The first half of 2024 was eventful in the world of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”). Although ESG continued to lose the market tailwinds that have pushed it forward in recent years, regulatory pressures both...more
10/18/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Greenwashing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Sustainability
Following a nearly two-year wait, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released its Final Rule—The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors—on March 6, 2024. The...more
3/18/2024
/ Administrative Stay ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
While 2022 showed that the sustainable debt market is not impervious to overall economic slow-down (particularly in the capital markets), 2023 demonstrated its resiliency, even in a high-interest rate market. Notwithstanding...more
3/15/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Debt Financing ,
Documentation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Green Bonds ,
Green Finance ,
Green Loans ,
Interest Rates ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability
Following a nearly two-year wait, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released its Final Rule—The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors—on March 6, 2024. The...more
3/8/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Renewable Energy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
ExxonMobil (“Exxon”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Sunday, January 21, 2024, seeking a declaratory judgment to exclude a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement...more
ExxonMobil (“Exxon”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Sunday, January 21, 2024, seeking a declaratory judgment to exclude a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement...more
Corporate sustainability continues to evolve, and keeping pace in 2024 means confronting five big questions. For proponents of ESG (environmental, social & governance), 2023 might have felt like a big setback. Asset...more
1/4/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Investments ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Greenwashing ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates. Our aim is to provide insights into notable developments in securities reporting and the environmental, social and governance space over the quarter and, where...more
10/13/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
BlackRock ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clawbacks ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Insider Trading ,
NYSE ,
Private Funds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Quarterly Report ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
As public companies anticipate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) final climate disclosure rules, which are expected to be released sometime fourth quarter of 2023, California has beaten the federal government...more
Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates. Our aim is to provide insights into notable developments in securities reporting and the environmental, social and governance space over the quarter and, where...more
7/13/2023
/ C&DIs ,
Climate Change ,
COSO ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Divestment ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Nasdaq ,
No-Action Letters ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Season ,
Repurchases ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Universal Proxy Cards
Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates. Our aim is to provide insights into notable developments in securities reporting and the environmental, social and governance space over the quarter and, where...more
4/4/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Brokers ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investors ,
Nasdaq ,
Non-Voting Shares ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
The amount of money invested in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds has increased exponentially in the past year, and as banks and investors increasingly turn their attention to ESG factors, companies are also...more
On March 21, 2022, the SEC issued a Proposing Release setting out sweeping new requirements for climate change disclosures. If finalized as proposed, these climate disclosure rules would require dramatic changes to corporate...more
4/11/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
ICFR ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation S-K ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Much has been said about the need for countries and companies to build a low-carbon global economy. Multiple estimates of the amount of capital that will be needed to fund the energy transition over the next several decades...more
3/31/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Buildings ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
REIT ,
Sustainability
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released a proposed rule on March 21, 2022, that would require U.S. and foreign private issuers to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements...more
The amount of money invested in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds has increased exponentially in the past year, and as banks and investors increasingly turn their attention to ESG factors, companies are also...more
6/2/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Investments ,
Clean Energy ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Documentation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financing ,
Green Bonds ,
Green Buildings ,
Green Finance ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Pollution Control ,
Popular ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy ,
Waste Management ,
Wastewater
On Thursday, January 21, President Biden announced that Democratic SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee will serve as acting chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”). As a reminder,...more
In her Thursday, November 5 speech before PLI’s 52nd Annual Institute on Securities Regulation, Commissioner Allison Herren Lee built on her prior statements1 to clearly stress her view that the Securities and Exchange...more
The corporate world continues its embrace of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) in 2020 like never before. As part of that trend, ESG-type criteria are appearing with increasing prevalence in the bond and loan...more
Join Vinson & Elkins’ innovative Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Taskforce members for an exceptional series of conversations with industry insiders, top capital providers, and thought trailblazers on key...more
9/9/2020
/ Capital Investments ,
Capital Markets ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Strategy ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Assessment ,
Stakeholder Engagement ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Webinars
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments to Items 101, 103 and 105 of Regulation S-K. Though the SEC has made changes to certain parts of Regulation S-K over the past few years,1...more