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Course Details

This CLE webinar will address the status of the FTC Green Guides as they apply to renewable energy. The panel will discuss recent enforcement actions against energy companies, the anticipated updates to the Green Guides, best practices for energy companies seeking to make renewable energy claims and statements, and more.

Faculty

Description

As jurisdictions have begun to adopt laws to reduce the use of fossil fuels and fossil gas, energy companies have sought to reduce their environmental impact and to market renewable energy. As these companies seek to promote energy products, technologies, and transactions as environmentally friendly, they need to ensure that their claims and public statements align with the FTC's "Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims" (the Green Guides).

The FTC is in the process of updating and refining the Green Guides for the first time since 2012 and may even consider a rulemaking under the FTC Act. State attorneys general have urged the FTC to make certain updates to the Green Guides and have requested that the FTC expand Section 260.15 to explicitly cover marketing claims related to fossil gas.

With the expected changes to the Green Guides and an increased focus on renewable energy claims, energy companies and their counsel should examine their marketing programs now, since noncompliance can lead to inquiries, data requests, and civil investigations.

Listen as our panel of attorneys discuss the anticipated upcoming changes to the Green Guides and best practices for energy companies to ensure their renewable energy claims align with the Green Guides.

Outline

  1. Current state of the Green Guides
    1. Enforceability
    2. Incorporation by reference into various state laws
    3. "Renewable energy"
  2. Recent enforcement actions invoking Section 260.15
  3. FTC regulatory review and anticipated changes
    1. Possible rulemaking under FTC Act
    2. State AGs' request to FTC to expand Section 260.15
  4. Best practices for compliance

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key questions:

  • What are the federal and state regulations and standards that currently relate to renewable energy marketing claims?
  • What are the recent legal developments related to the Green Guides?
  • What should energy companies do to ensure that marketing claims related to renewable energy are supportable and align with the Green Guides?