Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Viewpoints

There is no “one size fits all” approach with respect to board responsibility for ESG oversight, say Mintz attorneys Megan Gates, Jacob Hupart, and Jen Rubin. Some may form a new committee, some may give the duties to an existing committee, or still others might have each board member assume all ESG responsibilities. In any case, they say, investors are raising the stakes on ESG matters.

In this webinar, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, and Members Megan Gates and Jacob Hupart, examine key takeaways from the SEC’s proposed climate-related disclosures rule.

This alert outlines key aspects of the SEC’s new proposed rules on climate disclosures, entitled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.”

Investment funds that target companies with ESG policies have experienced record growth. Yet it’s difficult for companies to know which ESG actions will affect the value of their stock. Member O’Kelly McWilliams looks at how creating an ESG infrastructure will help companies capture value as the investment community and market “catch up” with the corporate world’s widespread embrace of ESG.

In the latest discussion in our ESG webinar series, O’Kelly E. McWilliams III was joined by an informative panel featuring Katherine Grawe, Joe Aguilar, and Mamadou-Abou Sarr. In this webinar, our panelists explored how a variety of issues informed the deployment of ESG policies and shared best practices for putting ESG into action.

Learn from Mintz’s ESG subject matter experts as they explore what ESG really means for and within the legal profession, examine why law firms must embrace ESG as a business-critical priority, and share how law firm leadership can address ESG strategically and holistically.

In the world of Mergers and Acquisitions (“M&A”), both buyers and sellers are placing greater emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) credentials. 

A recently proposed Department of Labor regulation entitled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” (the “Proposal”) addresses the duties of retirement plan fiduciaries when considering economically targeted investments – i.e., investments that take into account environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors. Issued in response to a May 20, 2021 Executive Order, the Proposal would significantly modify prior, Trump-era rules on the subject. This post examines the Proposal from the retirement committee perspective.

Join Tom Burton, Chair of the Mintz Energy & Sustainability Practice, Megan Gates, Chair of the Mintz Corporate Practice and Co-chair of the Mintz Securities & Capital Markets Practice, Dan Romito, Partner, Consulting – ESG Strategy & Integration at Pickering Energy Partners, and Sarah Borg-Olivier, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President at Instar Asset Management for a discussion on the practical considerations surrounding ESG. 

In a previously held webinar titled, "Social Innovation in a New World," Christopher Marquis, a professor who teaches about sustainable enterprises and management at the Cornell SCJ Johnson College of Business and author of Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, and Benjamin Stone, a Mintz corporate attorney and a former social entrepreneur and executive, engage in a broad discussion of the social innovation landscape.

In this webinar, Jacob Hupart and co-host, David Leone of GZA GeoEnvironmental, explore the legal and practical challenges associated with climate change and how companies can learn to navigate its impact on their businesses. The presentation focuses on how to prepare for a new regulatory environment under the Biden Administration, practical steps companies can take to improve their resiliency in the future and how to identify and manage risks.

Read about Nasdaq’s proposed new listing rules, which would generally require U.S. listing companies to appoint a certain number of diverse directors.

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.

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.