Page 4 - Enforcement Task Force Focused News Today

Greenwashing is under increased scrutiny at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Greenwashing is clearly damaging to consumers and...

As climate change jurisprudence continues to evolve, an offshoot of “greenwashing” claims has generated a series of headline-grabbing lawsuits. The definitions vary but most references...

The Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently published a sample letter to companies providing illustrative comments ...

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria or standards – often referred to simply as sustainability – are having an impact on all sectors of society, including corporate,...

As investors' calls for greater climate-related corporate accountability grow louder, the "E" in ESG—environmental, social and governance—looms larger than ever, particularly from the perspective of...

Recent calls for racial equity and government regulators' increasing focus on social and environmental concerns make this a good time for companies to integrate environmental justice into their environmental, social and governance efforts, say independent consultant Stacey Halliday, Julius Redd at Beveridge & Diamond and Jesse Glickstein at Hewlett Packard.

To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: To say the SEC has signaled increased attention to ESG matters would be an understatement. Between February 24 th and April 12 th of this year, the SEC has posted on its website five public statements and two press releases that have a primary focus around ESG disclosures. The SEC also announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. The task force will include 22 members from the SEC’s headquar...

[co-author: Madison Gaudreau] On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Gary Gensler as the 33rd Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”).[1] This change will bring forth a Democratic majority at the SEC which, in turn, suggests that the Commission will change its current emphasis on capital formation to focus more on investor protection and the following other areas: rules required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consume...

Friday, April 9, 2021 SEC Announces 2021 Examination Priorities The SEC’s Division of Examinations (Division), formerly known as the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), released its 2021 examination priorities. In its release, the Division noted that it completed over 2,952 examinations in 2020 and issued more than 2,000 deficiency letters. Approximately 15% of all registered investment advisers were examined during 2020 and the Division completed more than 100...

The European Union ( ESG) measures. Two areas of development in particular are likely to have widespread repercussions for businesses: newly implemented obligations for ESG disclosures and likely forthcoming mandatory human rights, environmental and governance due diligence. These measures involve both new obligations of disclosure as well as, potentially, substantive obligations to address ESG issues connected to companies’ businesses. Their implementation is likely to have significant effec...