Tag: ESG initiatives
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Missouri attorney general investigates proxy advisory services
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) announced last week his office is investigating Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the two largest U.S. proxy advisory firms, alleging they prioritized political agendas over fiduciary duties in their voting recommendations. ISS and Glass Lewis have drawn recent attention in ESG debates. Critics argue their combined market…
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States passed 27 bills either supporting or opposing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing this year
In case you're not familiar, here's a quick background on ESG. ESG investing is an asset management approach that considers environment, social issues, and corporate governance practices. It's a type of stakeholder investing which says shareholder returns should not be the only goal. Stakeholder investing contrasts with traditional approaches that exclusively consider financial factors like…
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Oregon governor signs ESG investing law
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed the Climate Resilience Investment Act on June 26, directing the state’s $96 billion Public Employees Retirement System to study the effects of its investments on climate change and to “pursue the goal of reducing the carbon intensity of the fund.” The law is among the first to directly require…
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States advance ESG-related bills
Four state legislatures took action on six ESG-related bills between June 17-23. Legislation in Ohio and Florida passed both chambers. Legislation in New Hampshire and North Carolina crossed over from one chamber to another. States with legislative activity on ESG last week are highlighted in the map below. Click here to see the details of…
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House subcommittee addresses proxy advisory firms
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets held a hearing last week on proxy advisory firms, which guide institutional investors on how to vote their shares. Opponents say proxy firms promote ESG priorities in shareholder votes—especially Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, which control a combined 90% of the proxy advisory market. Critics…
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Trump issues executive order opposing state ESG policies
President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order last week directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate and block enforcement of state laws promoting ESG policies. Trump argued such laws conflict with national security and economic interests. The order lays the groundwork for federal legal challenges against state ESG laws. It reverses the dynamic…
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SEC ends defense of climate reporting rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced last week that it voted to end its defense of the Biden-era corporate emissions reporting rules. The decision indicates the majority of current SEC commissioners do not support the implementation of the rules. Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda said the commission wanted to end its “defense of the…
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State Street removes diversity goals
State Street removed corporate board diversity requirements from its 2025 proxy voting guidelines in a Feb. 28 update. Proxy voting refers to the process through which shareholders who do not physically attend corporate shareholder meetings vote on company issues such as executive pay packages, board membership, and other shareholder and management proposals. Typically, proxy voting…
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European Commission proposes ESG reporting rollback
The European Commission unveiled a proposal to scale back ESG reporting requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Germany and France urged the Commission to ease CSRD requirements, arguing that they undermine EU companies' competitiveness, especially as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has paused its reporting rules. The proposal would exempt up…
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Democratic state financial officers support ESG in letter to regulators
Seventeen Democratic state financial officers sent a letter to the acting heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Labor (DOL), asking them to not restrict the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in financial decisions. The letter responds to one sent last month by Republican state financial officers…