Tag: disclosures

Exxon, Apple and other corporate giants will have to disclose all their emissions under California’s new climate laws – that will have a global impact

Mary Pat Campbell

Link:https://theconversation.com/exxon-apple-and-other-corporate-giants-will-have-to-disclose-all-their-emissions-under-californias-new-climate-laws-that-will-have-a-global-impact-214630

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Many of the world’s largest public and private companies will soon be required to track and report almost all of their greenhouse gas emissions if they do business in California – including emissions from their supply chains, business travel, employees’ commutes and the way customers use their products.

That means oil and gas companies like Chevron will likely have to account for emissions from vehicles that use their gasoline, and Apple will have to account for materials that go into iPhones.

It’s a huge leap from current federal and state reporting requirements, which require reporting of only certain emissions from companies’ direct operations. And it will have global ramifications.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two new rules into law on Oct. 7, 2023. Under the new Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, U.S.- companies with annual revenues of US$1 billion or more will have to report both their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2026 and 2027. The California Chamber of Commerce opposed the regulation, arguing it would increase companies’ costs. But more than a dozen major corporations endorsed the rule, including Microsoft, Apple, Salesforce and Patagonia.

Author(s): Lily Hsueh

Publication Date: 10 Oct 2023

Publication Site: The Conversation

Recent SEC Proposals to Come Under Scrutiny of Financial Services Committee

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/sec-recent-proposals-to-come-under-scrutiny-of-financial-services-committee/

Excerpt:

The House Committee on Financial Services will hold an oversight hearing on the Securities and Exchange Commission next Wednesday and Chairman Gary Gensler is expected to testify. The SEC’s proposed budget and their recent proposals, especially the climate disclosure proposal will all likely be discussed.

The SEC requested $2.436 billion for 2024, an increase of $265 million from this year primarily to hire new staff. The new hires are proportionally concentrated in the Divisions of Risk Analysis and Investment Management, whose staffs would increase by more than 5% each. The largest aggregate staffing increase would be to the Division of Enforcement, from its current 1,505 positions to 1,558.

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Womack also suggested that the SEC’s proposal on climate disclosure, which would require entities registered with the SEC to disclose their carbon emissions, was not within the SEC’s legal authority, a concern shared by several other Republican members of the committee.

The climate disclosure proposal has been a sensitive issue for agricultural interests. Representative Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, emphasized the potential impact of this rule on farmers at the hearing. She said that this proposal would be bad for farmers in her state who would have to collect and disclose their emissions data to issue securities and to work with larger businesses who must collect emissions data from their value chain.

Representative Michael Cloud, R-Texas, shared this sentiment during the hearing and said that any issuer subject to Scope 3 disclosure would compel farms in their supply chain to collect this data, a tedious process, which might reduce farmer’s access to credit if they do not comply.

Author(s): Paul Mulholland

Publication Date: 12 April 2023

Publication Site: ai-CIO

SEC to Review Disclosure Rules in Wake of Archegos, GameStop: Report

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.fundfire.com/c/3147224/396504/review_disclosure_rules_wake_archegos_gamestop_report

Excerpt:

The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a tightening of disclosure requirements for investment firms following the collapse of Archegos Capital Management and the GameStop trading frenzy, people familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg.

Officials at the SEC, now being led by Gary Gensler, who was confirmed as chairman of the regulator last week, want to increase transparency of the derivative trading that led to the implosion of Archegos, Bill Hwang’s family office, the people say.

Lawmakers have also heaped pressure on the agency as they seek more transparency about who is shorting stocks following the GameStop debacle.

Author(s): Kathleen Laverty

Publication Date: 22 April 2021

Publication Site: fundFire

Exposing Corporate Climate Denial

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.dailyposter.com/p/exposing-corporate-climate-denial

Excerpt:

Meanwhile, investor efforts to require political spending disclosures at individual companies were halted on many occasions by large asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard, which have regularly used their immense shareholder voting power to shield companies from transparency.

Now with a new SEC chairman, transparency advocates see an opportunity for progress. 

“People want to know who companies are bankrolling,” said U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.). H.R. 1, the democracy reform package passed by House Democrats earlier this month, includes a bill from Levin to repeal the Republican measure blocking the SEC from requiring companies to disclose their political spending. 

Author(s): Julia Rock

Publication Date: 10 March 2021

Publication Site: Daily Poster