Our international ESG team has been keeping an eye on what’s going on with regards to green taxonomies. With so much activity already this year, we summarize some of the key developments below.
EU
We recently published this reminder of the EU’s taxonomy framework. Our publication is particularly relevant to non-EU groups with large subsidiaries
Companies are increasingly recognising that climate risk poses “strategic and operational risk” that could severely impact business operations. On 3 August 2023, United Nations Global Compact released Just Transition in Supply Chains: A Business Brief (the “Brief”). At the heart of the Brief is a call for businesses to embed the concept of ‘just transition’ into supply chain risk management, taking into account both the environmental and social impacts of their supply chains. There is real concern that as companies increase their climate mitigation and adaptation activities, such actions may have unintended consequences that negatively affect workers, small businesses and local communities that drive global supply chains. On the other hand, integrating climate and social risks into a business’ core business and risk management could be “mutually reinforcing” and could “deliver valuable co-benefits”.Continue Reading UN Global Compact Publishes Business Brief on Just Transition in Supply Chains
On 27 July 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (the “ISSB”) published the Proposed IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy for public consultation. The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy, which follows the ISSB’s issuance of the IFRS sustainability disclosure standards (the “Standards”) (which we reported here), is a digital taxonomy designed to facilitate digital reporting of sustainability-related financial information and to improve accessibility and comparability of such information by investors and regulators globally. Notably, the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy is not a taxonomy for categorising sustainability ratings or attributes of specific activities such as the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities.Continue Reading ISSB Publishes IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy for Consultation
The inaugural International Sustainability Standards Board (“ISSB“) sustainability disclosure standards, namely IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures) (the “ISSB Standards“), have received positive feedback from stakeholders across the globe since its issuance on 26 June 2023 (which we reported here). This includes endorsement by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on 25 July 2023.
The long-awaited ISSB Standards are intended to serve as a global baseline for transparent, reliable and comparable corporate disclosure of climate and sustainability-related information, and will help to inform investment decisions. In this blog post, we summarise several Asian regulators’ responses to the ISSB Standards which have been positive. Continue Reading Asia Regulators’ Responses to the ISSB Disclosure Standards
Businesses, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), continue to face practical challenges in ESG reporting due to costs, the lack of resources and expertise on sustainability reporting, and the complexities around multiple standards and reporting frameworks in use globally.
On 22 June 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) announced an initiative to develop digital ESG credentials for MSMEs worldwide to facilitate ESG reporting for this sector. The initiative, named Project Savannah, will produce a multi-jurisdictional proof of concept targeted for launch at the upcoming COP28.Continue Reading Digital ESG credentials for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises globally – from Singapore to the world
On 30 May 2023, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a discussion paper titled “Prototype of a Green Classification Framework for Hong Kong” seeking feedback on developing and adopting a green taxonomy for Hong Kong. In an effort to support Hong Kong’s role in linking green financial flows between Mainland
On March 27, 2023, the ASEAN Taxonomy Board released Version 2 of the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (the “ASEAN Taxonomy“). As we reported here, Version 1 of the ASEAN Taxonomy was first published in November 2021 and it was designed to promote the transition towards sustainable finance by the ASEAN member
In this report, Mayer Brown and Sedgwick Richardson share the results of our recent survey about sustainable asset management in Asia.
As interest in sustainability continues to grow worldwide, much of the focus has been on Europe and the United States. From the explosive growth of flows into funds classified as Article 8 or 9
This report provides crucial insights into the evolving landscape of ESG and sustainability-related regulations, practices and challenges facing the private equity industry in Asia, and tracks the ESG and sustainability journeys of private equity (PE) fund managers. Continue Reading Sustainable Private Equity in Asia: Through the Lenses of Compliance, Strategy and Branding
On February 17, 2023, the Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) published the revised Guidelines on Sustainable and Responsible Investment Funds (“Guidelines”) setting out the reporting and disclosure requirements for a fund to qualify as a Sustainable and Responsible Investment (“SRI”) Fund and, under a new chapter added to the Guidelines, an ASEAN Sustainable and Responsible Fund (“SRF”). The amendments revise the first version of the Guidelines issued in December 2017 and are effective on the date of issuance.Continue Reading Securities Commission Malaysia Publishes Revised Guidelines on Sustainable and Responsible Investment Funds