If you are a publicly traded company, you are now required to disclose climate and emissions risks when they constitute “material” challenges to a company’s business.

That climate rule is courtesy of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which voted on March 6, 2024, to finalize climate disclosure rules that had been previously proposed.

While some of the ruling is likely to be contested by business interests, this ruling does represent a step in the right direction toward ensuring that businesses act responsibly toward a healthier planet.

And it is part of a trend. Similar (but more stringent) disclosure rules exist in the European Union. California is leading the path to more stringent climate rules in the US.

It would behoove companies to be on the right side of the trend (and of the climate issue in general) to set up and staff disclosure programming.

It’s a trend welcomed by people who care about healthy businesses on a healthy planet.