
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Viewpoints
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Transcript: “Pay Equity – What Compensation Committees Need to Know”
January 13, 2021 | Blog | By Anne Bruno
Read the transcript of CompensationStandard.com’s November 2020 webcast titled, “Pay Equity: What Compensation Committees Need to Know” in which Anne L. Bruno was among the experts to discuss pay equity, shareholder expectations, disclosure trends, board oversight, and more.
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IRS Issues Guidance Extending Four-Year Continuity Safe Harbor to Ten Years for Qualifying Offshore Projects and Federal Land Projects
January 5, 2021 | Blog | By Judy Kwok
Nasdaq Proposes New Listing Rules Regarding Board Diversity
December 3, 2020 | Advisory | By Daniel T. Kajunski
Read about Nasdaq’s proposed new listing rules, which would generally require U.S. listing companies to appoint a certain number of diverse directors.
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ESG Investing in Retirement Accounts: Down But Not Out
November 30, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Alyssa C. Scruggs
Proponents of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investing may have good news on the horizon—in particular, good news that could resuscitate ESG investing in retirement accounts following the Department of Labor’s recent blow to the practice.
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SEC Commissioner Considers Future ESG Investment Regulation
November 17, 2020 | Blog | By David L. Ward
You Can’t Always Get What You Want: The End of ESG Investing in ERISA Accounts
October 26, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Alyssa C. Scruggs
With ESG, Things Aren’t Always As Green As They Seem
October 22, 2020 | Blog | By Pete Michaels, Alyssa C. Scruggs
Environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investing has captured the attention (and dollars) of more institutional investors each year and continues to grow exponentially. However, how can an ESG investor be sure that the investments it is making truly align with the values those funds purport to prioritize?
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Executive Compensation Practices in Pharma – Insight into Congressional Oversight
October 7, 2020 | Blog | By Alexander Hecht, Anthony DeMaio
Statutory – not Shareholder – Activism: Governor Newsom Signs California’s Diversity Mandate into Law
September 30, 2020 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin
California has enacted the nation’s first diversity mandate for public company boards. As we previously reported, the new law (AB 979) builds upon California’s first- in-the nation statutory gender mandate for public company boards.
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California Seeks to Expand its Board Diversity Mandate
September 9, 2020 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin
Is it Time to Appoint a New Director? Five Corporate Governance Considerations for Board Members
August 17, 2020 | Blog
Regardless of size or industry, thoughtful director appointment is critical to the success of any public company. Yet following the departure of a director, many boards are left scrambling to locate and onboard a suitable replacement. Even boards that purposely undertake to increase the number of directors may struggle to balance numerous (and sometimes competing) concerns. Below are a few pointers for promoting good corporate governance practices when appointing a new director.
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Disclosure Considerations Regarding Operations, Liquidity, and Capital Resources
July 21, 2020 | Advisory | By Anne Bruno, Ginny H. Lee
This advisory discusses the SEC’s recent guidance on operations, liquidity, and capital resources disclosure that companies should consider in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Strategies for Adjusting Executive Performance Goals in the Covid-19 Era
July 20, 2020 | Advisory | By Anne Bruno
This advisory summarizes recent proxy advisor guidance on and strategies for adjusting annual performance goals in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Juneteenth, and Beyond: Our Commitment to Change
June 19, 2020 | Article | By Robert Bodian
Thoughts for Employers Celebrating Juneteenth for the First Time
June 19, 2020 | Blog | By Tyrone Thomas
As the national conscience has elevated after the death of George Floyd regarding social justice and racial equality, many employers have begun to self-reflect on their own standing with communities of color and the Black community specifically. For many companies, the diversity and inclusion function has taken center stage to process concerns, facilitate trainings and determine metrics for progress. The recognition that more needs to be done on racial equity inside and outside the workplace has led to a record number of companies providing recognition of Juneteenth – a historic day for many African-Americans celebrating the reading of federal orders in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, which proclaimed slaves to be free.
Whether it is a company recognizing this event by initiating a new diversity action plan, facilitating a day of self-education and reflection on racial progress, or giving staff some form of PTO, here are some of my thoughts related to Juneteenth.
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Whether it is a company recognizing this event by initiating a new diversity action plan, facilitating a day of self-education and reflection on racial progress, or giving staff some form of PTO, here are some of my thoughts related to Juneteenth.
Energy & Sustainability Connections Newsletter – June 2020
June 4, 2020 | Article | By Thomas R. Burton, III, Sahir Surmeli
The June issue of Energy & Sustainability Connections covers news about renewable energy development company East Light Partners, energy policy news from Washington, recent M&A activity & more.
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Energy & Sustainability Event Highlights — June 2020
June 4, 2020 | Article | By Thomas R. Burton, III, Sahir Surmeli
Learn about upcoming energy industry webinars, including one on impact investment strategies for family offices in a post-COVID-19 world hosted by Mintz.
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Executive Compensation: Moving Forward in a COVID-19 World
June 2, 2020 | Blog | By Alexander Song, Anne Bruno, Michael Arnold, Steve Gulotta, Andrew Bernstein, Alexandra Serre
Employers reacted in a variety of ways to cope with the unprecedented financial impact of COVID-19. Employers must begin to shift their focus to whether their current executive compensation practices are designed with sufficient incentives to retain key employees and to spur recovery and sustained growth. This post reviews the range of cost-cutting measures companies have enacted over the past few months, and provides guidance on executive compensation issues employers should consider as they move forward in a COVID-19 world.
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Investor Advisory Committee Pushes SEC to Lead on ESG Disclosures
June 1, 2020 | Blog | By Sahir Surmeli, Thomas R. Burton, III
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee’s Investor-as-Owner Subcommittee recently voted 14-4 to approve a recommendation that urges the Commission (SEC) to begin an effort to update the reporting requirements of public companies to include material, decision-useful environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
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Board Oversight of Human Capital Management No Longer a Nice-to-Have for Smaller Public Companies
May 29, 2020 | Advisory | By Anne Bruno
This advisory discusses regulatory and investment community developments related to human capital management and provides suggestions for companies newly focused on HCM.
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