Category Archives: ESG

Jones Day Talks About Climate Reporting Rules From The SEC

JONES DAY TALKS® ESG Reporting Rules: The SEC, CSRD, and California- Who’s on the Hook?

ESG

Jurisdictions are requiring large corporations and other entities to report on the environmental risks they face and how their business operations impact the climate. In the second in a series of JONES DAY TALKS® podcasts regarding significant climate disclosure rules, our panel discusses the SEC’s rules announced in early March, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the State of California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act and Climate-Related Financial Risk Act.

Read the full transcript here.

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JONES DAY TALKS®: Court Grants Stay on SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule, but Companies Should Continue Preparations

ESG

On Friday, March 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the SEC’s final Climate Disclosure Rules, adopted just over a week earlier. All of the challenges to the Rules filed in various courts will be coordinated for review before one court. As written, the Rules will require publicly traded corporations to make significant, new climate-related disclosures. In the first of a series of JONES DAY TALKS® programs examining the new Rules and related topics, Amy Pandit and Olga Gidalevitz discuss key implementation considerations for affected companies.

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The Evolution of Corporate Compliance Programs: Key Issues for Multinational Companies

JONES DAY TALKS®- The Evolution of Corporate Compliance Programs: Key Issues for Multinational Companies

ESG, Financial Markets, Health Care & Life Sciences, Investigations & White Collar Defense

Across every industry and every region of the world, corporate compliance programs have increasingly become an integral part of a company’s operations and procedures—and the trend shows no signs of slowing. In the first in a series of Jones Day Talks programs addressing topics related to corporate compliance programs, Jones Day lawyers Henry Klehm, Toni Citera, and Paloma Valor discuss the history of corporate compliance programs, the changing role of the compliance officer, challenges for multinational companies, the importance of technology, and how the compliance function can effectively partner with other parts of the organization to help mitigate risk and achieve business objectives.

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Looking for ESG Fraud: CFTC Solicits Carbon Markets Whistleblowers

JONES DAY TALKS®: Looking for ESG Fraud – CFTC Solicits Carbon Markets Whistleblowers

Energy, ESG, , , , ,

The growing carbon credit and related derivatives markets continue to attract the attention of regulatory agencies and law enforcement. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has just announced that it is looking for whistleblowers on potential fraud or manipulation in the carbon credit markets, which is a major enforcement development in the ESG space. Jones Day partners Josh Sterling and Howard Sidman talk about the CFTC’s ramped-up enforcement focus and what it means for participants in the carbon markets.

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JONES DAY TALKS®: European Central Bank’s Climate Center & Investment Plans Focus on Sustainability (Encore Presentation)

JONES DAY TALKS®: European Central Bank’s Climate Center & Investment Plans Focus on Sustainability (Encore Presentation)

ESG, Europe

A JONES DAY TALKS® Encore Presentation.
From May 2021.

The European Central Bank’s decision to establish a Climate Change Center and invest in a green bond fund launched by the Bank for International Settlements reflects the growing importance of climate change, and ESG more broadly, in ECB policy. The ECB’s focus on climate change and sustainable finance will only grow as the EU’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan continues to advance.

Jones Day’s Linda Hesse and Dr. Michael Fischer discuss the Bank’s aim to reorient capital flows around a more sustainable economy while managing the financial risks brought by climate change.

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JONES DAY TALKS®: Carbon Markets are Booming, and Regulators are Watching

JONES DAY TALKS®: Carbon Markets are Booming, and Regulators are Watching

ESG, Government Regulation, , , , , , , , ,

Efforts by government agencies, companies, and investors to limit the effects of climate change continue to influence activity in the financial markets. Interest in carbon markets, where emission credits are purchased and sold─and also where derivatives on those credits are traded─is growing rapidly, and that trend is expected to continue. Some estimates predict the cost of carbon could eventually double, due to the increased focus on climate issues and the tightening of greenhouse gas standards by global regulators.

The increase in trading volume has attracted the attention of regulators and enforcement agencies. Jones Day partner Josh Sterling explains how the carbon markets work, details the risks participants face, and describes what companies using these markets should do now.

Read the full transcript on the Jones Day website.

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JONES DAY TALKS®: European Central Bank’s Climate Center and Investment Plans Focus on Sustainability

JONES DAY TALKS®: European Central Bank’s Climate Center & Investment Plans Focus on Sustainability

ESG, Europe

The European Central Bank’s decision to establish a Climate Change Center and invest in a green bond fund launched by the Bank for International Settlements reflects the growing importance of climate change, and ESG more broadly, in ECB policy. The ECB’s focus on climate change and sustainable finance will only grow as the EU’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan continues to advance.

Jones Day’s Linda Hesse and Dr. Michael Fischer discuss the Bank’s aim to reorient capital flows around a more sustainable economy while managing the financial risks brought by climate change.

Read a full transcript on the Jones Day website.

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JONES DAY TALKS® - Financial Regulators and Asset Managers Warm to Acknowledging Climate Risks

JONES DAY TALKS® – Financial Regulators and Asset Managers Warm to Acknowledging Climate Risks

ESG

Jones Day partners Lanier Saperstein and Jay Tambe talk about The New York Department of Financial Services’ recent guidance on Climate Change and Financial Risks, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s annual January letter to corporations, which addressed similar issues.

The conversation focuses on how regulators and asset managers are addressing investors’ concerns relating to climate change, including the risks of potential climate-related damage to physical property, and the economic benefits of moving toward carbon-neutral investment options.

Read the full transcript on the Jones Day website.

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JONES DAY TALKS®: Riding the Green Bond Wave: Focus is on Standards as Volumes Surge

JONES DAY TALKS®: Riding the Green Bond Wave: Focus is on Standards as Volumes Surge (Encore Presentation)

ESG, , ,

Takeaways from this discussion:

  • Green bond issues are surging worldwide, eclipsing US$257 billion in 2019.
  • Major corporates, including many not usually associated with climate initiatives, are bringing green bonds to market, spanning the investment grade and high-yield spectrum and including more exotic instruments as convertibles and covered bonds.
  • Green bond qualifying standards in Europe differ from those in the United States. An EU Green Bond Standard may be adopted as early as Q4 2020.
  • First-time issuers should plan time to calibrate their green bond framework and prepare for reporting requirements, enhanced investor outreach, and potential for liability.
  • “Greenwashing” remains a concern.

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Jones Day Talks Tax Credits

JONES DAY TALKS®: Tax Credits: The Original ESG Investment?

ESG, Tax

Long before ESG caught the attention of corporate boardrooms, Wall Street, and the investing public, socially responsible investing thrived in the form of tax credit investments, often in the form of incentives implemented by the federal and state governments to encourage the development of real estate projects beneficial to a specific community. Jones Day’s Jeff Gaulin, Patrick Cronin, Doug Banghart, and John Kelley explain how these programs work and the potential impact on the areas they are designed to help, as well as how they have expanded and can help investors of all kinds meet their ESG objectives. For more information on other ESG topics that may be relevant for your organization, please see our ESG insights page.

Read the full transcript on the Jones Day website.

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