As indicated by the sample comment letter provided by the SEC in September 2021, the SEC has begun issuing comment letters to companies concerning climate disclosure issues in their filings. To date, there do not appear to...more
The Biden Administration has clearly announced that addressing the issue of climate change is one of its key policy priorities. One of the central aspects of this policy was intended to be an array of new regulations by the...more
Last week, the CEO of State Street Global Advisors--one of the largest investment managers--issued a letter to corporate boards of directors announcing a series of priorities with respect to the companies in which it invests....more
John Galloway, the global head of investment stewardship at Vanguard, Inc.--one of the preeminent index fund managers in the United States--recently announced a set of expected climate-focused disclosures that Vanguard...more
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced a plan to compel companies to issue climate-related financial disclosures. Specifically, Prime Minister Trudeau sent mandate letters to Deputy Prime Minister and...more
Last week, SEC Commissioner Crenshaw--one of the Democratic members of the SEC Commission--addressed the Center for American Progress and the Sierra Club, and availed herself of the opportunity to once again vocally express...more
This week, the SEC's Acting Chief Accountant, Paul Munter, issued a statement concerning "High Quality Financial Reporting in a Complex Environment." This statement touched on a number of matters, including the...more
SEC Chairman Gensler, in a set of prepared remarks before the Investor Advisory Committee that focused on cryptocurrency, nonetheless availed himself of the opportunity to once again emphasize that "investors . . . are...more
The United Kingdom recently published "Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing." This document reflects and incorporates a number of environmental initiatives, including the principle that "[t]he financial...more
Climate change poses many risks. For companies, besides the physical impact of climate change itself, this risk is often embodied by regulatory pressure imposed by government agencies or other entities exercising oversight...more
On October 20th, SEC Commissioner Lee delivered a speech focused on the regulations concerning climate disclosures that the SEC is expected to issue soon. (Indeed, Commissioner Lee emphasized that these regulations are...more
Last week, during a program on "Building the Financial System of the 21st Century," in the course of a speech principally focused on various market risks, SEC Commissioner Crenshaw nonetheless availed herself of the...more
Last week, Fitch Ratings announced the launch of new ESG ratings system, which is intended to use a "clear methodolog[y]," of a "full assessment of ESG performance" that "allow[s] for detailed comparability." This...more
Yesterday, SEC Chairman Gensler testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. His remarks were wide-ranging, and touched on a number of different subjects, but importantly he re-affirmed the...more
The SEC recently approved two proposals by NASDAQ concerning board diversity. Specifically, the proposals would "require each Nasdaq listed company, subject to certain exceptions, to publicly disclose . . . information on...more
8/10/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Transparency
On August 9, 2021, the IPCC released its Sixth Assessment Report (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/#SPM), which emphasized the dangers of climate change, and that many of the risks associated with climate change are now...more
In a speech yesterday in a webinar hosted by the Principles for Responsible Investment, SEC Chairman Gensler offered additional clarity on his thoughts concerning mandatory disclosures about climate risk.
First,...more
Yesterday, SEC Commissioner Pierce--one of two Republicans serving as an SEC Commissioner--delivered a speech criticizing the "potential ESG rulemaking."...more
Last week, one of the primary topics at the July 7th meeting of the SEC's Asset Management Advisory Committee was ESG disclosures. Indeed, according to the discussion draft of the relevant subcommittee, certain specific...more
In recent remarks delivered by Commissioner Lee at the Society for Corporate Governance, she took the opportunity to again focus on the risks posed by ESG issues, particularly climate change, and how these particular matters...more
SEC Commissioner Roisman, one of the two Republicans currently serving as SEC commissioners, has questioned over the past few months the SEC's new focus on mandatory ESG disclosures, particularly those focused on climate...more
During his remarks at London City Week, SEC Chairman Gensler again highlighted the SEC's new focus on climate change disclosures. Specifically, Chairman Gensler identified climate change disclosures as his top priority, and...more
The past several years has seen growing attention on climate change disclosures and other environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues. In 2016, a variety of universities faced pressure as student bodies demanded...more
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill--albeit by the narrowest of majorities--that would mandate that companies provide shareholders "information about employee and executive pay, political spending, climate...more
Following the meeting of G7 leaders in Cornwall, a joint communique was issued on June 13, 2021 concerning many issues of common interest, including climate change....more