On July 4, 2025, the European Commission (EC) adopted a “Delegated Act Amending the Taxonomy Disclosures, Climate and Environmental Delegated Acts,” marking a significant shift in how companies will interact with the European...more
Key topics in Akin’s July 2024 Sustainability/ESG Policy and Regulatory Update include: Updated Assessment of SFDR by EU Regulators: The European Supervisory Authorities have proposed changes to the Sustainable Finance...more
8/2/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Products ,
Greenwashing ,
NRDC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK
Akin’s newsletter on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policy and regulatory developments, provides a timely digest of ESG topics, news items and other relevant information regarding significant ESG policy...more
3/7/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Policy Updates ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability ,
UNFCCC
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued proposed rules to establish a U.K. sustainability disclosure regime (SDR) providing a U.K. take on a topic many investment managers have been dealing with in...more
11/8/2022
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Management ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK
The High Court of England and Wales (the “High Court”) recently ruled1 that the U.K. government’s Net Zero Strategy (NZS) breached the detail and reporting requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008 (“CCA 2008”). In this...more
As we noted previously, against the backdrop of the European Green Deal and related sustainable finance initiatives, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are increasingly being incorporated into loan and...more
Almost a year ago, we reflected on the outcome of the 26th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or “COP 26”. COP 26 brought 120 world leaders together to...more
In view of the upcoming July 29 deadline to the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) consultation period for its proposed sustainability disclosure standards, Akin Gump would like to remind readers of the...more
In April 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) issued its final policy statement on diversity and inclusion (D&I) requirements for premium and standard listed issuers with the object of increasing transparency for...more
Ahead of The Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022 (the “Regulations”) taking effect on April 6, 2022, the U.K. Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)...more
On February 23, the European Commission (the “Commission”) proposed a Directive intended to extend the standards of due diligence performed by large companies with business operations in the European Union (EU) (the...more
If, as they say, past is prologue, then boards of directors in the United States should follow closely lessons learned by their European and British counterparts when it comes to the potential role sustainable finance plays...more
2021: ESG On Center Stage -
As we approach the end of a watershed year, we are struck by the rapid evolution and intensification of all things ESG (environmental, social and governance). Virtually every segment of the...more
1/7/2022
/ Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Sustainability ,
UNFCCC
As we reflect on the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), it would be remiss not to note that the United Kingdom government announced its intention for the U.K. to be the world’s “first net zero-aligned...more
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors continue to play an increasingly significant role across the capital markets and have an impact on a range of financial instruments and products. We have previously written...more
9/20/2021
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Finance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Green Bonds ,
Green Finance ,
ISDA ,
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance
In connection with implementing the European Green Deal and its efforts to become the first climate-neutral continent, the European Commission announced on Wednesday, July 14 an ambitious package of proposals aimed at further...more
This special episode features “Emergence of ESG Transparency,” a webinar featuring two heads of Akin Gump’s ESG group—partners Stacey Mitchell in D.C. and Amy Kennedy in London—along with London partner Ezra Zahabi.
Among...more
As we noted here, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly relevant across the finance markets and have impacted a range of financial instruments. The European leveraged finance market has...more
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly relevant across a range of financial investments. This has been driven in part by changes in the legal and regulatory landscape, including increased...more
4/8/2021
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Green Finance ,
International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) ,
Private Placements ,
Sustainability ,
UK
In this episode, Akin Gump’s Amy Kennedy and Stacey Mitchell, two of the firm’s ESG group co-heads, walk listeners through environmental, social and governance considerations for business.
Among the topics covered:
- U.S....more
3/26/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Bonds ,
Green Loans ,
Investors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainability-Linked Loans (SLLs)