The two new bodies are expected to help harmonise standards in different jurisdictions to meet investor demand for comparable ESG information. By Paul A. Davies, Sarah Fortt, Nicola Higgs, Betty M. Huber, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 27 April 2022, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) announced the formation of two bodies that it hopes will assist in providing … Continue Reading
HM Treasury’s Transition Plan Taskforce aims to influence international standard setting and make the UK the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, Nicola Higgs, Anne Mainwaring, James Bee, and Dianne Bell On 25 April 2022, HM Treasury (HMT) announced the launch of the UK Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) … Continue Reading
The Call for Evidence is one of a number of measures the EU is taking as it aims to strengthen the reliability of ESG ratings. By Paul A. Davies, Sarah E. Fortt, Betty M. Huber, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 4 April 2022, the European Commission (Commission) published a call for evidence (Call for Evidence) … Continue Reading
The standards are part of a global initiative to consolidate sustainability disclosures to help investors assess the value of companies. By Paul A. Davies, Sarah Fortt, Nicola Higgs, Betty M. Huber, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 31 March 2022, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) released exposure drafts of the first two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure … Continue Reading
The bill seeks to extend certain provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. By Erin Brown Jones, Paul A. Davies, Nathan H. Seltzer, and James Bee The U.S. Congress continues to take interest in implementing legislation to curb alleged human rights abuses in the supply chain in China and elsewhere, as evidenced by two new … Continue Reading
In-scope companies would have to publicly identify “actual and potential” adverse impacts of their operations on the environment and/or human rights. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 23 February 2022, the European Commission (the Commission) published a proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (the Directive). If approved, … Continue Reading
Proposed changes seek to reflect the integration of sustainability considerations into MiFID II. By Nicola Higgs, Anne Mainwaring, Dianne Bell, and Charlotte Collins The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is consulting on updates to its Guidelines on the MiFID II suitability requirements, in light of upcoming changes that will embed sustainability considerations into the … Continue Reading
India’s proposal includes accreditation requirements for ESG ratings providers and mandatory disclosure of providers’ data and information sources. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 25 January 2022, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released a consultation paper stating that it planned to regulate what it described as “ESG risk ratings” and … Continue Reading
The world’s largest asset manager stressed that sustainability issues will continue to be fundamental to companies’ long-term economic outlook. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 17 January 2022, Larry Fink, the founder and chief executive of BlackRock, published his annual Letter to CEOs (the Letter), titled “The Power of Capitalism”. … Continue Reading
Market participants can expect the initiative’s proposals to offer guidance on setting targets for emissions reduction and decarbonisation. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 12 January 2021, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) published its “SBTi Climate Action in 2022” proposals (the 2022 Proposals), highlighting the areas that the organisation is seeking to work … Continue Reading
The policies aim to provide crucial guidance to public companies amid the growing importance of ESG in proxy voting. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, Andra Troy, and James Bee In late 2021, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co (Glass Lewis), the two leading proxy advisory firms, released updated policy documents … Continue Reading
Corporate reporting (including SEC developments), climate change, energy transition, supply chain management, and the mitigation of ESG-related litigation risk are expected to be the leading ESG themes of this year. By Paul Davies, Nicola Higgs, Sophie Lamb QC, Ryan Maierson, Colleen Smith, Michael Green, Edward Kempson, James Bee, and Anne Mainwaring As expected, 2021 saw … Continue Reading
The UFLPA aims to clamp down on the import of items produced by alleged forced labor in and relating to the XUAR. By Erin Brown Jones, Les P. Carnegie, Paul A. Davies, Nathan H. Seltzer, James Bee, and Allison Hugi On 16 December 2021, the US Senate unanimously passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act … Continue Reading
The association noted that regulators could provide market participants with much-needed additional trust in ESG ratings and data. By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Anne Mainwaring On 23 November 2021, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a report and set of recommendations (Recommendations) in relation to the … Continue Reading
The SBTi’s standard aims to clarify the target for net zero emissions, whilst the Common Ground Taxonomy indicates China-EU cooperation on sustainable finance issues. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee Last month, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) launched its Net Zero Standard, which aims to provide a globally recognised, science-based … Continue Reading
The government also introduced transition plan requirements for companies to meet the UK’s 2050 net zero target. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 3 November 2021, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation Trustees Chair, Erkki Liikanen, announced the long-awaited formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The ISSB … Continue Reading
The regulator is inviting views on potential criteria for classifying and labelling investment products, and on further entity- and product-level sustainability-related disclosures. By David Berman, Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Anne Mainwaring, and Charlotte Collins On 3 November 2021, the FCA published a Discussion Paper (DP21/4) on UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and product labels. … Continue Reading
A wide-ranging report encourages regulators to take a concerted approach to combat climate-related risks to the US financial system. By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Malorie R. Medellin, and Deric Behar On October 21, 2021, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) published a lengthy report on Climate-Related Financial Risk (the Report), marking the … Continue Reading
The strategy sets out plans to reduce emissions from key sectors of the UK economy to ensure that the UK remains on track for net zero by 2050. By Conrad Andersen, John Balsdon, David Berman, Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Sam Newhouse, Simon J. Tysoe, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Anne Mainwaring On 19 … Continue Reading
A new national strategy report aims to combat climate-related risks to the US financial system. By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Malorie R. Medellin, and Deric Behar On October 14, 2021, the Biden Administration issued “A Roadmap to Build a Climate-Resilient Economy” (the Roadmap), a national strategy report with tangible initiatives that build … Continue Reading
A new proposal would amend changes made to ERISA less than a year ago that have proved to be detrimental to ESG investing. By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Malorie R. Medellin, and Deric Behar In a sweeping reversal of Trump-era policies, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule, … Continue Reading
A snapshot of the global regulatory landscape in the context of ESG-related disclosures. By Nick Benson, David Berman, Paul A. Davies, Laura N. Ferrell, Simon Hawkins, Nicola Higgs, Farhana Sharmeen, Anne Mainwaring, Dominik Schoeneberger, Shirley Wong, and Charlotte Collins The global asset management community has long been among the leaders in recognising the investment and … Continue Reading
The European Commission continues to explore how competition policy can support the bloc’s increased focus on sustainability and progression towards climate neutrality by 2050. By David Little and Anuj Ghai On 10 September 2021, Inge Bernaerts, Director of DG Competition, delivered a keynote speech at the 25th IBA Competition Conference on behalf of Executive Vice-President … Continue Reading
Both bourses are seeking to incorporate the TCFD recommendations into their sustainability reporting regimes, extending a trend of convergence in regional ESG reporting standards. By Paul A. Davies, Timothy Hia, and Sabrina Singh On August 26, 2021, the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) released a consultation paper proposing amendments to the sustainability reporting (SR) regime … Continue Reading
