In late July 2023, House Republicans on the Financial Services Committee introduced four bills targeting various business and market activities that implicate environmental, social, and governance issues. In a statement...more
9/7/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proxy Voting ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
In May 2023, the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) published a new guide setting out how to use ESG-related metrics effectively in private markets (the ESG Metrics Guide), and how measuring and monitoring these metrics can...more
In May 2023, the shareholder advocacy group Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited and Amundi Asset Management filed shareholder resolutions pressing Japanese power...more
On April 19, 2023, CDP launched a request for 7,000 companies to disclose on the production and use of the most environmentally problematic plastics, i.e., plastic polymers, durable plastics, and plastic packaging, through...more
On March 30, 2023, 21 Republican Attorneys General (AGs) wrote a letter addressed to over 50 U.S. asset managers citing “concerns about the ongoing agreements between asset managers to use Americans’ savings to push political...more
5/9/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Asset Management ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Competition ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Net Zero ,
Popular ,
State Attorneys General
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), a European membership body for investor collaboration on climate change, announced the launch of its Net Zero Engagement Initiative (NZEI). A primary goal of the...more
5/5/2023
/ Capital Investments ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Net Zero ,
Paris Agreement ,
Popular
The Royal Bank of Canada announced that this year it will begin incorporating ESG considerations into incentive compensation plans for the bank’s CEO and other top executives. In particular, the bank plans to take ESG...more
On March 16, 2023 the Republican governors of 19 states announced an alliance led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to “push back against President Biden’s environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) agenda that is...more
3/22/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda
On January 2, the New York City (NYC) Comptroller, Brad Lander, the NYC Employees’ Retirement System, the NYC Teachers’ Retirement System, and the NYC Board of Education Retirement System, announced that they had submitted...more
1/31/2023
/ Business Strategies ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Comptroller ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pension Funds ,
Popular ,
Underwriting
In early 2022, the ESG ratings industry attracted attention when electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc. was dropped from the S&P 500 ESG Index. Explaining its decision, S&P cited perceived deficiencies in many ESG areas,...more
It is hardly news that ESG investing is a significant aspect of the asset management industry. According to Barron’s, $400 billion was invested in U.S. mutual funds and assets that have an ESG orientation in 2021. However,...more
Introduction -
The asset management industry has been sounding the alarm for some time about the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. While private equity giant, Carlyle, is the most recent financial institution...more
As investors’ calls for greater climate-related corporate accountability grow louder, the “E” in ESG—environmental, social and governance—looms larger than ever, particularly from the perspective of directors facing oversight...more
In Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund, et al. v. AmerisourceBergen Corporation, the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered the inspection of the books and records of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of the leading opioid...more
1/29/2020
/ Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Controlled Substances ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Drug Distribution ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Inspection Rights ,
Mismanagement ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders
In Channel Medsystems, Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corporation, the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected an attempt by Boston Scientific to terminate and thus avoid consummating a merger agreement with Channel on the grounds...more
1/8/2020
/ Boston Scientific ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
Business Expenses ,
Business Litigation ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity ,
FDA Approval ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Fraud ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Letters of Intent ,
Material Adverse Effects ,
Materiality ,
Medical Devices ,
Merger Agreements ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Pre-Termination Notice ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Remediation