Recent Publications
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Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee Issues Statement on the Review of Climate-Related Disclosure
Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee issued a statement that she has directed the Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance to “enhance its focus on climate-related disclosure in public company filings.”
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ESG Ratings and Data: How to Make Sense of Disagreement
Providers of ESG ratings play an important role in how markets assess the ESG performance of companies. However, their use of myriad methodologies and data, including aggregate E, S and G scores, for instance, can produce conflicting results and market confusion. Ratings discrepancies have important consequences for both investors and corporate managers; each must take steps to address potential ratings inaccuracies.
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Sustainability & ESG Year in Review: Key Takeaways
In a year overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, many questioned whether the momentum environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives experienced leading up to the crisis was sustainable. It has proven to be so, with an array of very influential stakeholders, including governments, investors, employees, activists, NGOs and related constituencies taking up the mantle. In this alert, we examine some of the key trends in ESG investments, reporting standards and regulatory regimes during 2020.
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Paul, Weiss Publishes 2020 U.S. Policymaker ESG Primer in Partnership With Refinitiv
The Sustainability and ESG Advisory practice published a white paper, “2020 U.S. Policymaker ESG Primer,” in partnership with Refinitiv, one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure.
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FCA Adopts New Listing Rule Mandating Climate-related Disclosure in Annual Reports
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently adopted a rule requiring commercial companies with a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange to provide, on a modified comply-or-explain basis, disclosures on how they are managing climate-related risks and opportunities. The adoption of the new listing rule represents the most significant development to date in the area of public company climate-related disclosure.
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Nasdaq Proposes Board Diversity Requirements for Listed Companies
In a watershed moment for corporate governance in the United States, Nasdaq has proposed board diversity and disclosure requirements as a condition to continued listing. This is the latest in a series of developments spotlighting board diversity, including the enactment of quotas for female and diversity board membership for California-based companies and diversity disclosure requirements in other jurisdictions.
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In Global First, the United Kingdom Moves Toward Mandatory Climate-related Disclosures by 2025
On November 9, 2020, the United Kingdom became the first country to move towards mandatory climate-related disclosures when it announced its intention to require such disclosures across seven key sectors of the UK economy.
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A Harbinger of Things to Come? New York DFS Outlines Expectations for Regulated Entities on Financial Risks Arising from Climate Change
The New York Department of Financial Services became the first U.S. regulator to publish expectations for regulated institutions related to climate change risk management.
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Private Investment Funds and ESG: European Commission Delays Finalization of the SFDR’s Regulatory Technical Standards
The European Commission recently indicated that the effective date of certain SFDR disclosure requirements will be delayed to potentially as late as January 2022. As a result, only the principles-based requirements of the SFDR will now apply as of March 10, 2021.
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Two Recent Initiatives Aim to Unify the ESG Reporting Ecosystem
ESG reporting is increasingly recognized as a significant agenda item, yet the plethora of competing reporting frameworks and standards has caused concern and confusion among businesses and investors alike. Two recent initiatives—one by five leading ESG standard-setters and the other by the World Economic Forum and the “Big Four” accounting firms—aim to unify the ESG reporting ecosystem. This client alert reports on these initiatives.
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Private Investment Funds and ESG: EU Regulatory Changes on the Horizon
As part of the European Union’s Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth, two regulations will require financial market participants, financial advisers and other regulated firms to make new sustainability-related disclosures. This alert focuses on the aspects of these regulations relevant to alternative investment fund managers—both EU- and non-EU-based—and alternative investment funds.
Introduction to ESG
Introduction to ESG
“ESG” describes a set of environmental, social and governance factors used to evaluate investment and company impacts beyond traditional financial measures. ESG topics are now the subject of significant focus by asset managers, asset owners such as pension funds and insurance companies, and other investors, as well as by proxy advisory firms, index providers, regulators and rating agencies.
ESG Disclosures
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ESG Disclosures: Frameworks and Standards Developed by Intergovernmental and Non-Governmental Organizations
As ESG matters have increasingly become the focus of investors and regulators, standards of disclosure created by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as industry participants, have gained market prominence. While most ESG disclosure is made on a voluntary basis, that is beginning to change, particularly in Europe.
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ESG Disclosures: Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
Since their publication in 2017, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations for voluntary disclosures by companies concerning their climate-related financial risks have emerged as a leading international framework for climate-related disclosures. This client alert, part of a series focused on ESG developments, summarizes the aims of the TCFD and its disclosure recommendations.
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ESG Disclosures: The Push for Consistent and Comparable Standards – Europe
The European Union has taken a leading role in advancing ESG disclosure requirements across the full spectrum of sustainability topics. Some of the initiatives are focused largely on climate issues, while others address broader sustainability concerns. This client alert, part of a series that reviews developments in the ESG disclosure landscape, provides an introduction to the current ESG regulatory disclosure frameworks of the European Union.
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ESG Disclosures: The Push for Consistent and Comparable Standards – United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has been an early adopter of ESG regulations and guidelines; a number of recent initiatives in the United Kingdom highlight the extent to which a focus on ESG among corporates, investors and financial institutions has become a “new normal.” This client alert, part of a series that reviews developments in the ESG disclosure landscape, provides an introduction to the current ESG regulatory disclosure framework in the U.K.
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The U.S. Regulatory Framework for ESG Disclosures
The SEC takes a principles-based, materiality-focused approach to disclosure that applies equally to environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures. This client alert, part of a series that reviews developments in the ESG regulatory landscape, provides an introduction to the current ESG regulatory disclosure framework in the United States.
ESG in Conversation
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Takeaways — Bridging the Divide of ESG: Linking Business and the Legal & Risk Ecosystems
On February 3, Paul, Weiss hosted a joint webinar with the NYU Stern School of Business’s Center for Sustainable Business, titled “Bridging the Divide of ESG: Linking Business and the Legal & Risk Ecosystems.”
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Paul, Weiss Hosts ESG Virtual Webinar “Bridging the Divide of ESG”
Paul, Weiss recently hosted a virtual webinar, “Bridging the Divide of ESG: Linking Business and the Legal & Risk Ecosystems,” in collaboration with the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business.
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Takeaways – Attorney General Loretta Lynch in Conversation with Thomas Kim
On November 4, Paul, Weiss and Thomson Reuters hosted a fireside chat with litigation partner Loretta Lynch. The discussion was facilitated by Paul, Weiss Chief Sustainability and ESG Officer Dave Curran and Thomson Reuters Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary Thomas Kim.
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Takeaways – Spotlight on the “G” in ESG: Societal Shifts Collide with Traditional Corporate Governance
On October 6, 2020, Paul, Weiss and Nasdaq organized a joint roundtable via Zoom leading over 40 general counsel, heads of sustainability, corporate secretaries and board members in a discussion regarding how societal upheavals, such as COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter, have accelerated the collision between ESG considerations and traditional corporate governance.
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Takeaways: Reflecting Forward – A View from the Inner Circle
Paul, Weiss recently hosted almost 50 senior Legal, Compliance, and Sustainability executives, directors and academic leaders in a closed-door roundtable discussion via Zoom to discuss how companies are adapting to the rapidly expanding ESG challenges.
ESG Lexicon
Paul, Weiss’s Sustainability and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Advisory Practice helps clients develop integrated ESG strategies that safeguard corporate reputation, mitigate risk and leverage opportunity.