The California gender board diversity law may suffer the same fate.
On April 1, 2022, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green issued a summary judgment order finding that California Corporations Code §...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
The proposed rules would require significant, detailed new climate-related disclosures in annual reports and prospectuses.
On March 21, 2022, by a 3-1 vote, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the...more
In-scope companies would have to publicly identify “actual and potential” adverse impacts of their operations on the environment and/or human rights.
On 23 February 2022, the European Commission (the Commission)...more
The world’s largest asset manager stressed that sustainability issues will continue to be fundamental to companies’ long-term economic outlook.
On 17 January 2022, Larry Fink, the founder and chief executive of...more
The policies aim to provide crucial guidance to public companies amid the growing importance of ESG in proxy voting.
In late 2021, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co (Glass Lewis), the two...more
1/12/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Dealmakers should continue to weigh the impact of ESG issues on M&A deals as ESG standards evolve.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues have become increasingly important for corporates in recent years,...more
1/11/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Privacy ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Green Finance ,
Human Rights ,
IFRS ,
Indemnification Clauses ,
Mergers ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Private Equity ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
UK
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)
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 government also introduced transition plan requirements for companies to meet the UK’s 2050 net zero target.
On 3 November 2021, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation Trustees Chair, Erkki...more
11/9/2021
/ Administrative Review Board ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
IFRS ,
International Regulatory Standards ,
Net Zero ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Policy ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
The regulator is inviting views on potential criteria for classifying and labelling investment products, and on further entity- and product-level sustainability-related disclosures.
On 3 November 2021, the FCA published...more
11/5/2021
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investors ,
Product Labels ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Sustainable Finance ,
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 global asset management community has long been among the leaders in recognising the investment and risk management benefits of tracking the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of the assets it invests...more
10/4/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Germany ,
Global Standards ,
Hong Kong ,
Investment Management ,
Multinationals ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Singapore ,
Sustainability ,
UK
Both bourses are seeking to incorporate the TCFD recommendations into their sustainability reporting regimes, extending a trend of convergence in regional ESG reporting standards.
On August 26, 2021, the Singapore...more
On 26 July 2021, the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a consultation report (the Report) that proposes a set of recommendations to mitigate risks flowing from activities of...more
The FCA is proposing a disclosure regime for asset managers, life insurers, and pension providers.
On 22 June 2021, the FCA published a Consultation Paper (CP21/17) on introducing climate-related financial disclosure...more
6/28/2021
/ AIFM ,
Asset Management ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Pensions ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
The FCA is consulting on extending its rules to standard listed issuers.
On 22 June 2021, the FCA published a Consultation Paper (CP21/18) on extending the application of the existing climate-related disclosure...more
6/28/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Reporting ,
G7 ,
IFRS ,
Listing Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
Board members are expected to have adequate knowledge and understanding of climate-related and ESG risks. Legislators and regulators around the world have long recognised that one of the most effective ways to drive change is...more
6/21/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Sustainable Finance
Proposed changes to the UK Listing Rules would allow certain SPACs to avoid a listing suspension.
Key Points:
..The FCA is proposing to amend its rules so that SPACs meeting certain conditions and disclosure...more
For market participants pivoting toward ESG and digital assets, weighing the issues at the crossroads of these two megatrends is critical.
The huge rise in popularity of Bitcoin - and the growing interest by mainstream...more
4/13/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Paris Agreement ,
Popular ,
Risk Management
A series of recent developments has driven a rapid increase in sustainability-linked loan and bond issuances in a variety of jurisdictions and industries.
Background: Sustainability-Linked vs. Activity-Based -
The...more
FCA director highlights areas of concern in relation to ESG reporting and provides recommendations.
Richard Monks, Director of Strategy at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), recently delivered a speech on the...more