Latham & Watkins Discusses Department of Labor Rule on ESG Investing

By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Kristina S. Wyatt and Deric Behar November 23, 2020 by Nisha Chandra

On October 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments (the Rule) and a related Fact Sheet, a codification of the spirit, if not the exact words, of a controversial proposal issued …

A Critique of the Sustainable Corporate Governance Report from the European Commission

By Mark Roe, Holger Spamann, Jesse Fried and Charles Wang November 9, 2020 by renholding

In July 2020, the European Commission published the “Study on directors’ duties and sustainable corporate governance” by EY. The report purports to find evidence of debilitating short-termism in EU corporate governance and recommends many changes to support sustainable …

Skadden Discusses the Social Factors in ESG

By Helena J. Derbyshire, Louise Batty, Damian R. Babic and Eleanor F. Williams November 9, 2020 by Nisha Chandra

Investors have historically overlooked social factors amid a focus on the environmental and governance counterparts as they assess the merit of an investment. This may have been due in part to the difficulty in quantifying social concerns as drivers of …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses ESG Regulatory Developments

By Chris Macbeth, Géraldine Bourguignon, Caroline Petruzzi McHale, George Taylor and Clara Cibrario Assereto November 4, 2020 by snehapandya

The last few years have seen a marked worldwide expansion in “ESG”-labelled investment products, bringing sustainable finance into the spotlight as a clear financial industry megatrend. By 2018, investment in sustainable assets in five of the world’s major markets (Europe, …

Columbia’s Millstein Center Presents Global Investor-Director Survey on Climate Risk Management

By Jens Frankenreiter, Sophie L’Hélias, Nina Hodzic, Sneha Pandya and Eric Talley October 30, 2020 by snehapandya

Changes in the global climate are having profound impacts on business operations, governance, and organizational management around the world. Boards of directors are searching for ways to account for these changes as they help guide their organizations, and investors are …

Paul Weiss Discusses Initiatives to Unify ESG Reporting

By Mark S. Bergman, Ariel J. Deckelbaum, Brad S. Karp and Scott P. Grader October 27, 2020 by Nisha Chandra

ESG reporting is now recognized as a significant agenda item in the ESG space. The plethora of different reporting standards has caused concern and confusion, as those responsible for providing disclosure, as well as the intended beneficiaries of the disclosure, …

ESG, Common Ownership, and Systematic Risk: How They Intersect

By John C. Coffee, Jr. September 14, 2020 by renholding

This brief column will assert that three developments that seem unrelated are in fact closely related and may soon impact U.S. corporate governance with the force of a freight train. This column summarizes a longer article just posted by this …

Does Environmental and Social Disclosure Affect Innovation at Companies?

By Brian Gibbons August 26, 2020 by renholding

Companies are typically not compelled to disclose environmental and social (E&S) information because this information does not meet the materiality standard used in many jurisdictions. However, some shareholders have an explicit mandate to screen potential investments based on E&S criteria. …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses Executive Compensation Considerations – Looking Ahead and Staying Nimble

By Jeannemarie O'Brien and Adam J. Shapiro August 25, 2020 by renholding

Unpredictability has dominated the economic climate over the last six months and likely will continue in the months ahead. Companies that swiftly and thoughtfully assess and respond to evolving challenges will most effectively manage through the pandemic. This theme applies …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses the Other “S” in ESG: Building a Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chain

By David M. Silk, David B. Anders, Sabastian V. Niles, Christina C. Ma and Carmen X.W. Lu August 17, 2020 by renholding

The current pandemic, blind spots in information flows through supply lines, the shutdowns in meat processing plants around the world, the ongoing shortages in personal protective equipment and, most recently, the scandal involving British retailer Boohoo, have all underscored the …

The Politics of Institutional Shareholder Voting: Transparency Before Reform

By Isabel Verkes August 13, 2020 by renholding

On July 22, the SEC finalized a sweeping rule change to enhance the transparency around the role of proxy advisers. This follows an earlier proposal to reform the process for including shareholder proposals in a company’s proxy statement.^[1] These …

Skadden Reviews ESG for First Half of 2020

By Scott C. Hopkins, Simon Toms, Adam M. Howard and Patrick Tsitsaros August 10, 2020 by renholding

Interest in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies of companies and their impact on the wider community has continued to increase amongst institutional investors, retail shareholders and the media during the first half of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and …

Wachtell Lipton Puts a Spotlight on Boards

By Martin Lipton and Carmen X.W. Lu July 23, 2020 by renholding

The ever-evolving challenges facing corporate boards prompt periodic updates to a snapshot of what is expected from the board of directors of a public company—not just the legal rules, or the principles published by institutional investors and various corporate and …

Davis Polk Discusses ESG Disclosure Frameworks

By Betty Moy Huber, Joseph Hall and Alexandra Munson July 22, 2020 by renholding

Updates in the past two months to voluntary ESG disclosure frameworks raise questions for companies about these overlapping and arguably competing standards.

GRI Launches Sector-Specific Disclosure Framework

On July 8, 2020, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) published an initial draft…

SEC Commissioner Advocates ESG Disclosure for Asset Managers, Not Issuers

By Elad L. Roisman July 10, 2020 by renholding

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Keir [Gumbs], for the kind introduction, and thank you to the Society for Corporate Governance for the invitation to speak today. I had been looking forward to seeing everyone in Colorado this week but, of

…

Wachtell Lipton Offers Thoughts for Boards of Directors in 2020

By Martin Lipton, Steven A. Rosenblum, William Savitt, Karessa L. Cain, Hannah Clark and Bita Assad July 8, 2020 by renholding

The past six months have been marked by a profound upheaval that has accelerated the growing focus on both the purpose of the corporation and the role of the board in overseeing and leading the corporation in ways that promote …

Environmental and Social Voting at the Big Three

By Caleb N. Griffin June 16, 2020 by renholding

Environmental and social (E&S) issues are an increasingly publicized component of investment management. Large fund families, including the “Big Three” of Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, market themselves as advocates for the environment, women, workers in developing countries, and other …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses Using ESG Tools to Help Combat Systemic Racism and Injustice

By Adam O. Emmerich, David M. Silk, Sabastian V. Niles, Elina Tetelbaum and Carmen X.W. Lu June 16, 2020 by renholding

Events of recent weeks and months have starkly illuminated the effects of systemic racism and injustice on Black Americans, including threats to physical safety, psychological trauma and economic disparity. CEOs worldwide and across industries have spoken out, expressing their horror …

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