Featured Events
Jul 29 2024
Podcast
: Employer Immigration Sponsorship
Jul 18 2024
Podcast
: Neurodivergence in the Workplace
Featured Blogs - Subscribe to Free Blog
Sep 12 2024 #compliance, #environment
SEC Charges Keurig Over K-Cup Greenwashing, Implies Investor Relevance
Usually, when we talk about product greenwashing, that relates to consumer protection under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) here in the United states. But this week, the SEC charged Keurig with misstatements related to the recyclability of the company’s K-Cups....
Sep 12 2024 #assurance, #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
That Was Quick: SEC Adopts New Auditor Quality Standards
Last week, I blogged that the SEC would consider adopting changes to financial statement audit standards. Sure enough, the SEC adopted them. As Liz Dunshee (back from medical leave herself) writes on TheCorporateCounsel.net: “… the SEC approved the PCAOB’s new...
Sep 12 2024 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #supply-chain
EPA Proposes Updates to Sustainability Labels for Federal Procurement
On Tuesday, the EPA released proposed updates to their Recommendations of Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing (“Recommendations”), “which help federal government purchasers and other buyers utilize private sector standards and ecolabels to buy products that are more sustainable...
Sep 11 2024 #climate, #diversity, #environment, #equity, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
Is Sustainability a Customer Key Buying Criterion Yet? Maybe
Bain & Company published a new report The Sustainability Puzzle: What Do Consumers Really Want? offering new perspectives on how sustainability intersects with customer needs. The report indicates that more consumers “want to live sustainably and that they believe their...
Sep 11 2024 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
CA Disclosure Amendments Await Governor’s Signature
Since their introduction California bills SB 253 and SB 261 have taken the sustainability world by storm. Many expected the SEC climate disclosure rules to be the regulation that ushered in mandatory reporting of GHG emissions, but with the SEC...
Sep 11 2024 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors, #supply-chain
UK SDR Fund Name Deadline Quickly Approaching
The UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Regulation (SDR) brings many changes to the UK financial market with new naming and marketing rules for sustainability funds in the UK. Deadlines for those rules are approaching quickly. On December 2, over 1,200 UK funds...
Sep 10 2024 #compliance, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
UBS Fights Government Acceptance of NGO Forced Labor Complaint
Companies generally fear NGO reports and complaints because they can spark public backlash and consumer boycotts. Even though NGOs aren’t always correct or unbiased in their attacks, companies tend to tread lightly when responding to such reports. Last week, Swiss...
Sep 10 2024 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #investors
Texas Anti-ESG Investing Law Legal Challenge May Spread
We’ve previously written about the Texas Anti-ESG investing law that established a list of financial services firms excluded from providing certain investment and underwriting services under state contracts because the firms offer ESG products or use ESG factors in investment...
Sep 10 2024 #climate, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Microsoft Forms New AI Emissions Taskforce
Previously, we wrote about Microsoft’s Scope 3 emissions rising 30% since 2020 as a result of the company’s investments and focus on AI. However, unlike other companies, Microsoft has not reduced its sustainability goals despite this increase in emissions. Many...
Sep 5 2024 #assurance, #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #human-rights, #investors, #social, #supply-chain
Sustainability Report Restatements Begin
A couple years ago, with substantial input from John Jenkins, I blogged about the potential for sustainability/ESG matters to trigger restatements of financial reports in the US: “What if a publicly-traded company finally took a hard look at potential financial...
Sep 5 2024 #climate, #environment, #esg, #investors
ESG Ratings Quality, Use and Regulatory Oversight Trend Upwards
ESG ratings have been fraught with issues since their inception. Over the past several years, some jurisdictions introduced voluntary and mandatory codes of conduct and rater regulations. This has led to some improvement in the ratings industry and financial services...
Sep 4 2024 #assurance, #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #social
SEC To Consider New Auditor Standards
Earlier this year, I blogged about new auditor standards approved by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) – General Responsibilities of the Auditor in Conducting an Audit and A Firm’s System of Quality Control. These new standards only apply...
Sep 4 2024 #climate, #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
Scope 3 Reporting Still a Major Challenge for Most Companies
ESG may face headwinds in several areas, but the hard work of sustainability reporting continues moving forward. Deloitte’s 2024 Sustainability Action Report finds that more than 50% of companies have now established cross-functional ESG working groups – with an additional...
