Green Policies, Regulations & Standards

Montréal By-law 21-042 requires owners of large commercial, institutional, and multi-unit residential buildings to annually report their buildings' energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The bylaw establishes a citywide disclosure and rating system that enables Montréal to benchmark building performance, support decarbonisation policies, and encourage energy-efficient building management.

The Victoria Energy and Carbon Emissions Reporting Bylaw (Bylaw No. 25-022) requires owners of large buildings in the City of Victoria, British Columbia, to annually report their buildings' energy use and carbon emissions. Adopted in 2025, the bylaw aims to improve building performance data, support greenhouse gas reduction efforts, and help inform future climate and energy policies. Reporting is administered through the Capital Regional District (CRD) Building Benchmarking Program.

The Saanich Energy and Carbon Emissions Reporting Bylaw (Bylaw No. 10147) requires owners of large buildings in the District of Saanich, British Columbia, to annually report their buildings' energy use and carbon emissions. Adopted in 2025, the bylaw supports the municipality's climate objectives by improving access to building performance data and encouraging energy efficiency. Reporting is administered through the regional Capital Regional District (CRD) Building Benchmarking Program.

The California Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 (SB 707) establishes the first statewide extended producer responsibility (EPR) program in the United States for apparel and textile products. The law requires producers to fund and participate in systems for collecting, repairing, reusing, and recycling covered textiles sold in California. Administered by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), the Act aims to reduce textile waste, strengthen circular economy infrastructure, and shift end-of-life responsibility from municipalities and consumers to producers.

Italy’s contaminated sites framework requires responsible parties to identify, notify, and remediate polluted land. Operators must assess risks, implement clean-up measures, and restore sites under regulatory supervision. Non-compliance leads to fines, criminal sanctions, and cost recovery. The regime is central to land protection, redevelopment, and environmental liability management.

TNFD v1.0 is a voluntary global framework for identifying, managing and disclosing nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. Structured around governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets, it mirrors the TCFD architecture but focuses on biodiversity and ecosystems. While not legally binding, TNFD is rapidly becoming market-driven “best practice” through investor, lender and value-chain pressure. The main risk is not non-adoption, but superficial adoption without robust scope, data, metrics and governance.

The CLP Regulation (EC No 1272/2008) establishes the EU’s system for classifying, labelling, and packaging chemicals based on the UN Globally Harmonised System (GHS). It requires manufacturers, importers, and distributors to identify hazards and communicate them clearly on product labels. CLP ensures that workers and consumers receive consistent safety information across all EU Member States. It is legally binding and directly applicable, complementing REACH by focusing on hazard communication rather than risk management. Enforcement is carried out by national authorities, and non-compliance can lead to fines, recalls, or criminal penalties. The regulation is under review (2025) to integrate digital labelling and strengthen sustainability principles.

Greece’s Law 4819/2021 provides an integrated framework for waste management, circular economy policy, and plastic regulation. It transposes EU waste and packaging directives, strengthens separate collection (including bio-waste and textiles), tightens extended producer responsibility with eco-modulated fees, and sets ambitious targets to reduce municipal waste to landfill to around 10% by 2030. Municipalities, waste operators, and producers must adapt collection systems, EPR participation, and product design to meet new obligations. Enforcement and infrastructure upgrades are ongoing, making this law the core reference for waste and packaging compliance in Greece.

Packaging EPR in the United States is developing through state-level laws, not federal regulation. Seven states—Maine, Oregon, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington- have enacted comprehensive EPR frameworks that require producers to register, join a PRO, report packaging data, and pay eco-fees that fund recycling and system improvements. Some states also impose recyclability, compostability, source reduction, and recycling-rate targets, with key milestones between 2025 and 2032. Small producers may qualify for de minimis exemptions. Because each state designs its own system, companies operating nationally must navigate a complex and evolving patchwork of requirements, deadlines, and fee structures.

Italy’s Law 549/1995 establishes the landfill tax (Ecotassa), a key environmental fiscal instrument aimed at reducing landfill disposal. Waste operators must correctly classify waste, declare quantities, and pay regionally defined tax rates. Higher rates apply to unsorted or recyclable waste. Enforcement focuses on accurate reporting and payment, with fines and recovery measures for non-compliance. The tax is central to Italy’s waste-diversion and circular-economy strategy.