The outcome of the review may signal what climate-related laws and policies to expect in the UK in the coming years.
On 8 September 2022, newly appointed UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announced that Chris Skidmore MP, a...more
9/27/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emissions Trading System ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU Directive ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
UK
This Client Alert probes the ESG “materiality assessment” process, why it is a misnomer, when and how the assessment can be conducted, and legal and practical tips for conducting the assessment.
Companies have been...more
The call highlights the challenges in developing alignment between global ESG reporting standards.
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), two of the world’s leading public financial...more
8/22/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
IFRS ,
IMF ,
International Regulatory Standards ,
Net Zero ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
The second version includes guidance on metrics and how companies can conduct dependency and impact evaluation.
On 28 June 2022, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) released version 0.2 of its...more
The move follows a number of similar standards that regulators and governments across the globe have proposed. With effect from 1 June 2022, the Guidance for Enterprise ESG Disclosure (the Guidance), published by...more
6/16/2022
/ Accounting Standards ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Guidance ,
SASB ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
The two new bodies are expected to help harmonise standards in different jurisdictions to meet investor demand for comparable ESG information.
On 27 April 2022, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)...more
HM Treasury’s Transition Plan Taskforce aims to influence international standard setting and make the UK the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre.
On 25 April 2022, HM Treasury (HMT) announced the launch of...more
What the proposed rule would mean for registrants and their filings with the SEC.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed climate disclosure rule, approved by a 3–1 vote on March 21, 2022, is the agency’s...more
4/6/2022
/ Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
Corporate reporting (including SEC developments), climate change, energy transition, supply chain management, and the mitigation of ESG-related litigation risk are expected to be the leading ESG themes of this year.
As...more
1/6/2022
/ China ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Truly Green? CMA Continues to Evolve Guidance and Metrics for Companies’ Environmental Claims -
The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) Green Claims Code (the Code) and final guidance (the Guidance) on...more
12/22/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
Green Marketing ,
Net Zero ,
New Guidance ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The association noted that regulators could provide market participants with much-needed additional trust in ESG ratings and data.
On 23 November 2021, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)...more
11/30/2021
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Information Reports ,
IOSCO ,
Jurisdiction ,
Market Participants ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Ratings ,
Securities Regulation ,
UK
The guidance offers clarification on key aspects of the TCFD’s recommendations on climate reporting.
On 14 October 2021, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) released a new guidance document on...more
10/22/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Finance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
The roadmap introduces sustainability disclosure requirements for UK companies and reveals further developments in relation to a UK Green Taxonomy.
On 18 October 2021, the UK government released a report titled “Greening...more
10/21/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Finance ,
IFRS ,
Investors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
What SEC commentary and the influence of existing frameworks could mean for mandatory climate disclosures in the US.
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has publicly stated that the SEC will...more
Green shoots emerge as PE firms consider new ways to incorporate ESG into dealmaking.
Market sentiment and the increasing importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) to firms’ competitiveness across the...more
10/7/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Reporting ,
General Partnerships ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
UK
The package focuses on material sustainability reporting and disclosure obligations, as the EU looks to direct capital toward sustainable activities.
On 21 April 2021, one day prior to Earth Day and a US-led global...more
6/14/2021
/ AIFM ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Green Finance ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
MiFID ,
MiFID II ,
Net Zero ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
UCITS
The UK Government presents initiatives designed to green the UK economy and bolster attractiveness as an international financial centre.
On 9 November 2020, Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced several...more
11/11/2020
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Bonds ,
Green Finance ,
Popular ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
On 29 June 2017, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) published its final recommendations. The TCFD set out information that companies should disclose to enable investors, lenders, and insurance...more
On 26 June 2017, the European Commission (the EC) published non-binding guidelines on the methodology for reporting non-financial information by certain large companies and groups (the Guidelines) as required by Article 2 of...more
The European Conflict Minerals Regulation (the Regulation) was approved by the European Council on 3 April 2017. Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union will be the next step in the process and this could...more
26 March 2017 marked two years since the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. As the signature legislation of the then Home Secretary (Theresa May – now Prime Minister), it heralded greater focus on an issue that...more