Assignment task:
Expectations regarding environmental oversight, reporting, and performance will continue to rise.
Over the past several years, investors have increasingly focused on portfolio companies' environmental oversight, reporting, and performance. Proxy-voting guidelines for these investors, including several of the world's largest asset managers, are becoming significantly more stringent. For example, Vanguard's recently released 2022 proxy-voting guidelines note that it will consider voting against directors for "material risk-oversight failures," including climate risk oversight. [2] The annual letter from State Street Global Advisors' CEO, released on January 12, 2022, declares that companies in major indices in the US and several other markets should align their climate-related disclosures to the TCFD, and that SSGA will take voting action against directors if they do not meet disclosure expectations; the most "significant emitters" in its portfolio will receive even more targeted engagement and demands. [3] Investor expectations continue to rise, and companies that do not elevate their own sustainability efforts will be scrutinized more rigorously.
Various sustainability standards boards have merged to create the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), governed by IFRS. This movement towards a consistent set of market-based standards will likely be accompanied by legally required disclosures. Proposed regulation from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is also expected soon, although it will take months (if not years) for any rules to be finalized and enforced. On December 16, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent mandate letters to his cabinet ministers, suggesting a "whole of government approach to climate change," according to a representative from Climate Action Network Canada. [4] The Mandate Letter to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Finance required mandatory climate-related financial disclosures, [5] but there were many other climate-specific requests to other departments, including Natural Resources, International Development, and Public Safety.
While mandated disclosure will set standards for what companies must disclose regarding sustainability efforts, organizations should expect that, in 2022, many important stakeholders-including large shareholders-will request additional clarity beyond what the law requires. In addition to enhancing disclosures around environmental priorities, promises, and performance, companies can better meet these evolving expectations by thoughtfully assigning oversight responsibilities to the board and by increasing communication and shareholder engagement on sustainability topics.
Read the text above, and conduct some web research to find a specific example in a local, regional or national newspaper that illustrates-provides an example of- the specific trend. Then, (i) identify the specific trend you selected, (ii) summarize the key facts in the newspaper story you found, and (iii) explain how the facts in the newspaper story show an example of the specific trend you identified from the posting. Be sure to include a web link to the newspaper article.