Sep 4 2024 #compliance, #environment, #esg, #supply-chain
BlueTriton Greenwashing Suit Dismissed, Plaintiffs Refile
A recent greenwashing lawsuit against BlueTriton was dismissed in the U.S. Northern District Court of Illinois. The suit alleges that BlueTriton engaged in deceptive marketing by labeling water containing microplastics as “100% natural spring water.” However, the court found that...
Sep 3 2024 #compliance, #esg
Musk Tests Anti-ESG Legal Theory in X Lawsuit
It’s no secret that tech billionaire Elon Musk is no fan of ESG, famously decrying ESG as “the devil” last year. So we shouldn’t be surprised to see Elon’s social media company “X” (formerly Twitter) pull from the Anti-ESG playbook...
Sep 3 2024 #compliance, #equity, #esg, #human-rights, #social
Facial Recognition Technology Results in Another Wrongful Arrest
A man wrongfully arrested by Detroit police due to facial recognition technology has recently settled a lawsuit with the Detroit Police Department for $300,000. In 2018, Robert Williams was falsely arrested as the perpetrator of a theft after Detroit police...
Sep 3 2024 #climate, #compliance, #esg
European Commission Faces Climate Lawsuit to Lower 2030 Allowances
Several NGOs have filed legal arguments in the General Court of the European Union arguing that Europe’s emissions allowances between now and 2030 are unlawful. The lawsuit argues that the European Commission failed in its duties to adequately assess and...
Aug 29 2024 #climate, #compliance, #esg, #investors, #social
Survey Shows Majority of Companies Facing E&S Risks
Recently we’ve seen the appetite for ESG waning as investors back off of ESG proposals and some companies abandon or scale back ESG programs. However, choosing not to engage with ESG doesn’t make ESG risks disappear, it just reduces their...
Aug 29 2024 #compliance, #diversity, #esg
Board Diversity: Sample Disclosures
[Editor’s note: This blog was written by Meredith Ervine Senior Editor of TheCorporateCounsel.net and is syndicated here for your convenience.] A recent post on the HLS Blog claims that most Nasdaq-listed companies had no trouble disclosing that they met Nasdaq’s...
Aug 29 2024 #esg
Editor Lawrence Heim Will Return From Medical Leave
If you’ve been keeping up with our blog for the last couple of weeks you’ve probably noticed the lack of blogs from our lead editor Lawrence Heim. Unfortunately, Lawrence experienced a non-life-threatening medical emergency that has prevented him from writing...
Aug 28 2024 #equity, #esg, #social
Jack Daniels and Harley Davidson Cut DEI, but Keep Climate
Corporate DEI has been going through a rough patch. Last year the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in college admissions. This signaled to many that similar rulings might be in store for corporate DEI activities. This saw DEI programs at...
Aug 28 2024 #esg, #investors
Did BlackRock Abandon ESG?
In the wake of the 2024 proxy season many commentators, myself included, have pointed to continued low support for ESG proposals from major asset managers like Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock. In BlackRock’s case, many have viewed the past several...
Aug 28 2024 #esg
Political Spending Poses New Risks for Companies
A new report from the Center for Political Accountability warns that increasing polarization in state and local politics may increase risks for companies engaged in political and lobbying actions. As more attention is focused on state governments, political spending that...
Aug 27 2024 #compliance, #esg, #investors
Indiana Sends Cease and Desist to BlackRock
BlackRock is back in Anti-ESG’s crosshairs. The Indiana Secretary of State issued a cease and desist letter last week to the firm alleging securities fraud. The Indiana letter is similar to one sent by the Mississippi Secretary of State back...
Aug 27 2024 #compliance, #diversity
No Surprise Here. Drop in Black and Latino Student Enrollment After Supreme Court Ban on Affirmative Action
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has reported a decrease in Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander students in their freshman class this year as enrollment decreased to 16% from 31% in the previous year. MIT administrators attribute this...
Aug 27 2024 #climate, #compliance, #esg
NGOs Sue Finnish Government Over Climate Inaction
Six NGOs are bringing a legal challenge against the Finnish government arguing that the country has unlawfully delayed climate action. While Finland’s climate goals are aggressive, the NGOs allege that the country is not on track to meet them and...
