The UK’s Financial Reporting Council aims to develop a principles-based framework for corporate reporting.
By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green
The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a discussion paper, “A Matter of Principles — The Future of Corporate Reporting,” that aims to “provide thought leadership for the future of corporate reporting and explore ideas for a new model, challenging the status quo”. The paper, published on 7 October 2020, builds on previous independent reviews and reform proposals by the FRC. Continue Reading
On 30 September 2020, the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (the Foundation), a not-for-profit organisation that develops global accounting standards, launched a consultation paper seeking to assess demand for global ESG standards. The paper seeks to assess whether the Foundation should expand its current remit of developing financial reporting standards and use its experience in international standard-setting. 
The Greek Competition Authority (HCC) has announced a public consultation on how competition law rules might be adapted to promote more sustainable business practices. The HCC published a 
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed numerous enforcement actions against defendant companies and law firms based on an alleged failure to reimburse the government for its share of personal injury and toxic tort settlements, pursuant to the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSP Act), as amended by Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007.
On 22 September 2020, during a speech before the UN General Assembly, President Xi Jinping announced China’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060 and reaffirmed China’s commitment under the Paris Agreement to peak its carbon emissions by 2030. China is the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) polluter and emitted approximately 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2018, according to the Global Carbon Project. Given this, China’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060 would significantly reduce global GHG emissions and set the stage for China’s development of a green economy. 
On September 22, 2020, the International Business Council (IBC) of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC, published a white paper, 
On 17 September 2020, the European Commission (Commission) presented its 2030 Climate Target Plan, which calls for a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target of at least 55%, compared to 1990 levels; sets out required actions for a number of sectors; and identifies key changes to be made to existing legislation.
On September 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 
A group of leading sustainability and integrated reporting organisations — including the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Climate Disclosure Standard Board (CDSB), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), and the Sustainability Accounting Board (SASB) — have pledged to work together on the harmonisation of sustainability standards. In the document, which was published on 11 September 2020, the organisations commit to collaborating together by providing joint market guidance on sustainability standards while also building a shared vision of how such standards could complement generally accepted financial principles.