Sky Blog
On November 14, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC” or “Commission”) Division of Enforcement (“Division”) announced its enforcement results for fiscal year (“FY”) 2023.[1] Disgorgement and penalties were the second highest in the SEC’s history at just …
The convergence of environmental urgency and the rising power of “universal owners” – asset managers with broad-based portfolios, such as BlackRock – has kindled the hope among academics and activists that universal owners will leverage their power to push companies …
Sustainable investing is becoming a hot topic in financial economics. However, when it comes to the impact of divestment campaigns and related tactics on promoting sustainable investing, financial economists miss an important point. Many assume that shareholders can create impact …
On October 12, 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final Green Agreements Guidance (Guidance). The Guidance is designed to help businesses seeking to collaborate on environmental sustainability initiatives by providing greater clarity on when UK competition …
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed 784 total enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, a 3 percent increase over fiscal year 2022, including 501 original, or “stand-alone,” enforcement actions, an 8 percent increase over the prior fiscal …
The January 2023 report ESG Performance and Enterprise Value: Do Firms with Stronger ESG Performance Have Higher Valuation Ratios? investigated the relationship between the ISS ESG Performance Score (a normalized version of the ISS ESG Corporate Rating) and two …
In response to extreme weather events, regulators and standard setters are developing climate-related reporting requirements and standards. The thinking behind making disclosure of firms’ climate-related risks mandatory is that it will allow the market to price these risks, thereby using …
Environment, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has become a mainstay of corporate and investment decision-making. Corporations are increasingly making ESG disclosures to assess and limit risks, bolster their reputations, and attract and keep customers. In a new paper, we focus …
On September 25, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a US$19 million settlement with the investment adviser DWS Investment Management Americas Inc. (DIMA) for material misstatements and shortcomings in its policies and procedures related to Environmental, Social and …
Corporations have a history of using deceptive tactics to enhance their public image on environmental compliance while advancing their profit-focused objectives. This phenomenon began in the late 1980s, along with the rise of environmental consciousness. A new generation of environmentally …
A while ago, the National Center for Public Policy Research – a conservative organization that focuses its advocacy in the corporate and securities space – filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, arguing that its diversity equity and inclusion program ran
On June 6, 2023, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audit of public companies, proposed new auditing standards designed to further its “investor-protection mandate.”[1]These standards, if adopted, would …
In the face of competitive pressure, is there a trade-off between a company’s financial performance and its commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities? Is ESG a source of competitive advantage, or do managers simply spend other people’s money …
While environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives undeniably shape corporate reputations and stakeholder perspectives, a crucial question arises: Does the modern workforce truly value these efforts? At one end of the spectrum, critics argue that employees might prioritize job security, …
In recent years, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) themes have taken center stage in the business world. As of October 2022, 8,000 firms globally have aligned themselves with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Race to Zero campaign, …
While environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings provide useful information to stakeholders, it’s unclear whether firms care about them. On the one hand, ESG activities may not align with the traditional goal of maximizing shareholder wealth. Further, ESG ratings often …
A tremendous amount of capital has already been committed to environmental, social, and governance (ESG). With it has come mounting concern over monitoring and guiding the proper integration of ESG into firms. ESG integration is not straightforward due to the …
It is de rigueur to label everything as sustainable – including in private equity. In a new working paper, we examine the claims of the top 100 private equity firms in the United States as to their committment to ESG. …
CEOs and institutional investors have increasingly embraced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations and used them in deciding where to invest. According to the Sustainable Investment Forum, the value of U.S. sustainable assets rose from $6.6 trillion in 2014 to …
Perhaps the most important current development in corporate governance is the growing divide between the United States and the European Union on core questions of fiduciary duty when it comes to ESG. I want to describe this growing divide, to …