Science Based Targets initiative

If adopted, the Senate bill would require large US companies doing business in California to report Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions as of January 2024.

By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Marc T. Campopiano, Jennifer K. Roy, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Julie Miles, and Alicia Robinson

The California Legislature is considering a bill to impose corporate sustainability reporting requirements that would substantially expand corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting obligations and, according to the bill’s co-author, impact “the vast majority of the country’s largest corporations, who almost all conduct business in California.” If adopted, Senate Bill 260 (SB 260) would establish a first-of-its-kind mandatory GHG emissions reporting framework requiring regulated entities to report all emissions “scopes,” including Scope 3 emissions (discussed below). The bill could also have impact well beyond California given the state’s ambitious climate policies and the number of large companies that do business in California.