Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Viewpoints

ESG is today’s political football. As Americans take sides and root for their home teams, companies find themselves at the crux of a battlefield that pitches corporate values, strategy, and reputation against a shifting and dynamic legal and political landscape. This informative panel discussed practical strategies in-house counsel may employ to tackle ESG-related challenges.

Public companies need to consider regulatory, legal, market, and ESG-related developments in preparing for their fiscal year-end filings with the SEC and their annual shareholder meetings. In an in-depth memorandum, Mintz attorneys discuss the SEC’s new cybersecurity disclosure rule, recent trends in reverse stock splits, and the SEC’s disclosure requirements for Rule 10b5-1 trading plans and insider trading policies, and other emerging issues affecting public companies.

From July 2021 through March 2023, the SEC sent reporting entities more than 100 letters seeking information on climate change topics and nearly 170 letters concerning greenwashing. In an in-depth analysis, Mintz attorneys identify and analyze the frequency of various categories of questions as well as the industries and characteristics of the businesses targeted.

In our sixth session, the team is joined by Jason Vigna, a Member in our Securities Litigation Practice, to discuss best practices for handling crises in the boardroom — including identifying, documenting, discussing, managing, and disclosing material risks.

In our fifth session, which focuses on employment law, the team is joined by Jen Rubin, a bicoastal Member in our Employment, Labor & Benefits Practice and Chair of our ESG Practice, to discuss best practices related to hiring an executive (hint: consensus is key), managing the executive at the board level, and how to (amicably) negotiate to terminate an executive.

As the need to reduce the global emissions of greenhouse gases has grown more urgent over the last quarter century, key stakeholders across the globe have sought to forge effective paths to make a measurable difference in the health of the planet. This article provides a broad overview of, and key distinctions between, carbon credits and carbon offsets. It also takes a look at the establishment and evolution of carbon markets, and a summary of the opportunities and risks they present.  

In our fourth session, “ESG in the Boardroom,” the team is joined by Kristyn Noeth, Of Counsel at Mintz, to discuss best practices related to and practical implementation of ESG concepts, as well as the impending Climate Disclosure Rule.

In our second session, “Running an Effective Board Meeting,” the team discusses key considerations for public and private companies in this critical area of governance.