Aug 22 2024 #climate, #compliance, #esg
Companies Taking Proactive Measures for CA GHG Laws
Between recent rulemaking at the SEC and California’s GHG disclosure bills, many have been asking: when will mandatory GHG disclosures come to the US? While the SEC faces an uphill legal battle to implement its Climate-related Disclosures Rule, California has...
Aug 22 2024 #climate, #compliance, #esg, #investors
Nuveen Exits Climate Action 100+
It hasn’t been an easy year for Climate Action 100+ (CA 100+). The group was originally formed to bring investors and financial institutions together to tackle the climate crisis through asset management. However, in recent years the organization has found...
Aug 22 2024 #climate, #esg
New Zealand Hits the Gas on its Emissions Trading Scheme
While it seems investors and companies are backing off of ESG and climate commitments, some jurisdictions are moving full steam ahead. From mandatory reporting requirements in the EU and California to financial greenwashing litigation and regulation in the UK and...
Aug 21 2024 #environment, #esg, #social
New Survey Shows Shifting ESG Priorities for GCs
The role of General Counsel in ESG has evolved over the past several years. As ESG has gained prominence legal departments have found themselves in advisory and oversight roles managing the associated risks. Morrison Foester and ALM Law.com’s annual “GC’s...
Aug 21 2024 #esg, #investors
Proxy Season Results Show Flattened Support for ESG Proposals
The 2024 proxy season was expected to be more of the same trends we saw in 2023. A new analysis by Morningstar confirms these predictions showing support for ESG proposals flattening, and fewer proposals getting serious consideration. In 2023, 54...
Aug 20 2024 #compliance, #esg, #investors
Missouri Court Shuts Down Anti-ESG Law
The Anti-ESG movement suffered a defeat as Missouri’s new ESG investing laws have been struck down in federal court. Missouri sought to regulate private investment in ESG through “notice and consent” laws. These laws would have required clients to sign...
Aug 20 2024 #esg, #investors
ESG Bond Market Slows, But Quality Improves
The ESG-labeled bond market hasn’t seen much growth over the past two years with issuance rates falling after 2021 and remaining roughly stagnant through 2023. However, AllianceBernstein indicates that the strength of ESG-labeled bonds has risen substantially over the same...
Aug 20 2024 #esg, #investors
New Webcast Available: ESG Investing Today: The Reality for Investors and Portfolio Companies
PracticalESG.com members can now access our recent webcast “ESG Investing Today: The Reality for Investors and Portfolio Companies.” ESG investing isn’t new, but it is in a new world right now with unprecedented regulatory, financial, macroeconomic and geopolitical dynamics. Both...
Hot Topics
For ease of navigation, we have broken all subject areas into categories: Environmental, , and Governance.
Environmental
Governance
- Board Oversight of E&S Issues
- Board Oversight of E&S Issues / M&A Considerations
- Chief Sustainability Officers
- E&S Governance
- ESG Staffing Matters
- Investor Policies & Trends / Shareholder Activism & Engagement / Shareholder Proposals
- Investor Trends
- M&A Considerations
- Risk Management
- Shareholder Activism
- Shareholder Engagement
- Shareholder Proposals
View all Subject Areas, including those spanning multiple disciplines, here.
Featured Q&A Members Only
Why are climate risk disclosures in 10-K are different from a company’s ESG report?
I saw discussion on LinkedIn that FedEx’s 10-K states that the company is not going to meet their climate goals. Since SEC’s climate rules aren’t in effect, I thought there is no requirement to file climate disclosures with the SEC. Plus what is in the 10-K is completely different from what the company says in their ESG report. What is going on?
07/23/2024, Question #23943
Asking for ESG department funding increases in an anti-ESG world
I’m preparing for a meeting with senior management and the board where I will be asking for additional funds for the company’s ESG programs. I already know there will be strong pushback, especially given the anti-ESG/anti-DEI developments since the previous budget cycle. What are some ideas for making my case?
07/18/2024, Question #23885
CSRD exemptions
Does anyone know whether the non-EU parent consolidated report due in 2029 (where applicable for “significant presence” in the EU) will exempt “large” EU subsidiaries from their own earlier reporting requirement under the non-EU parent subsidiary exemption (not the artificial consolidation exemption). In other words, could a “large” EU subsidiary of a non-EU parent with a “significant presence” in the EU rely on this exemption to delay its reporting in 2026 until 2029, or would the consolidated report have to be filed in 2026?
05/23/2024, Question #22824