Effective April 1, 2023, the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) has updated the NZX Corporate Governance Code (Code) and the NZX ESG Guidance Note (ESG Note). There are eight principles that underlie the Code: (1) ethical standards;...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
In a recent decision, Moab Partners, L.P. v. Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a lower court’s dismissal of claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange...more
On March 30, 2023, the UK government announced the publication of its 2023 green finance strategy, updating its earlier 2019 strategy, which is intended to mitigate climate-related risk and damage while increasing the amount...more
4/4/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Green Finance ,
Investment ,
IOSCO ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Mitigation ,
UK
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 February 28, a French court dismissed an action filed by six French and Ugandan NGOs aiming to force the suspension of TotalEnergies’ multibillion-dollar oil pipeline project in Uganda and Tanzania. The NGOs based their...more
3/27/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Habitat ,
Energy Projects ,
EU ,
France ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Rights ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines
Between February 23 and March 3, three leading global financial institutions announced updated environmentally linked targets aimed at reducing by 2030 their financed emissions in carbon intensive sectors, including oil &...more
3/21/2023
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
HSBC
On February 24, the European Commission granted approval under EU State Aid Rules for a German scheme supporting rail transport operators using electric traction. The €1.1 billion scheme will provide economic support for...more
Border to Coast Pension Partnership (the “Partnership”), a pension pool consisting of 11 UK local government pension schemes, announced that “[o]il majors and banks must make greater progress on climate pledges or risk losing...more
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
A lot of ink has been spilled in the last 72 hours regarding the historic developments involving Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Our quick summary of the facts and law is below. Cadwalader will continue to monitor...more
Under a proposed amendment to the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Bill, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) could be empowered to review appropriate risk weighting and capital requirements associated with a...more
On February 15, 2023, the European Commission referred Croatia, Hungary, and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to transpose the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (Directive) into national...more
3/6/2023
/ Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Croatia ,
Energy Policy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Hungary ,
Portugal ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Renewable Energy
On February 9, 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, urging the World Bank to “evolve” and be “bolder and more imaginative” in its operational approach to tackling...more
3/1/2023
/ Banks ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Debt Instruments ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Finance ,
Lending ,
Secretary of the Treasury ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
World Bank
On February 3, the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, announced the establishment of a nine-person Republican ESG Working Group to “combat the threat to our capital markets posed by those on the...more
On February 7, a group of 30 investors, representing over $1.5 trillion of assets under management, wrote to the CEOs and board chairs of five major European banks “urging them to stop directly financing new oil and gas...more
2/27/2023
/ Banks ,
Barclays ,
BNP Paribas ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Financing ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform
On February 7, the Division of Examinations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the publication of its 2023 examination priorities, which include a focus on ESG-related advisory services and fund...more
In January 2023, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) released their opinions on the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). As we have previously discussed, a...more
The SustainAbility Institute at global consultancy group Environmental Resources Management (ERM) recently released its 2023 Trends Report: The Ongoing Evolution of Sustainable Business. The report identifies ten key trends...more
Just days after the Texas Senate questioned a global asset manager—among other major financial investment firms—about its ESG-related investing policies, its chief executive said in an interview for the Financial Times that...more
Last year, we discussed how stockholder complaints concerning environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues were making their way to the courtroom and, specifically, how the Delaware Court of Chancery and Supreme...more
2/10/2023
/ Bad Faith ,
Caremark claim ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Officers ,
Derivative Complaint ,
Directors ,
Duty of Oversight ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Franchises ,
McDonalds ,
Red Flags Rule ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Litigation
On January 24, 2023, Members of the European Parliament voted to adopt reforms to banking rules and implement the international Basel III agreement (Basel III). One of the objectives of Basel III is to enhance focus on ESG...more
In a response to a call for evidence on greenwashing by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG) emphasized the importance for EU authorities to ensure that any...more
Mark T. Uyeda, Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), spoke at the California ‘40 Acts Group on January 27 regarding various investment-related ESG issues....more