluting vehicles. Municipalities that exceed national pollution thresholds must establish a ZFE-m, and vehicle owners must ensure their cars meet the required Crit’Air category for entry. Some exemptions exist for emergency services, disabled permit holders, and specific local cases. Non-compliance can result in fines. ZFE-m policies form a key pillar of France’s urban climate and air-quality strategy, promoting cleaner fleets and supporting long-term emissions reduction goals.

Norway has implemented CSRD through amendments to the Accounting Act, requiring in-scope companies to publish expanded sustainability reporting aligned with ESRS concepts and phased implementation timelines. The rules entered into force in 2024, with first-wave entities reporting for FY 2024 in reports published in 2025, followed by a broader rollout. Supervision links to Norway’s financial reporting enforcement framework, raising compliance expectations for governance, data quality, and consistency with audited annual reporting.