Earlier this month, 38 Congressional Democrats (10 Senators; 28 Representatives) sent a letter to Chairman Gary Gensler of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), urging the SEC to robustly enforce its existing rules and climate disclosure-related guidance while the recent climate disclosure rules are under litigation and a related stay.Continue Reading Certain Members of Congress Urge SEC to Enforce Existing Climate Disclosure Rules During Litigation
Update on Litigation Timeline of SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules
We previously blogged about the final climate disclosure rules, and how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voluntarily stayed implementation of the final rules pending the completion of judicial review of the consolidated Eighth Circuit cases. Continue Reading Update on Litigation Timeline of SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules
Embattled SEC Climate Disclosure Rule
I was recently quoted in Corporate Compliance Insights sharing perspective on the new climate disclosure rules issued in March 2024 by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC voluntarily stayed the new rules while the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit completes judicial review of consolidated challenges to the new rules.Continue Reading Embattled SEC Climate Disclosure Rule
California GHG Emission Website Disclosure Legislation to Take Effect on January 1, 2024
Recently, the State of California enacted Assembly Bill 1305: the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (AB 1305), which requires companies, under certain circumstances, to make website disclosures of certain information about their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emissions-reduction programs. Continue Reading California GHG Emission Website Disclosure Legislation to Take Effect on January 1, 2024
Register Now | Society for Corporate Governance: Southeastern Chapter Fall Conference & Annual Meeting
We are looking forward to presenting at the Society for Corporate Governance: Southeastern Chapter Fall Conference & Annual Meeting. Kevin will speak on a panel titled, “SEC Updates: What’s Hot for Corp Fin and Enforcement?” with Dave Brown, Supervisory Archivist at United States Securities and Exchange Commission; Jason Outlaw, Senior Associate in Securities Litigation Group at Alston & Bird LLP and Mellissa Campbell Duru, Vice Chair of ESG practice at Covington & Burling LLP (moderator). Sehrish will moderate a panel titled, “Tackling Governance and Disclosure Challenges in ESG” with Stefanie Holland, Director of Government Affairs at Qualcomm.
Continue Reading Register Now | Society for Corporate Governance: Southeastern Chapter Fall Conference & Annual Meeting
Climate Disclosure Risks Ahead of Pending SEC Rules
I recently provided insight for a Bloomberg Law article on how publicly traded companies can prepare to disclose their climate and environmental risks ahead of impending, new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules.
Continue Reading Climate Disclosure Risks Ahead of Pending SEC Rules
ESG Board Oversight Considerations: What Board Committee(s) Should Oversee ESG in the Current Environment?
A wide array of developments have significantly increased the focus by public companies on board and board committee oversight of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in recent years. These developments have included the heightened consideration of institutional investors and proxy advisory firms on ESG board oversight and ESG considerations more generally, as well as various recent proposed rules and initiatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with respect to ESG matters, including the proposed climate rules issued by the SEC earlier this year. This post addresses issues and trends concerning whether the full board or particular board committees should be primarily responsible for oversight of ESG considerations.
Continue Reading ESG Board Oversight Considerations: What Board Committee(s) Should Oversee ESG in the Current Environment?
It Happened! ESG Task Force’s First Enforcement Action
In March 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) then-acting chair, Allison Herren Lee, announced the creation of an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Task Force within the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Sanjay Wadhwa, the deputy director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division heads the ESG Task Force. The initial focus of this task force was to “identify any material gaps or misstatements in issuers’ disclosure of climate risks under existing [SEC] rules.” Before yesterday, the ESG Task Force had not yet made a publicly announced climate-related enforcement action initiated by it.
Continue Reading It Happened! ESG Task Force’s First Enforcement Action
[WEBINAR] What’s Next in ESG? Understanding the Proposed SEC Climate Change Disclosure Rules
After months of anticipation, on March 21, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3:1 to propose climate change-related disclosure rules that would implement prescriptive climate-related disclosure requirements (which would be applicable for most public companies) in a wide array of climate-related areas, including with respect to governance, outlook, risk management, GHG emissions, climate-related targets and goals and financial statement disclosures. These proposed rules, which are intended to provide investors with consistent, comparable, and reliable climate-related information, would represent a major shift in the public company disclosure landscape and will require significant advance effort by public companies to facilitate compliance.
Join Bass, Berry & Sims and leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) thought leaders for the next installment in our ESG Impact Webinar series on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Our panelists will share their experience and perspectives on what in-house counsel should consider as it relates to these proposed climate change disclosure rules. Discussion topics will include:
- Overview of the Proposed Rules.
- Required Disclosure under Regulation S-X.
- Required Disclosure under Regulation S-K.
- Phase-In Periods.
- Practical Takeaways and Next Steps.
The SEC’s Proposed Climate Change Rules Are Out: Making Sense of 500+ Pages
After months of anticipation, on March 21, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3:1 to propose climate change-related disclosure rules that would impact a company’s annual reports and registration statements. As indicated previously by the Staff, the proposed climate-related disclosure framework is modeled partially on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure’s (TCFD) recommendations and draws upon the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. (See our previous blog post discussing the Staff’s consideration of TCFD). The proposed rules, seemingly unprecedented in nature, are significantly more prescriptive rather than “principles-based” disclosure rooted in materiality, and intended to provide stakeholders with “consistent and comparable data.”
Continue Reading The SEC’s Proposed Climate Change Rules Are Out: Making Sense of 500+ Pages