Transparency

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Coalition on Inclusive Economic Growth Urges the SEC to Propose Human Capital Management Rule

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In partnership with B Lab U.S. & Canada and over 50 investor, business and philanthropic organizations, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler urging movement on the long-awaited rulemaking on corporate human capital management (HCM) disclosures. 

Investors are increasingly demanding clear, consistent and comparable information on material considerations such as a company’s workforce composition, compensation, health and safety, and diversity practices. In response to calls from investors, we encourage the Commission to pursue a comprehensive set of HCM disclosure requirements including universal quantitative and supplementary qualitative and information. 

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Opportunity to Support Milestone Regulations for Corporate Climate Transparency

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For years, investors have been demanding access to clear, consistent and comparable data from corporations on their climate risks and impacts. Last month, the SEC helped bring U.S. capital markets regulations into the 21st century by finalizing the climate disclosure rule, joining global regulators and standard setters in the pursuit of mandated, standardized corporate climate disclosures.

Unfortunately, the rule is now under attack, and impact investors must raise their voices in support at this critical moment. As the Alliance noted in our recent statement, we believe the SEC’s final rule represents an important baseline to build upon in the future, even with some provisions weakened from the original proposal. The SEC struck a careful balance based on significant consultation with investors, companies and other market stakeholders.

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Investors and Asset Managers Cannot Afford to Turn Their Backs on Climate Commitments

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Climate risk is financial risk, a reality acknowledged by investors, asset managers, businesses, and regulators across the globe. As institutional investors, we are concerned by the recent departures of several large asset managers from Climate Action 100+, an essential investor-led initiative improving corporate accountability on climate risks in our investment portfolios.

The authors of this statement are leading foundations committed to practicing and promoting the principles of impact investing – investing for measurable and positive social, economic, and environmental impact alongside financial returns. Read the full statement.

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The Importance of Safeguarding Impact Investing Principles and Accountability Mechanisms in the Face of Legal Challenges

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The past several months have seen a troubling surge of litigation threatening investor rights and the ability of regulators to respond to market imperatives. These attacks stem from the same desire to halt progress by private sector leaders and regulators toward a more transparent and accountable economic system. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance has been working to counter the anti-environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement, and we see the same anti-ESG forces now mobilizing to undermine everything from climate disclosures to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This piece analyzes the legal challenges that impact investing advocates should be tracking – some more high-profile than others, but all with the potential for significant ramifications for our collective ability to manifest a thriving, competitive economy.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Applauds Milestone Regulation for Corporate Climate Disclosure

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Today, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance applauds an important milestone for corporate transparency on climate factors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a long-awaited final rule requiring U.S.-listed companies to disclose information related to climate-related risks and their material impacts.

“Climate risk is financial risk, and investors need access to clear, comparable data on these factors from companies to inform their decisions,” said Fran Seegull, President of the Alliance. “Though there is room to strengthen certain provisions, we still believe the SEC’s final rule marks progress in advancing fair and efficient markets. Today signals a win for investors, U.S. economic competitiveness and market stability.” 

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President’s Veto Protects Transparency, Accountability and Fairness for Small Businesses

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It is essential that our regulators prioritize enhancing transparency and accountability for the small business ecosystem. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance applauds President Biden’s veto to protect significant strides made toward this goal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) earlier this year.

The President’s veto rejects a Congressional Review Act Resolution that would have nullified the long-awaited implementation of a Dodd-Frank provision requiring small business lenders to collect demographic information about their clients and applicants.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Applauds California Policymakers’ Historic Step to Enable Sustainable Investing

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The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance applauds the California Senate and General Assembly passage of a historic set of bills that would have far-reaching implications for the disclosure of material climate-related information to investors and other stakeholders. The bills now head to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Submits Comments on ISSB Work Plan

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The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance responded to the “Consultation on Agenda Priorities” issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The body, which helps set standards on sustainability-related accounting issues for more than 140 jurisdictions worldwide, released inaugural standards on General Sustainability and Climate-Related Disclosure by companies in June 2023. The latest consultation sought to understand the priorities of investors, business leaders and other stakeholders in determining ISSB’s work plan for the next two years.

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Responding to Attacks on Investor Freedoms and Corporate Accountability

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Amid what some are calling “ESG July” in the House Financial Services Committee, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance calls on businesses and investors to take a stand in support of investor freedom and American economic competitiveness.

Over the course of the month, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives will hold at least seven hearings attacking everyone from institutional investors to proxy advisors to insurance executives for leveraging ESG tools and strategies. At the end of the month, it is likely that the Financial Services Committee will advance a slate of legislation that undercuts basic investor freedoms and risks harming the economic security of U.S. retail investors and retirement savers.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Applauds ISSB on Issuance of First Set of Standards

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The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance applauds the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) for the issuance of its inaugural global sustainability standards. This significant development will establish a global baseline for sustainability and climate-related disclosures by companies and lays the foundation for further progress in the years to come.

The ISSB, established by the IFRS Foundation in 2021, has worked diligently to set meaningful standards, which are poised to promote greater consistency in sustainability reporting across more than 140 jurisdictions worldwide. The Alliance has consistently supported the ISSB’s efforts, including voicing support for the ISSB’s exposure drafts last year. With the standards now in place, more than 140 jurisdictions around the world will begin the work of implementing them.

