Welcome to the latest edition of the Sustainability Spotlight, your place to keep up with all the ESG action – federal and state enforcement, shareholder proposals and litigation, and state attorney general actions. This...more
Despite the recent disbandment of the SEC’s Climate & ESG Task Force, the SEC is continuing to pursue enforcement actions concerning environmental issues, including greenwashing. Notably, over the past several weeks, the SEC...more
On May 10, 2024, the Fifth Circuit rejected an attempt by the States of Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Utah to invalidate an SEC rule “requiring funds to disclose their votes on environmental, social, and governance...more
The Mintz Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Working Group developed this ESG primer to provide an overview of the current state of affairs in the United States with respect to the ESG issues that businesses...more
Today, President Biden issued the first veto of his presidency. This action had been heavily telegraphed in advance and was widely expected. Nonetheless, this veto is extraordinarily significant....more
Climate Change Litigation: Beginning in 2017, an array of state and local governments began pursuing claims against major fossil fuel producers — particularly the major oil companies (Chevron, Exxon, BP, Shell, and...more
The first half of 2022 saw significant U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement and rulemaking activity around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. In its regulation of ESG investing, the...more
Climate Change Tort Litigation - Beginning in 2017, an array of state and local governments have pursued claims against major fossil fuel producers — particularly the major oil companies (Chevron, Exxon, BP, Shell, and...more
The New York Times has reported that the State Financial Officers Association has "push[ed] Republican state treasurers, who are mostly elected officials and who are responsible for managing their state's finances, to use...more
Yesterday, Sarah Bloom Raskin, who had previously served as a Federal Reserve governor and deputy Treasury secretary during the Obama administration, withdrew her nomination to be the Federal Reserve's vice chair of...more
It has been publicly reported that the Dallas office of the SEC is currently engaged in an investigation of ESG disclosures by companies doing business with state government entities in Texas. Specifically, the SEC is...more
The House Financial Services Committee has approved the Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2021. The bill now heads to the House floor....more