The proposal highlights the growing global focus on companies’ human rights obligations not just towards employees but also towards workers in their supply chains. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 14 September 2022, the European Commission (the Commission) introduced a proposed Regulation (the Proposal) which seeks to ban products made using forced labour from … Continue Reading
The Guidance Note aims to support Equator Principles Financial Institutions navigating the environmental and social due diligence process. By James R. Barrett, Joshua W. Marnitz, and Malorie R. Medellin In July 2022, the Equator Principles Association published a Guidance Note on how to apply the latest iteration of the Equator Principles (EP), EP4, during the … Continue Reading
The call highlights the challenges in developing alignment between global ESG reporting standards. By Paul A. Davies, Sarah Fortt, Betty M. Huber, Michael D. Green, and James Bee The European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), two of the world’s leading public financial institutions have stressed the importance of consistency in global ESG-disclosure standards in a … Continue Reading
A major voluntary carbon standard invites comments on linking carbon credits with crypto instruments and tokens, highlighting emerging questions around blockchain transactions in voluntary carbon markets. By JP Brisson, Michael Dreibelbis, Brett Frazer, and Nick Eberhart On August 3, 2022, Verra, a voluntary carbon standard, announced it was opening a public consultation process on its … Continue Reading
The FCA emphasised the increasing prevalence of providers and the potential harm from lack of regulation in this area. By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Michael D. Green, and James Bee, and Anne Mainwaring In June 2022, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a Feedback Statement in response to a consultation paper on ESG integration in capital … Continue Reading
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive expands the existing sustainability reporting requirements and brings more companies under its scope. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 21 June 2022, the European Parliament and European Council reached a provisional political agreement on the terms of the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The CSRD … Continue Reading
Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force issues required enforcement strategy, including guidance to importers. By Erin Brown Jones, Paul A. Davies, Sarah E. Fortt, Betty M. Huber, Nathan H. Seltzer, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Angela Walker On June 21, 2022, the key operative provision of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) entered into … Continue Reading
The move follows a number of similar standards that regulators and governments across the globe have proposed. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee With effect from 1 June 2022, the Guidance for Enterprise ESG Disclosure (the Guidance), published by Beijing-based think tank China Enterprise Reform and Development Society (CERDS), is seeking to become the … Continue Reading
The consultations invite stakeholders’ views on the Environmental Liability Directive and the Waste Framework Directive. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee In May 2022, the European Commission (Commission) issued public consultations in relation to the proposed revision of two of the EU’s key environmental frameworks. The consultations on the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) … Continue Reading
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
