Month: March 2024

Meet Dawn Burke-Colvin! Dawn is a Senior Principal Scientist on our R&D team and the inventor behind more than 50 patents, with an emphasis on skin care formulations. Dawn was recently awarded the Florence Wall Women in Cosmetic Chemistry Award by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. The award recognizes a woman for significant accomplishments to the cosmetic industry through her technical contributions, leadership skills and business excellence. For Dawn, science was a natural fit and with more than 28 years of experience at Mary Kay, Dawn uses her knowledge to train and mentor other scientists. Congrats to Dawn on a well-deserved honor.

Nasdaq

After nearly two years and over 24,000 comments from a multitude of stakeholders, the SEC released its long-awaited ruling, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. The rules require public companies to include additional climate-related disclosures in their annual reports and audited financial statements, with the stated goal of providing investors with more complete and reliable information about the impacts of climate-related risks on a registrant’s business strategy, results of operations, and financial condition. The rules will phase in from FY 2025 to FY 2033.

How are companies impacted by the SEC climate-related disclosure rules?

All domestic and foreign companies publicly listed in the U.S., regardless of sector and industry, are required to comply with the SEC climate-related disclosure rules. Large accelerated filers (over $700M float) and accelerated filers (between $75M and $700M float) must disclose Scope 1 and 2 emissions if they are material. They must also obtain a third-party attestation of any disclosed Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Scope 3 emissions are not required in the new rules for any issuers. More information about Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and attestation is detailed below.

Scope 1: Covers emissions that the company produces directly (e.g., if the company has a vehicle fleet, the fuel combustion would be covered by Scope 1).Scope 2: Covers emissions that the company produces indirectly through energy that it buys (e.g., the emissions produced by electricity that the company purchases).Scope 3 (not required under the SEC rules): Covers all other emissions associated with the company’s value chain that are not covered by Scope 1 and 2 (e.g., emissions from waste generated during operations).Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Attestation: The attestation must be provided by an independent third party that meets the proposed definition of an expert with significant experience measuring, analyzing, reporting, or attesting to GHG emissions. It must be conducted pursuant to publicly available or widely used standards established by a body that published the framework for public comment.

In addition to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions disclosures (if material), companies must disclose material climate-related information around governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. These topics align with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) pillars and include qualitative and quantitative reporting requirements. The SEC’s stated rationale behind this design is that many public companies already use the TCFD’s voluntary framework and are familiar with its structure. The emissions reporting framework draws upon methodology developed by the GHG Protocol with definitions based on the terminology used in the TCFD.

In determining what climate-related information is material, the SEC points to longstanding Supreme Court precedent: a matter is material if a reasonable investor would consider its disclosure or omission important when making an investment or voting decision. Companies will need to consider the materiality of their climate-related risks, and assess whether their targets, goals, scenario analyses, transition plans, and use of carbon offsets or renewable energy credits are material.

When do companies need to report climate-related disclosures?

(See table above)

What can companies do to prepare for the new reporting requirements?

Companies should familiarize themselves with the final rules and assess the potential impact on their business and financial statements. In addition to continuously monitoring and ensuring compliance with the evolving regulatory landscape, companies may consider the below actions to prepare:

Conduct a gap analysis. A gap analysis helps compare your company’s current disclosures against the potential required disclosures and identify areas that your company is not currently reporting on. The TCFD framework is identified as a foundational structure and Nasdaq Sustainable Lens™ is a tool to help perform a gap analysis against standards.Map oversight responsibilities. Ensure your company has robust systems, controls, and procedures in place to support data collection, quality control, and reporting. In addition, engage with the board and management team to ensure effective governance and oversight of climate-related risks.Collect GHG data. Collect disaggregated GHG emissions data across all operations, based on the GHG Protocol, which provides the world’s most widely used GHG accounting standards for companies. Plus, obtain assurance over your GHG emissions disclosures to enhance the reliability and credibility of the information.Implement ESG data management software. With a platform like Nasdaq Metrio™, you can save time and organize complex ESG content and cross-referencing between the TCFD, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and dozens of other voluntary and regulatory standards.

Nasdaq’s ESG offerings are well positioned to support the new framework. Nasdaq has full ESG lifecycle support for clients, including Nasdaq ESG Advisory for expert guidance on strategy, Nasdaq Metrio™ to support end-to-end sustainability data management, reporting, and disclosure, and Nasdaq Sustainable Lens™ to help benchmark data against peers and perform gap analyses against standards.

To find out how Nasdaq can best support your company with tools and insights throughout its ESG journey, get in touch here.

Eastman

KINGSPORT, Tenn., March 12, 2024 /3BL/ – Eastman, a global specialty materials company, and Food City, a leading regional grocery retailer, unveiled the first (Eastman Road Food City) of three plastic recycling collection bins that will be located at the retailer’s stores in Kingsport, Tennessee. The partnership program – Shop, Recycle, Repeat, announced last November – will enable customers to drop off their plastic waste in the area since curbside pickup is no longer available. The collected plastic will be sorted and processed by Eastman’s new mixed plastics processing facility, a part of the new molecular recycling plant which is the largest material-to-material recycling facility in the world.

“We’re excited to unveil the first recycling bins and are so proud that they were designed and created by talented Eastman craftspeople who work at our facility in Kingsport,” said Brad Lich, Eastman executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “This partnership is an important step in our region to bring additional plastics recycling options to our community and demonstrates our shared vision for a more sustainable future, where plastic waste is seen as a valuable resource that can be transformed into new products.”

The partnership is part of Eastman and Food City’s commitment to advancing the circular economy and reducing the environmental impact of plastic waste. By offering convenient and accessible recycling options to drop off plastics for the public, Shop, Recycle, Repeat will help divert plastic waste from landfills or incineration to create valuable new materials that can be used in a variety of applications again and again. Eastman’s molecular recycling technology breaks down plastic waste into its molecular building blocks, which are then used to create new high-performance plastics that are indistinguishable from virgin materials. This technology can recycle plastics that are typically difficult to recycle, such as colored laundry detergent bottles, clamshell fruit packaging, polyester fabrics, shampoo bottles, and much more.

“Food City is excited to partner with Eastman, a world-class company and a long-time leader in our community, to bring plastics recycling to our customers,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. “The bin at our Eastman Road location is the first of three that will be available within the next month at our Kingsport stores, and we look forward to expanding the partnership at additional Food City locations later this year. By working together, we can make a lasting impact across our region.”

Shop, Recycle, Repeat is launching at three Food City stores in Kingsport and will expand to other Food City locations in the region throughout the year. Customers can drop off their plastic waste, such as water bottles, colored laundry and shampoo bottles, trays and fruit containers, among many other plastic items. Additional information about how to recycle plastic waste can be found here.

About Eastman

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company’s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive and diverse company, Eastman employs approximately 14,000 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2023 revenue of approximately $9.2 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. For more information, visit www.eastman.com.

About Food City

Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 154 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, North Georgia, and Alabama. Food City is well-known for its top-quality products, exceptional customer service, and extensive community involvement. The company is dedicated to its mission to “run the best store in town.” For more information, visit www.foodcity.com.

Digital media kit

Media contact
Kristin Parker
1-423-229-2526
kristin@eastman.com

Food City Communications
Tammy Baumgardner
276-623-5100
baumgardnert@foodcity.com