[GreenYes] Fwd: Corporate Envt Compliance Reporting and the SEC

[Gary Liss <gary@garyliss.com>]

>From: "Donald Sutherland" <donaldsutherland-iso14000@worldnet.att.net>
>To: <sumpter.richard@epamail.epa.gov>
>Cc: <p2tech@great-lakes.net>, <rp-cinet@igc.topica.com>
>Subject: Re: Corporate Enviro Compliance Reporting and the SEC
>Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 10:42:44 -0500
>
>Dear Richard and Chet,
>It is true the SEC doesn't mandate corporate financial environmental
>compliance reporting as GM reports to shareholders in their corporate
>environmental health and safety report, however the SEC does mandate under 
>SEC Regulation S-K:
>
>1.all environmental proceedings, including governmental proceedings, which 
>are material to the business or financial condition of the registrant;
>2.damage actions, or governmental proceedings involving potential fines,
>capital expenditures or other charges, in which the amount involved 
>exceeds 10 percent of current assets;
>3.governmental proceedings, unless the registrant reasonably believes such 
>proceedings will result in fines of less than $100,000.
>
>And this SEC environmental financial reporting mandate is not enforced in
>the US despite the complaints of the US EPA.
>see: http://es.epa.gov/oeca/oppa/secguide.html
>
>Europe has no environmental regulations that are come near the mandates of 
>the Clean Air Act,Cl ean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
>, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, 
>Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA), Toxic Substance 
>Control Act, Atomic Energy Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 
>and Hazardous Material Transportation Act.
>
>Nor does Europe have a government securities enforcement body similar in 
>power to the SEC.
>
>Europe may propose social/environmental accounting recommendations but 
>they are not mandating such issues and can not account for how they will 
>be enforced if at all.
>Please see:
>http://www.riskworld.com/NEWS/02q3/nw02a097.htm
>Europe Tightens Corporate Environmental Accounting Rules
>
>In short there is a lot of smoke and mirrors action in the securities market
>in both the US and Europe on corporate financial environmental accounting.
>
>That said however the US environmental regulations are stricter then 
>Europe's and more litigiously enforced which in my opinion sets a 
>benchmark for corporate environmental performance.
>
>Which makes US corporations compling to US environmental regulations 
>greener than European and Asian firms.
>
>Do you think GM's corporate financial environmental compliance matrix and 
>indices would be a good model for all US publicly traded corporations?
>
>Cheers,
>Donald Sutherland
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <sumpter.richard@epamail.epa.gov>
>To: <donaldsutherland-iso14000@worldnet.att.net>
>Cc: <p2tech@great-lakes.net>; <rp-cinet@igc.topica.com>
>Sent: Monday, July 15, 2002 6:24 AM
>Subject: Re: Corporate Enviro Compliance Reporting and the SEC
> >
> > I shared your note with an associate.  He writes -
> >
> > Dick,
> >       Thanks for sharing the email.  Please reply to Don Sutherland that
> > the only reason that GM reports any environmental information is 
> because the EU and member countries require it as a condition of doing 
> business in their countries.  The SEC requires no environmental reporting 
> or social reporting (coming in the EU in 2007).  America's answer to the
> > reporting requirements was the Global Reporting Indicators which we
> > proposed to substitute for the EMAS requirements to the World Trade
> > Association but has never been acted on as a substitute.  Consequently
> > US firms operating in the EU can report or quit doing business there.
> > No other US firms collect such data unless they are extremely
> > conscientious.  Should the SEC require such reporting by all US
> > companies?  Absolutely and have them do third party audits to assure 
> the numbers are reasonable.  Does the SEC intend to require such reporting?
> > Not under this administration.
> > Chet
> >
> >Donald Sutherland <donaldsutherland-iso14000@worldn
>To: p2tech@great-lakes.net
>Subject: Corporate Enviro Compliance Reporting and the SEC
> >
> > As the US accounting scandals mushroom and reveals the vagarities in
> > corporate revenue financial reporting it seems corporate financial
> > reporting of waste stream permit performance is a clearer indicator of
> > whether a company is abiding by SEC financial reporting requirements or 
> hiding financial debt.
> >
> > Particularly if the federal government (US Environmental Protection
> > Agency) is in a national campaign for publicly traded corporations to
> > provide shareholders this information in their SEC financial filings to
> > shareholders.
> > See: http://es.epa.gov/oeca/oppa/secguide.html
> > General Motors annually reports to shareholders corporate conformance 
> with legal environmental requirements for wastestream permits and 
> corporate environmental policies (including Carbon dioxide (C02) emission 
> of greenhouse gases (GHG).
> >
> > In an easy to read matrix with legal environmental indicies GM gives
> > shareholders a financially transparent easy to read corporate
> > environmental performance to shareholders in the annual corporate
> > environmental health and safety performance report.
> >
> > ie.Admininstrative and Judicial Matters
> > Number of Resolved Matters.......total value of penalties/fines paid
> > Clean Air Act (CAA)
> > Clean Water Act (CWA)
> > Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
> > Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act 
> (CERCLA)
> > Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
> > Toxic Substance Control Act
> > Atomic Energy Act (AEA)
> > Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
> > Hazardous Material Transportation
> >
> > ie.Stationary Source C02 emissions
> > Mobile Source CO2
> > Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions in metric tons of CO2
> >
> > Is it fair to say if other publicly traded corporations aren't providing
> > shareholders a financial transparency of the same legal environmental
> > indicies as GM reports on to its shareholders it raises a red flag on
> > their overall SEC financial debt/depreciation reporting to shareholders?
> >
> > Thank you for your consideration of my inquiry.
> >
> > Best Wishes,
> > Donald Sutherland
> > Member of the Society of Environmental Journalists
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Gary Liss
916-652-7850
Fax: 916-652-0485

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