SIGWatch
US investors demand mandatory disclosure of corporate sustainability risks
Sustainable investment group CERES, with BlackRock, Arjuna Capital, Domini Social Investments, and 41 institutional investment firms representing USD1.1trillion in assets, urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enact stronger, mandatory reporting of material sustainability risks in companies’ SEC filings.
CERES claimed that current voluntary rules for reporting sustainability risks, including climate change, water scarcity, and global deforestation, are insufficient to enable shareholders to make informed investment and proxy voting decisions.
CERES specifically cited non-disclosed material risks linked to the business plans of oil and gas, electricity, and coal companies, which CERES claimed are based on forecasts of increasing demand, and do not account for an accelerating transition to a low-carbon global economy.
The SEC is seeking investor input on reporting of critical sustainability and climate risk issues facing companies and investors, and the public comment period ends today (July 21).