Winston’s Environmental Law Update

On March 21, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is set to vote on its long-anticipated climate-related disclosure framework for SEC-registered companies. The SEC has been discussing this proposal for more than a year. There has been wide speculation about what it will require. Now the date is set for the disclosure.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is working on new regulations. These would mandate climate-related and other Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosures. Onlookers still don’t know when they’ll see a proposed rule from the SEC. However, Chairman Gensler recently tweeted clues on what regulated entities should expect.

The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee (the Committee) sounded the bugle for SEC action on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures in its May 14, 2020, formal recommendation. Following four years of meetings with investment advisors, asset managers and owners, and U.S. and foreign issuers, the Committee found that “investors consider certain ESG information material to their investment and voting decisions, regardless of whether their investment mandates include an ‘ESG-specific’ strategy.”