A recent academic study covering the period 2010-2021 has found that many companies in the S&P500 currently are providing disclosure on ESG issues, and in the absence of mandated disclosure rules, do so on a voluntary basis....more
Several members of the New York congressional delegation have written a letter urging Governor Kathy Hochul to amend her fiscal year 2024 budget to incorporate certain elements of the New York Build Public Renewables Act...more
5/1/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Federal Funding ,
Green Energy ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
New York ,
Renewable Energy ,
State Budgets ,
Tax Incentives
On March 20, 2023, the White House Council of Economic Advisers released the Economic Report of the President (“Report”). Chapter 9 of the Report, entitled “Opportunities for Better Managing Weather Risk in the Changing...more
The Royal Bank of Canada announced that this year it will begin incorporating ESG considerations into incentive compensation plans for the bank’s CEO and other top executives. In particular, the bank plans to take ESG...more
Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that, after conducting a “preliminary review” of ESG benchmarks, “the overall quality of ESG-related disclosures made by benchmark administrators was poor” and...more
According to a new survey, most large companies are preparing to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed climate disclosure rule even though it is not final, but many business leaders are concerned...more
4/7/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
More than 1,400 individual investors have signed a letter asserting that a large U.S.-based asset manager is violating its fiduciary duty to mitigate climate-related investment risks....more
On March 7, 2023, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”), the Canadian government agency responsible for supervising federally-regulated financial institutions (“FRFI”) and insurance companies,...more
3/31/2023
/ Banks ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FRFI ,
New Guidance ,
OSFI ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
According to a recent report published by global non-profit environmental disclosure platform CDP, approximately 41% of responding companies are reporting on one or more categories of supply chain emissions, even though such...more
On March 16, 2023 the Republican governors of 19 states announced an alliance led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to “push back against President Biden’s environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) agenda that is...more
3/22/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda
On February 23, 2023, the Green Technical Advisory Group (“GTAG”), an independent advisor to the UK government, published a paper entitled “Promoting the International Interoperability of a UK Green Taxonomy.” In the paper,...more
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (“NZBA”), the UN-led coalition of global banks “committed to aligning their lending investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050,” is facing backlash from certain sustainability-focused...more
3/16/2023
/ Banks ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Lending ,
Net Zero ,
Sustainability ,
United Nations
Over the last three years, PwC and the Leadership Institute at the London Business School have studied the prevalence and efficacy of linking executive pay to ESG-related goals or targets. Their first two reports—Paying well...more
On February 23, three climate advocacy groups—Friends of the Earth France, Notre Affaire à Tous and Oxfam France—filed a lawsuit alleging that a global financial institution violated Article L. 225-102-4.-I of the French...more
Following strong demand from investors for a timeline, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has confirmed that draft IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-Related Financial...more
In its annual letter to company board chairs, Aviva Chief Executive Mark Versey set out stewardship priorities for the coming year. The global asset manager, which has £232 billion ($279 billion) under management, states that...more
The 2023 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor (CCRM), produced in partnership by Carbon Market Watch and the New Climate Institute, contend that of the 24 multinational corporations assessed in the review – “the largest...more
According to a report published by global environmental disclosure platform operator CDP on February 7, 2023, only 81 companies “demonstrated best practice by disclosing against all [of CDP’s] 21 key indicators” denoting a...more
Last month, the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), an alliance of asset managers committed to transitioning their investment portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, released the third edition of its...more
On January 24, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the publication of “new experimental and analytical indicators” that are intended to help analyze climate-related risks in the finance sector and monitor green...more
On January 2, the New York City (NYC) Comptroller, Brad Lander, the NYC Employees’ Retirement System, the NYC Teachers’ Retirement System, and the NYC Board of Education Retirement System, announced that they had submitted...more
1/31/2023
/ Business Strategies ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Comptroller ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pension Funds ,
Popular ,
Underwriting
On January 10, 2023, Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced that it had closed over $1.6 billion in funding for Horizon Environment & Climate Solutions I (Horizon Climate), the first in an expected series of funds through...more
On January 19, it was announced at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland that the European Commission, EU member states and 26 partner countries would launch a “Coalition of Trade Ministers on...more
A recently published independent review of Australia’s carbon credit units (ACCU) scheme, commissioned by the Australian government, has found that the ACCU scheme is “essentially sound,” but provides 16 recommendations to...more
A global financial institution recently announced an updated energy policy, supplementing its previously issued 2030 targets. HSBC’s 2030 targets aimed, among other things, to reduce financed emissions in two carbon-intensive...more
1/13/2023
/ Business Strategies ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HSBC ,
Oil & Gas ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Utilities Sector