ESG Archive

Nasdaq’s efforts to promote diversity on boards has received support from a variety of constituencies, with a number of commenters approving of its ‘comply-or-explain’ approach. The exchange operator last month filed a proposal with the SEC to adopt new listing rules that would require companies to have – or explain why they do not have – at least two diverse directors, including one wh...

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) is ramping up the pressure for improved diversity and inclusion disclosures as part of its 2021 proxy voting and engagement plans. In a letter to board members this week, SSGA CEO Cyrus Taraporevala announced proxy voting practices intended to make sure that companies are transparent about the racial and ethnic composition of their boards and workforces. According to these practices: In 2021 SSGA will vote against the...

‘PepsiCo is a poster child for what people are trying to do’ in terms of ESG reporting, says one of the Corporate Secretary judges. It’s a rapidly evolving field of endeavor for governance teams and their colleagues and one in which our winner has shown dedication to disclosing useful information in an accessible way across several avenues. PepsiCo in June 2020 published its sustainability report in a new format: all-digital and embedded for the first time on ...

When the Business Roundtable released its Statement on Corporate Purpose in August 2019, it was met with equal praise and skepticism. By the strictest definition of investor relations, stakeholder capitalism and corporate purpose should be important only if investors deem them to be material, but the continued evolution of ESG engagement shows that materiality is dynamic and def...