We have previously written about the potential of new environmental requirements for federal contractors. On November 10, 2022, the White House issued a statement regarding the first of these requirements, which came in a Rule proposing changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that will require certain contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) [1] emissions and climate related financial risk. The Proposed Rule, which implements the requirements addressed in President Biden’s Executive Order 14030, Climate-Related Financial Risk, calls for interested parties to submit comments no later than January 13, 2023.
The proposed rule has similarities to another proposed rule that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released on March 31, 2022, to facilitate the disclosure of various information on climate-related financial risk by public companies. But while this Proposed Rule may require some analogous disclosures, it is different from the SEC rule, and promises to set certain reporting obligations beyond those called for by the SEC. Because this Proposed Rule is likely to impact most federal contractors, at least in terms of representations and certifications they must include in the System for Award Management (SAM), all federal contractors should become familiar with the proposed changes.
