House passes ESG, climate disclosure rules for public companies

It wasn’t entirely easy to find the detail behind this announcement today but it was interesting. In essence, a key metric within the bill is as follows:

(k) ESG disclosures

(1) In general

Each issuer the securities of which are registered under section 12 or that is required to file annual reports under section 15(d) shall disclose in any proxy or consent solicitation material for an annual meeting of the shareholders—

(A) a clear description of the views of the issuer about the link between ESG metrics and the long-term business strategy of the issuer; and

(B) a description of any process the issuer uses to determine the impact of ESG metrics on the long-term business strategy of the issuer.

(2) ESG metrics defined

In this subsection, the term ESG metrics has the meaning given the term in part 210 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations as amended pursuant to section 3(b) of the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act of 2021.

To read all the detail, click here for Congress