On 26 February 2025, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its “Omnibus I” or “Sustainability Omnibus” package as part of its mission to improve the competitiveness of the European Union. The Omnibus Package...more
2/27/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices
On 24 July 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") published an opinion on the sustainable finance regulatory framework (the "ESMA Opinion"), which outlines the ESMA's long-term vision for the functioning...more
Japan is considering whether to require all of its primary listed companies to publish an annual sustainability report which substantively conforms with the standards issued by the IFRS’ International Sustainability Standards...more
On May 28 2024, the Biden administration released the “Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles”. This is one of a number of recent international initiatives to “shore up” the voluntary carbon markets...more
The EU Taxonomy Regulation (the "Regulation") is a highly complex piece of legislation which sets out a classification framework in order to determine whether an economic activity carried out by an undertaking is...more
6/7/2024
/ Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Human Rights ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Taxonomy
On 14 May 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") published its final report on "Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms" (the "Guidelines"). The Guidelines aim to provide...more
5/16/2024
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Funds ,
New Guidance ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UCITS
On 23 April 2024, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA“) published its “Finalised non‑handbook guidance on the Anti‑Greenwashing Rule (FG/24/3)” (the “Guidance“). The FCA has published the Guidance to help in-scope...more
Climate disclosure regulations are among the most significant and complex challenges faced by companies and boards, with a variety of requirements emanating from numerous governmental authorities and non-governmental...more
On March 15, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the climate-related disclosure rules recently adopted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The SEC rules...more
Executive Summary-
Climate disclosure regulations are among the most significant and complex challenges faced by companies and boards, with a variety of requirements emanating from numerous governmental authorities and...more
On 28 November 2023, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") published its "Sustainability Disclosure Requirements ("SDR") and investment labels" policy statement (PS23/16) (the "Policy Statement"). The Policy Statement...more
11/30/2023
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
Policy Statement ,
Retail Investors ,
Sustainability ,
UK
The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) entered into force on 5 January 2023 and the associated European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”) were adopted by the European Commission on 31 July...more
The risk of an accusation of “greenwashing” is now an important concern for many companies. Greenwashing is an ill-defined concept but, nevertheless, is increasingly a source of litigation and regulatory scrutiny – with more...more
7/7/2023
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Net Zero ,
Offsets ,
Reputation Management ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability ,
UK
On 10 November 2022, the EU Parliament adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD"). The EU Council is expected to adopt the CSRD on 28 November 2022, after which it will be published in the Official...more