As the ISSB Standards are officially launched, we join the global impact investing community in celebrating this important milestone that will enable companies to provide decision-useful sustainability information to investors.

Looking ahead, the Alliance will continue to engage with other standard setting initiatives, such as the SEC’s transparency regulatory agenda in the United States to support global cohesion on sustainability disclosures.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Voices Support for ESG Integration in Investment Decision-Making Ahead of House Committee Hearing

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The integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making is an important tool for investors to consider financially relevant information. Actions at the federal and state-level to attempt to block consideration of ESG factors threaten investors and retirement savers who are depending on long-term financial returns.

In advance of a hearing in the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, “ESG Part I: An Examination of Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices with Attorneys General,” the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance emphasized its support for protecting the rights of investors to access ESG tools and strategies with Committee leaders.

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SEC’s Disclosure Agenda Will Drive Transparency and Protect Investors

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In anticipation of SEC Chair Gensler’s appearance before the House Financial Services Committee this week, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance reiterates our support for the agency’s investor-driven transparency and disclosure agenda.

Access to clear, comparable information on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors empowers investors and paves the way for more transparency across the capital markets. This is why the Alliance supports urgent SEC action on corporate and asset manager disclosure requirements around financially relevant factors like climate risks and workforce diversity.

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Policy Corner: Get ready: ESG critics are coming for ‘S’ issues

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By: Fran Seegull

Originally Published In ImpactAlpha’s Policy Corner On April 4, 2023. Read The Article Here.

The year ahead promises to be a momentous one for progress on ‘S,’ or social issues, in public policy solutions, as a recent ImpactAlpha Call explored. From the SEC’s imminent proposal on human capital management disclosures to historic levels of federal funds flowing into rural and low-income communities, there is a groundswell of activity aimed at supporting workers and creating more equitable economic opportunities for all Americans.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Testifies Before House Subcommittee on Corporate Human Capital Management Disclosures

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Earlier today, Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, testified at a House Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets hearing on E, S, G and W: Examining Private Sector Disclosure of Workforce Management, Investment, and Diversity Data.

Seegull’s testimony emphasized the need for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pursue a rulemaking on standardized corporate human capital management disclosures, which are critical factors for investor decision-making.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Supports Latest Regulatory Win for Investor Transparency

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The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance expressed support for the latest iteration of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) disclosure agenda to improve transparency for investors. In addition to expressing broad support for the SEC’s objectives to combat greenwashing and equip investors with decision-useful information, the Alliance’s comments focused on ways the Commission could expand the scope and refine certain provisions in the final rule.

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U.S. Impact Investing Alliance Signals Support for ISSB Proposals that Lay the Groundwork for Global Convergence on Sustainability Standards

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The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance is encouraged by the emerging global standards on sustainability disclosures, and we believe that the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) latest actions lay the groundwork for further progress over time. Specifically, the Alliance was pleased to write in support of the ISSB’s exposure drafts on general sustainability and climate-related disclosures.

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Policy Corner: The SEC’s new rules (Part One): An opportunity to rein in greenwashing in asset management

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[Originally published in ImpactAlpha’s ‘Policy Corner’] Fossil fuel industry-supported activist groups and politicians have launched a campaign to discredit ESG investing as “woke capitalism.” This new push appears to be part of the broader fossil fuel industry-supported disinformation campaign, which has moved beyond climate change denialism into cultural warfare and dismissal of concerns about social and environmental justice as elitist and hypocritical. As this anti-woke capitalism campaign moves to the Congressional arena, investors must speak out and defend their rights to deploy their assets as they see fit, including, if they so choose, divestment from fossil fuels.

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The Field Calls on the SEC to Prioritize Human Capital Management Disclosures

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In partnership with B Lab and nearly 50 investor, business and philanthropic organizations, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance wrote to SEC Chair Gensler expressing support for the long-awaited rulemaking on corporate human capital management disclosures.

Related: Read more from our President, Fran Seegull, on how impact investors can set the record straight on the state of ESG investing and the policies necessary to promote a fair, efficient and sustainable investment ecosystem.

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Policy Corner: Keeping communities at the center of equitable infrastructure by reimagining risk, power and accountability

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[Originally published in ImpactAlpha’s ‘Policy Corner’] Largely missing from conversations around the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal has been an acknowledgement of the impact of past infrastructure investment to underserved communities, notably Black, Indigenous and low-wealth communities. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, along with the American Rescue Plan, affords this nation with the opportunity to repair past harm while building infrastructure that serves the needs of underserved communities.

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Policy Corner: Rules and regulatory trends impact investors should be tracking

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[Originally published in ImpactAlpha’s ‘Policy Corner’] Public policy and regulatory action have helped accelerate and catalyze the flow of private capital for public good for decades. The historic regulatory moment we find ourselves in, marked by significant movement on landmark policies, calls for attention and action from actors across the impact investing ecosystem. Below are specific opportunities to raise your voice and help shape regulations that will impact the future of our field.

 

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