Columbia Law School
Sky Blog
Thank you, John [Podesta], and thanks to the whole team here at the Center for American Progress, for hosting me today. I’ve had the honor of serving as Acting Chair of the SEC for nearly two months now, and I
ESG
The Agency Costs of Sustainable Capitalism
At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2020, Larry Fink – the chief executive of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock – wore a climate change-themed scarf. It featured the “warming stripes” visual, where the color …
Kirkland & Ellis Discusses ESG and Climate Regulatory Developments Affecting Private Equity
In the second half of 2020, demand for ESG-focused investments continued to accelerate, and data showing the outperformance of those investments during the COVID-19 pandemic has set the stage for robust demand to continue in 2021. In his recent letter …
Davis Polk Discusses New SEC Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force
On March 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a newly created Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. The Climate and ESG Task Force will work closely with other areas of the SEC as part of …
Commissioners Discuss SEC’s Enhanced Climate-Change Efforts
Over the past two weeks, we and the public have seen a steady flow of SEC “climate” statements and press releases.[1] Our Divisions of Corporation Finance, Examinations, and Enforcement all have announced climate- or ESG-related initiatives. What does this
How Department of Labor Rules on ESG Leave Undirected Votes Adrift
Just before year end, the Department of Labor finalized its new rules on ESG investing and voting for retirement and pension funds. The rules sharply restrict the ability of the fiduciaries of retirement and pension funds to make investments based …
The Duty of Care for Board Members Should Include Competence in ESG
It is becoming clearer to investors and corporate managers that material environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues need to be managed as part of an organization’s business strategy. Climate change, racism, economic inequality, water scarcity, cybersecurity threats – these …
King & Spalding Discusses SEC’s Potential Focus During Biden Administration
For the next several weeks and months, intense focus will be trained on determining the priorities of the Biden administration. We believe that at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the new administration will ramp up examinations and investigations of …
Wachtell Lipton Discusses M&A Activity in 2020 and Expectations for 2021
Deal activity (or inactivity) for much of 2020 was driven first by the unprecedented uncertainty and massive global shutdown of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, and then propelled by rising markets and confidence as animal spirits anticipated the …
Paul Hastings Discusses Integrating Human Rights and ESG into International Regulatory Compliance
As we wrote toward the end of 2020, the risks associated with business and human rights, and ESG more generally, have led a growing number of companies to create human rights/ESG management systems or to integrate human rights/ESG into existing …
Addressing ESG in 2021: Who Is in Charge?
Over the course of 2020, market forces drove corporations and institutional investors to make expansive commitments to their purpose and social responsibility. This fueled companies in many regions to publish lengthy reports under the ESG moniker (Environmental, Social and Governance). …
Cleary Gottlieb Discusses New EU ESG Disclosure Obligations for Financial Services Firms
Over a year ago, on December 29, 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures for the financial services sector (the “Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation”, or “SFDR”) entered into force. Just a few months remain before key …
Faithful Fiduciaries Have Nothing to Fear from DOL Investment Rule
Late in the afternoon of the Friday before Election Day, the Department of Labor finalized a rule that requires pension and retirement plan fiduciaries to consider only financial interests when investing plan funds. On its face, the rule seems anodyne. …
Debevoise Discusses Banks and Climate-Change Initiatives
In the United States this past year, growing movements for social, racial and environmental justice, and the impact of an unprecedented health crisis, have coincided with a range of institutions increasing their focus on promoting environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) …
Rethinking Corporate Purpose … But Not as One Might Expect
Corporate purpose is having a moment, as it seems to do each generation or so. The Business Roundtable made waves last year by pivoting away from shareholder centrism in its “redefinition” of corporate purpose. Directors, officers, institutional investors, and others …
The Role of Institutional Investors in Stakeholder Capitalism
Institutional investors are increasingly playing a major role in the shift toward stakeholder capitalism. They are also facing pressure from their clients and others to focus more on ensuring that their investments promote corporate sustainability. Such expectations are reinforced by …
Do Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Finance Generate Better Financial Performance?
Sustainability in business and environmental, social, or governance (ESG) factors in finance have entered the mainstream. In 2020, the CEO of Blackrock wrote: “Our investment conviction is that sustainability and climate integrated portfolios can provide better risk-adjusted returns to investors.”…
The Rise of International Corporate Law
What do the emergence of independent directors in South Korea, the legal reforms on related-party transactions in India, the continued rise of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in the United States, and the global spread of corporate governance codes …
Corporate Stakeholders, Corporate Valuation, and ESG
In a 1987 paper, available here, we argued that non-investor stakeholders play an important role in influencing financial policy and corporate valuation. We also distinguished explicit claims between a company and its counterparties from what we called implicit claims. …
Biden and the SEC: Some Possible Agendas
This is the gossip season, and almost everyone has heard a rumor about who will be the next chair of the SEC. Although I was interviewed by the Biden transition team (for my views, not as a candidate), my sources …