SB 253: Decoding California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act 🌿

What Happened: 📜

Today, California Senate passed the historic Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act. This is the first of its kind bill for United States and will set a precedence for other states.

This legislation emphasizes the importance of corporate responsibility by mandating California businesses with annual revenue of over $1 billion to provide a detailed report of their carbon emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3.

This initiative not only aims for transparency and accountability in the corporate sector but also demonstrates California's commitment to aligning major businesses with its forward-thinking environmental objectives.

8 Key Highlights: 🔍

SB 253, or the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, will rollout over the next 3 years if signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom:

2025: The state board shall develop and adopt regulations

2026: Reporting Requirement enforced for Scope 1 and Scope 2

2027: Extended Requirement for Scope 3

It targets corporations with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion in the prior fiscal year 💵. There are about 812 companies that meet this criteria based on data from Crunchbase.

Mandatory reporting includes Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions 📊. This means direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, indirect emissions from the production of purchased energy, and all other indirect emissions occurring in the value chain respectively.

Companies will need to employ advanced monitoring tools and methodologies 🛠️ to ensure accurate reporting. Since California is incorporating Scope 3 emissions that require a deep understanding of emissions across the entire supply chain, organizations will need to quickly adopt technologies to do accounting.

Fines and penalties are anticipated for companies that fail to comply or misreport data ⚖️.

The bill is supported by a coalition of environmentalists, activists, and lawmakers who believe in the power of corporate transparency as well as major organizations like Apple and Microsoft.

Data collected will be publicly available, ensuring corporations are held accountable by both the government and the general public 🧐.

California has long been a pioneer in environmental policies 🌄, and this act further solidifies its stance on corporate accountability and the path to Net-Zero 2030.

What it means for your business: 🚀

For companies that fall within the stipulated revenue bracket, it's time to take stock of current emission tracking and reporting mechanisms 📏. Investing in accurate data collection tools will be essential. It will also position your company as an environmentally conscious entity in the eyes of consumers and investors 💚.

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Photo Credits: NovasGalen

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