Welcome to the home page of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Environmental Disclosure. This Committee focuses on four interrelated areas of environmental accounting and disclosure: 1) generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) relating to environmental costs, assets, liabilities, and impairments; 2) disclosure of environmental liabilities and risks under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regulation S-K; 3) the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley as they relate to environmental accounting and disclosure; and 4) voluntary environmental/sustainability reporting.

Whether you are new to the area or an experienced practitioner, this Committee has something to offer you. Much of it is available right here on this website. For example, we have:

• A Primer, which explains the SEC rules, including the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on environmental disclosure in easy-to-understand language.
• A Links page, which is updated regularly, containing links to the full text of relevant rules, guidance, and other helpful documents, including substantial recent literature, surveys and studies by NGOs, academics and practicing lawyers and accountants.
• Our Newsletters, which contain articles addressing:
  • The confluence of forces impacting both mandatory and voluntary disclosure.
  • Accounting developments affecting the recognition and measurement of environmental liabilities.
  • The role of large pension funds (e.g. CalPers) and other investor groups in promoting greater environmental disclosure.
  • The role of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) in environmental disclosure.
  • Potential uses of environmental insurance to manage environmental accruals and disclosures.
  • The pollution exclusion in Director & Officer liability insurance, which excludes coverage for claims based on inadequate accrual or disclosure of environmental liabilities.
  • The GAO Report on the adequacy of corporate environmental disclosure

This Committee is not just for lawyers. Regardless of your professional background, if you have an interest in environmental disclosure, we welcome you to join the Committee. When you join, you will automatically be added to our list serve. The list serve is an email discussion list that facilitates communication between Committee members. You will receive news and updates when we publish a Newsletter or add other content to the Committee website. All members can post messages to the Committee using the list serve, and you can tailor your profile to receive only the emails you want.

We also welcome your comments and suggestions on how the Committee can better serve your needs. Please contact Rebecca Leamon or David Roth with your ideas.

This Committee focuses on: 1) generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) relating to environmental costs, assets, liabilities, and impairments; 2) disclosure of environmental matters under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations; 3) the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley pertaining to environmental matters; and 4) voluntary sustainability/social responsibility disclosures of environmental matters to stakeholders.

Primer on Mandatory Environmental Disclosure: A Presentation Explaining the Longstanding SEC Regulations as Amplified by Sarbanes Oxley

SEC regulations and authoritative accounting guidance dealing specifically with disclosure of environmental liabilities have been in effect since the 1970s, and have been updated on various occasions throughout the 1980s and 90s. Taken all together, they constitute an impressive body of requirements. Unfortunately, they have not been promulgated in a cohesive fashion, and it has been difficult for environmental practitioners to sort through and comprehend the requirements.

And then came Sarbanes-Oxley. This statute, and its blizzard of implementing SEC regulations, has made it urgent for all environmental practitioners to understand what is required to be reported pursuant to SEC and accounting standards.

Here is a “primer” that will help you to understand both the SEC and accounting requirements, including the very substantial impact Sarbanes-Oxley has on these requirements.

View the "primer" page.

To become a member of the Environmental Disclosure Committee, please complete the on-line Committee Sign-Up Form.

For more information on becoming a member of the Environmental Disclosure Committee, please contact our Membership vice chair, Kathryn D. Pavlovsky.

Chair:
C. Gregory Rogers

Vice Chairs:
Committee Newsletters
Scott Deatherage

Membership
Jeffrey C. Fort

Programs
Maureen M. Crough

Public Service
Scott E. Schang

Technology
Rebecca Leamon

David A. Roth

The Year in Review
Jeffrey B.Gracer

Lawrence P. Schnapf

Additional
Robert W. Dennis

Leslie H. Lowe

Kathryn D. Pavlovsky

Michael A. Wallace

Paul Q. Watchman

Additional (Liaison to the Canadian Bar)
Len Griffiths

Additional (Liaison with Business Law and SEER)
Stephen J. Hume