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Survey conducted in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds most companies have increased their climate change disclosures.  
ALEXANDRIA, VA, AUGUST 5, 2021 – NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations, today announced the results of a climate change/environmental, social, and governance (ESG) survey in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC), Nasdaq, Nareit, Real Estate Roundtable, National Investor Relations Institute, TechNet, BIO, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Over 430 companies participated in the survey, which was conducted to learn more about current practices and the outlook for climate change and ESG reporting from the public company perspective and to ultimately inform policymakers as they consider the impacts new mandates would have on public companies and their shareholders.

The findings show that most companies are regularly communicating with their ...

Says disclosures should be consistent and comparable SEC chair Gary Gensler has given governance and compliance professionals a heads up on when they can expect to see the agency’s plans for requiring companies to report on climate risk and what that may entail. In remarks to the Principles for Responsible Investment last week, Gensler said he has asked the SEC staff to develop a mandatory climate risk disclosure rule proposal by the end of the year. He outlined elements he wishes to see in such disclosures, including that they are consistent and comparable. ‘It’s sort of like the Olympics,’ Gensler said. ‘Fans can compare athletes across heats, countries and generations. It’s not like some sprinters run a 100-meter dash and others run 90 meters. Investors today are asking for that ability to compare companies with each other… When disclosures remain voluntary, it can lead to a wide range of inconsistent disclosures.’ Gensler said investors benefit most when disclosures are ...

The SEC’s latest Reg Flex Agenda included proposing rule amendments to “enhance issuer disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk governance.” The SEC has targeted October 2021 as the date for a rule proposal, and this Mayer Brown memo says that the agency is unlikely to stop there. Instead, it’s reasonable to expect that the SEC will seek to address perceived deficiencies in the 2018 Guidance , by, among other things, providing clearer guidance on what constitutes “materiality” and “timeliness” when it comes to notices of cyber-attacks. The memo makes a number of suggestions as to how companies can prepare for SEC rulemaking in this area. This excerpt addresses the need for companies to review their existing policies and procedures: "The 2018 Guidance encourages public companies to develop substantive cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures. Specifically, the guidance provides that these policies should include clear instructions on how to identify and elevate information ...