The Evolution of Environmental Discourse in Conference Calls

By Elaine Henry, Xi Jiang, and Andrea Rozario July 12, 2021 by renholding

Climate change disclosure ranks among the priorities of Gary Gensler, the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the rapid reallocation of capital to green investments – characterized as a “tectonic shift” by BlackRock[1] and a “frenzy” …

SEC Commissioner Lee Addresses Climate, ESG, and Boards of Directors

By Allison Herren Lee June 29, 2021 by renholding

“You Cannot Direct the Wind, But You Can Adjust Your Sails”[1]

Good morning and thank you for the invitation to speak today at the Society for Corporate Governance 2021 National Conference. I’m impressed with your full and informative agenda

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Wachtell Lipton Discusses Key Corporate Governance Issues for Mid-Year 2021

By Martin Lipton, Steven A. Rosenblum and Karessa L. Cain June 28, 2021 by renholding

Last year, we did a mid-year edition of our annual Thoughts for Boards of Directors to highlight key issues and considerations in managing the challenging business environment and profound upheaval caused by the pandemic. Many of these issues are still …

SEC Commissioner Asks Whether Agency Can Make Sustainable ESG Rules

By Elad L. Roisman June 23, 2021 by renholding

Thank you Gary [LaBranche] and the National Investor Relations Institute for inviting me to speak at your 2021 Virtual Conference. Of course, I will clarify up front that the views I express are my own and do not necessarily reflect

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Paul Weiss Discusses SEC Move to Consider ESG Disclosures

By Daniel J. Kramer, David S. Huntington, Mark S. Bergman, Brad S. Karp and Audra J. Soloway June 22, 2021 by renholding

The SEC recently closed its period of public comment on the topic of climate-change disclosures after receiving hundreds of submissions. The comments, not surprisingly, reflected a range of views regarding climate-related disclosures, including whether the SEC should or must limit …

The SEC’s Regulation of ESG Disclosures

By David A. Katz and Laura A. McIntosh June 21, 2021 by renholding

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has indicated that ESG disclosure regulation will be a central focus of recently confirmed SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s tenure. At the top of the agenda is climate change disclosure, and the Commission is taking …

ISS Discusses How ESG Investing Stands Up to the Critics

By Duncan Paterson, Anthony Campagna and Meagan Rossi June 21, 2021 by renholding

There is a quote that is commonly misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

At the regular get-togethers in the responsible investment industry, war stories are frequently …

ESG and the Pricing of IPOs: Does Sustainability Matter?

By Alessandro Fenili and Carlo Raimondo June 18, 2021 by renholding

In recent years, investors and others in the financial community have devoted increasing attention to the role of sustainability in financial markets and the economy at large. Sustainability is now seen as an alternative form of risk management, a way …

Putting the Electric Cart Before the Horse:* Inevitable Costs of a New ESG Disclosure Regime

By Elad L. Roisman June 7, 2021 by renholding

Thank you to Dan [Bigman] and the Corporate Board Member for inviting me to participate in today’s ESG Board Forum. Of course, the views I express here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my fellow Commissioners.

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Cleary Gottlieb Discusses EC’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

By Maurits Dolmans, Geraldine Bourguignon, Clara Cibrario Assereto and Toon Dictus June 2, 2021 by renholding

On April 21, 2021, the European Commission published an ambitious new package of “sustainable finance” regulation proposals. By far the most awaited element of this release concerned the Commission’s proposal for the review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (“NFRD…

SEC Commissioner Lee Speaks on Myths and Misconceptions about “Materiality”

By Allison Herren Lee May 26, 2021 by renholding

Thank you, Neil [Stewart] for the introduction and for having me today as you discuss the important and timely topic of climate and ESG disclosures. I very much look forward to hearing from Janine [Guillot] and Julie [Bell Lindsay]. You

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SEC Commissioner Lee Speaks on Leveraging Regulatory Cooperation

By Allison Herren Lee May 24, 2021 by renholding

Good afternoon. It’s a privilege to welcome you all to the annual Section 19(d) Conference. I want to start by commending NASAA and SEC staff for their work in putting this event together. And thanks to our colleagues from NASAA

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ISS Revisits the Performance of ESG Screened Indexes During the Pandemic

By Hernando Cortina May 18, 2021 by renholding

Nearly a year ago, we analyzed the outperformance of ESG strategies during the initial stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As of May 2020, we found that ESG indexes based on ISS ESG data had outperformed by 1.3% to 2.8%, with …

Skadden Discusses SEC and ESG Disclosure

By Brian V. Breheny, Raquel Fox, Marc S. Gerber and Neil P. Stronski May 13, 2021 by renholding

During his Senate confirmation hearing for chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler said he would adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court’s view of materiality: Information is material (and should therefore be disclosed) if there is a …

WallStreetBets, GameStop, and the Rise of ESG Retail Investors

By Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci and Christina M. Sautter May 4, 2021 by renholding

The GameStop and meme-stock trading frenzy are evidence of a potential revolution in corporate governance and signal the rise of Generation Y (“Millennials”) and Generation Z (“GenZ”) as retail investors. In a new article, we discuss how these investors, who …

Latham & Watkins Discusses ESG Considerations for Cryptocurrency

By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink and Stuart Davis April 21, 2021 by Nisha Chandra

The huge rise in popularity of Bitcoin — and the growing interest by mainstream financial institutions in virtual assets as an investable and tradable asset class — has shone a light on the cryptocurrency industry’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) …

The New Separation of Ownership and Control: Institutional Investors and ESG

By Paul G. Mahoney and Julia D. Mahoney April 20, 2021 by renholding

In recent weeks, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has devoted considerable attention to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, matters. It has requested public comment on climate disclosure proposals, appointed a senior policy advisor for climate and ESG, and …

Repurposing the Corporation Through Stakeholder Markets

By Lynn M. LoPucki April 13, 2021 by renholding

In a new article, I argue that standardized, credible, publicly available ESG information will enable corporations’ stakeholders and potential stakeholders to repurpose their corporations. By “repurpose,” I mean control the corporation and redirect its employees’ efforts to corporate social responsibility …

Making ESG Metrics Trustworthy

By Colleen Honigsberg and Paul Brest April 12, 2021 by renholding

Investors are flocking to companies with good environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores and are threatening to shun companies with poor ones. For many investors, ESG scores are critical to a company’s long-term profitability, not to mention its impact on …

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