Forbes Magazine: Here Comes Carbox
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Companies 'could face fines or even criminal charges' for failure to account for carbon emissions
Here Comes Carbox
William Pentland, Forbes Here's something new to worry about: If you can't figure out how much carbon your company is pumping into the atmosphere, you could face fines or even criminal charges someday. Far-fetched? Many companies, from Alcoa (nyse: AA - news - people ) to Chiquita Brands to Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) don't think so. Regardless of who wins the presidential election this fall, new legislation targeting carbon emissions in one way or another seems practically inevitable. And that means corporate directors and executives are starting to worry about being sued under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for bungling the job. They're calling it Carbox, and it's inspired a green streak in corporate culture--and spawned a cottage industry to deal with the problem. As most people now painfully know, Sarbanes-Oxley, or Sarbox, requires companies to disclose any business risks facing the company to investors in public filings.Read next: With Every Sunrise Comes A Reassuring Reminder That It Is God--Not Government--Who Rules The World