SEC Launches Climate and ESG Webpage
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today the launch of a new page on its SEC.gov website, highlighting its ‘all-agency’ approach to address soaring investor demand for climate and other ESG information.
According to the SEC, the page brings together agency actions and the latest information about climate and environmental, social and governance investing. It will appear on the front page of SEC.gov and will be updated as the agency continues to respond to investors.
The launch of the new page follows comments made last week by SEC Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee discussing the evolving and increasingly active role that the agency will take on issues of ESG and sustainability. In a speech at the Center for American Progress (CAP), Lee said:
“Human capital, human rights, climate change – these issues are fundamental to our markets, and investors want to and can help drive sustainable solutions on these issues. We see that unmistakably in shifts in capital toward ESG investing, we see it in investor demands for disclosure on these issues, we see it increasingly reflected on corporate proxy ballots, and we see it in corporate recognition that consumers and investors alike are watching corporate responses to these issues more closely than ever.
“That’s why climate and ESG are front and center for the SEC. We understand these issues are key to investors – and therefore key to our core mission.”
The new webpage currently features several of the current ESG issues under consideration by the SEC, including Lee’s recent statement on the review of climate-related disclosure, and the following request for public commentary on the disclosure issue, the announcement that SEC examination priorities will include a greater focus on climate issues, the launch of the SEC’s Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement, and a recent bulletin to educate investors about ESG Funds.
Commenting on the launch of the new page, Lee said:
“Our all-of-SEC approach looks at how climate and ESG intersect with our broader regulatory framework to get investors the information they need to plan for their financial future.”