On May 14, 2020, the Investor-as-Owner Subcommittee of the SEC Investor Advisory Committeemade new recommendations relating to ESG disclosure, calling sustainability “one of the most significant set of business factors” faced by issuers. The Subcommittee calls on the SEC to make sure the US takes the lead on transparent, material, consistent disclosure. The full report…
Tag: esg
Human Capital: Key Findings from a Survey of Public Company Directors
An EY Center for Board Matters study shows that Nearly 70% of directors say their board spends enough time discussing talent strategy and issues, 78% say their board has a strong understanding of current talent and workforce issues, and 66% say their board has the appropriate skill sets and experience to oversee talent strategy in…
SEC panel says agency should add sustainability disclosure rules
The SEC should update its reporting requirements for issuers to include ESG factors, the commission’s investor advisory committee said Thursday, voting to approve a recommendation drafted by the committee’s investor-as-owner subcommittee. “The time has come for the SEC to address this issue,” said the recommendation. ESG disclosure from issuers will provide investors “with the material,…
ESG: Do Fund Managers Practice What They Preach?
Segal Marco Advisors requested its top 100 managers by assets complete a questionnaire of the firm’s internal Evnvironmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies and practices. The survey’s 24 questions focused on the practices of the firm, not of the underlying investments. The range of questions included measures like employee tenure and development programs and claims…
ESG Outperformance Due to Supply Chain Risk Management
Why have companies with good ESG ratings outperformed in the recent crisis? That is a question many investors are asking now. And on Wednesday Tensie Whelan of NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business had an interesting new answer to offer: supply chains. Speaking with Paul Polman (head of Imagine), Chris Pinney (founder of High Meadows)…
Church of England fuels ExxonMobil rebellion with open letter | News | IPE
he Church Commissioners for England and New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) have written an open letter to ExxonMobil shareholders asking them to call for change in the company’s governance and strategy, by their votes on three specific issues at the company’s annual general meeting on 27 May. Investors are being asked to: Vote…
Jon Lukomnik: Why Investors Might be Climate Allies
One of the most thoughtful and experienced people in the corporate governance field is Jon Lukomnik, who has a rare combination of solid quantitative skills and a deep understanding of the culture and policy of institutional investing. His new paper, “Why Investors Might be Climate Allies: Corporate Governance Today” (in full below), based on his…
Shareholder Proposals 2019—ESG No-Action Letter Trends and Strategies
Shareholder proposals relating to ESG matters are frequent targets for exclusion by companies, and based upon a survey of the no-action letters submitted during the 2019 proxy season, this trend continues. Over 40% of the no-action letters we reviewed for the 2019 proxy season related to a variety of ESG matters, and the arguments and…
Has ESG Gone Mainstream?
A new report from Ethical Corporation argues that ESG’s rapidly increasing acceptance is based on understanding that it is about managing risk. “ESG will become much more a part of mainstream investing over the next ten years,” says Carlo Funk, EMEA head of ESG strategy at State Street Global Advisors. “It will move from being…
Potential Impact of New SEC Guidance on Performance Metrics on Disclosure of ESG Metrics
For years, investors have been advocating for public companies to disclose key ESG metrics in a manner that investors view as comparable, decision-useful and verifiable, whether in SEC filings (which many investors prefer due to the rigor associated with the SEC reporting process) or voluntary sustainability reports. All of the leading voluntary ESG frameworks, including…
