The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) turns its focus to clean hydrogen hubs, key real estate players announce a new round of layoffs, Local Law 97 faces pushback in New York, and more.
The G2G Mid-Year Roundup (2022)
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Our mid-year roundup highlights the top-read Gravel2Gavel posts from 2022 so far. Our authors provided deep industry insights and summarized hot topics that addressed various legal implications and disruptions that affected the market, ranging from topics like investing in real estate metaverse to the clean hydrogen transition.
Kim Jaimez: Commercial Real Estate Taking Notice of ESG Enforcement
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Pillsbury Litigation partner and former federal prosecutor Kimberly Jaimez was featured in the GlobeSt.com article, SEC Ready To Clamp Down On ESG Investment Claims, offering insight on the increased awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns in commercial real estate. With ESG now being viewed by most CRE investors as a top priority in business operations, a new source of risk has resulted: increased SEC scrutiny over overinflated or otherwise false ESG claims. This could mean CRE investment funds, REITs, and other real estate entities will have to increase compliance vetting on marketing and communications. Jaimez presented the following comments:
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (06/01/22)
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Cybersecurity becomes an increasing concern when buying digital land, a significant property tax break in New York is set to expire, climate disclosure mandates in commercial real estate are on the horizon, and more.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (05/25/22)
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U.S. cities begin leveraging infrastructure coordinators, Texas tax appraisers have been put on notice, China’s property market is projected to worsen throughout 2022, and more.
Superfund Chemical Taxes Reinstated
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Section 80201 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law 117-58, reinstates the long-expired federal excise taxes that are imposed on specified chemical substances used in common industrial applications pursuant to Sections 4661 and 4671 of the Internal Revenue Code. The effective date of this reinstatement is July 1, 2022, and these taxes expire on December 31, 2031. The Act “decoupled” these reinstated chemical taxes from the now-expired Superfund petroleum excise tax that also funded the Superfund Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund, which was created when Superfund (formally known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA) was enacted in 1980. The Secretary of the Treasury was directed to publish an initial list of taxable chemicals by January 1, 2022, and this initial list was set forth in IRS Notice 2021-66. The list contains not only the 50 taxable chemical substances listed in Section 4672 (a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code but also the 101 taxable chemicals listed in this Notice. In addition, Section 80201 of the Act also modified the existing tax rates by raising them.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (05/18/22)
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Businesses renovate office spaces at a historic pace, China plans to build a 3D-printed hydropower dam without human workers, the U.S. infrastructure package has thousands of projects underway, and more.
Do Municipal Gas Bans Slow the Clean Hydrogen Transition in Real Estate?
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Clean hydrogen has the potential to play a significant role in the energy transition by serving as a carbon-free form of energy storage and heat production. In real estate, hydrogen could provide heating, replace or supplement natural gas in many applications, or store excess rooftop solar power. The United Kingdom, United States and Japan are all homes to pilot projects attempting to scale out hydrogen for use in communities.
5G Technology and the IoT Introduce New Regulatory and Security Concerns for Developers
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Over the last several years, the proptech movement has become entrenched in the lexicon of the real estate industry as developers use the term as a catch-all term for using technology in the construction of new commercial buildings and begin planning for Smart Cities. The various technologies incorporate wireless sensors, broadband service and other cloud-based applications to reduce energy costs, improve transportation and enhance security.
Smart Building and Smarter Protocols: Mitigating IoT Cybersecurity Risks in Commercial Real Estate
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From our homes to our workplaces, the deployment of smart technology is becoming increasingly prevalent. The Wall Street Journal notes that smart-building-related companies raised $2.88 billion in venture capital in 2021. In previous posts, we’ve discussed the increased use of smart technology in commercial real estate, the importance of a thorough and rigorous research and evaluation process, and various factors to consider in contracts for smart technology. These evaluation and contract processes are vital for developing security guardrails to which smart technology suppliers must adhere. A rigorous, security-centric approach to smart home technology can help protect real estate companies from catastrophic PR and financial fallout from a security incident such as the Mirai malware attack in 2016 that targeted insecure Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The average cost of data breach incidents increases with each year and, in 2021, the average cost of a data breach incident was $4.24 million. More than ever, companies must not only be aware of the cybersecurity risks of these technologies but take the necessary steps to address their vulnerabilities.