As more advisory services, investment companies, and public companies have publicized their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a set of new rules intended to create a consistent, comparable, and reliable source of information regarding climate change impacts and sustainability efforts to inform and protect investors while facilitating further innovation in this evolving area.
The SEC’s proposed new rules have,… More
Key Takeaways:
REMINDER: 2022 Nasdaq Board Diversity Disclosure and D&O Questionnaires
As issuers prepare for the end of the 2021 calendar year and the beginning of the 2022 proxy season, many will soon begin circulating director and officer questionnaires. Nasdaq-listed issuers should consider including new questions regarding the diversity of their directors now. To assist listed issuers, Nasdaq has provided sample questions for inclusion in director and officer questionnaires.… More
With the third quarter coming to a close and year-end reporting just around the corner, public companies should be giving careful thought to the evolving landscape for climate-related disclosures. While it did not promulgate any new rules in 2021 regarding these disclosures, the SEC has been actively commenting on climate change disclosures, and new rules are almost certainly on the way.
Since 2010, the SEC has made clear that its existing disclosure regime requires issuers to assess and,… More
Under pressure from shareholder groups, investors and customers, you might already have “green initiatives” in your business plan, and you probably have already identified risks related to climate change and other social and environmental factors. Is there a way to cash in on what you are already doing by accessing the growing market for sustainability-linked loans (sometimes referred to as ESG-linked loans)? Here we will refer to these loans as sustainability-linked loans or SLLs.… More
On June 16, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would impose new ESG due diligence and disclosure requirements on publicly traded companies. H.R. 1187 – the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act of 2021 – would require publicly traded companies to disclose their commitments to ensuring that environmental, social (human rights), and good governance standards (ESG) are reflected in their operations, activities, and supply chains.
The Legislation’s Impact on ESG Due Diligence and Disclosure
Specifically,… More
On May 20, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order to address predicted financial instability in the federal government as a result of climate change. This Executive Order showcases a dramatic change in how the Biden Administration’s stance towards climate-finance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-based investments will differ from the previous administration.
The Executive Order, titled “Climate-Related Financial Risk” seeks to “bolster the resilience of our rural and urban communities,… More
As anticipated, the pace of change around the Climate and broader ESG landscape is accelerating rapidly. In this timely webinar, we discussed:
Speakers:
This is the fifth in our First 100 Days series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the early days of the Biden administration. Our previous entry discussed investigations under the new Congress. Up next, a deep dive on liability under the False Claims Act.
As the Biden Administration began to take shape, many observers (including here at Foley Hoag) predicted that the SEC would move toward requiring standardized disclosures by issuers regarding their ESG risks and opportunities. … More
Climate risk is investment risk.
So says BlackRock. 
And when you manage $8.7 trillion, people tend to listen to what you say. I’ve been noting for some time that BlackRock’s statements seemed to presage increasing shareholder activism with respect to climate. And yet there have been skeptics. As noted in ClimateWire last week, BlackRock’s actions have not always seemed to match its rhetoric.… More