The Duty of Care for Board Members Should Include Competence in ESG

By Tensie Whelan February 18, 2021 by renholding

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 …

Gibson Dunn Discusses EU Developments in Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence

By Susy Bullock, Allan Neil and Alexa Romanelli February 15, 2021 by Nisha Chandra

The concept of mandatory corporate human rights due diligence is gaining momentum, both within Europe and on the international stage

In this two-part alert, we examine key global legislative developments and proposals on this important topic. In Part One, we …

Lessons from India’s Struggles with Corporate Purpose

By Afra Afsharipour February 4, 2021 by renholding

The escalating debate over corporate purpose is not confined to developed economies in the West. Rapidly developing economies in nations like India are similarly grappling with how to define and develop a legal framework around corporate purpose. Corporate social responsibility …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses New EU ESG Disclosure Obligations for Financial Services Firms

By Géraldine Bourguignon, Helena Grannis, Caroline Petruzzi McHale, Ferdisha Snagg and Clara Cibrario Assereto January 19, 2021 by Nisha Chandra

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 …

Do Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Finance Generate Better Financial Performance?

By Ulrich Atz, Tracy Van Holt and Zongyuan (Zoe) Liu December 15, 2020 by renholding

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.”…

Gibson Dunn Discusses the EU Sustainable Finance Framework for Private Fund Managers

By Michelle Kirschner, Chris Hickey and Martin Coombes November 10, 2020 by Nisha Chandra

The European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan [1] (the “Action Plan”) proposed a package of measures including, amongst other initiatives, a regulation imposing sustainability-related disclosures on financial market participants (“SFDR”[2]) and a regulation to …

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 …

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, …

Skadden Discusses Sustainability-Linked Loans and COVID-19

By Seth E. Jacobson and Kristoffer A. Gredsted November 2, 2020 by snehapandya

Pre-COVID-19, pressure from investors, stakeholders and regulators helped jump-start green financing. The onset of the pandemic brought a temporary chilling effect to the global economy, but because sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) were developed to fill a critical gap in financial markets, …

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

…

New Survey Finds Sharp Divide Over Pandemic’s Impact on Corporate Sustainability

By The Conference Board June 10, 2020 by renholding

New survey results show that most U.S. public company boards have stepped up their efforts in the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, but shutting down businesses may have been the easy part. Boards face a growing list of urgent …

Re-Imagining the Business Trust as a Sustainable Business Form

By Lee-ford Tritt and Ryan Scott Teschner February 28, 2020 by renholding

An important debate has emerged in the United States about how business should encapsulate more fully the sustainability-conscious management paradigm. At issue is the proper role of business in society, and the trend is to consider more than just shareholder …

SEC Commissioner Peirce Talks Flaws in Scoring Companies on Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors

By Hester M. Peirce June 24, 2019 by renholding

Thank you, Ben [Zycher]. I will begin with the standard disclaimer. My remarks represent my views and not necessarily those of the Commission or my fellow Commissioners.

I will next address a question that is undoubtedly in the mind of

…

SEC’s Corporate Finance Director Discusses Disclosing Risks

By William Hinman March 21, 2019 by renholding

Today, I would like to discuss [1] how the U.S. securities disclosure requirements, which are largely principles-based, apply in areas where the disclosure topics may be complex, associated with uncertain risks and rapidly evolving. Sounds like Brexit might fit that

…

How Boards Can Get Ready for Climate Change

By Sophie L'Helias and Nina Hodzic November 1, 2018 by renholding

We are constantly reminded of the urgency to act as we witness the impact of climate-related events on peoples’ lives and their communities around the world.

The signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016 was a watershed moment as …

Making Sustainability Disclosure Sustainable

By Jill E. Fisch September 10, 2018 by renholding

Issuers, investors, and regulators are paying increasing attention to corporate sustainability. Commentators have proffered a variety of explanations for this attention ranging from the argument that corporations are morally obligated to act in a socially responsible manner to the claim …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses Boards’ Role in Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

By David M. Silk, David A. Katz, Sabastian V. Niles and Carmen X.W. Lu July 3, 2018 by renholding

In light of evolving—and sometimes actively debated—perspectives on the role of public companies with respect to sustainability, corporate social responsibility and other ESG matters (e.g., Barron’s recent report on Sustainable Investing), we are providing a high-level overview …

Wachtell’s Lipton Shines a Spotlight on Boards for 2018

By Martin Lipton June 4, 2018 by renholding

The ever-evolving challenges facing corporate boards prompt an updated snapshot of what is expected from the board of directors of a major public company—not just the legal rules, but also the aspirational “best practices” that have come to have equivalent …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses Labor Department’s Cautionary Tone on ESG-Related Matters

By David M. Silk, Sabastian V. Niles, Alicia C. McCarthy and Carmen X.W. Lu May 8, 2018 by renholding

With shareholder proposals regarding ESG and sustainability matters becoming the most common kind of proposal, proxy advisory firm ISS marketing a new “Environmental & Social QualityScore” product for rating public companies, asset managers developing ESG-related guidelines and voting policies, and …

CamberView Partners Offers 2018 Proxy Season Preview

By Abe M. Friedman and Bob McCormick April 13, 2018 by renholding

With the vast majority of annual meetings set to be held in the coming weeks, the contours of the 2018 proxy season are coming into focus. While previous years are remembered for defining initiatives — “say on pay” in 2011, …

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