Allison Smith Quoted on Adoption of ESG-Related Legislation in California

In a new article, environmental and energy partner Allison Smith shares her insights with ESG Dive on the influence that climate-related legislation recently passed in California, as well as a pending disclosure rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), may have on the broader adoption of climate-related reporting and disclosure requirements in the U.S.

California stands on one side of the political spectrum in the U.S., adopting ESG legislation that could affect how businesses approach their environmental, social, and governance strategies. Florida and Texas lead the anti-ESG movement, but California and New York have introduced several pieces of legislation over the last 10 years that promote ESG-aligned investments and regulatory action on related environmental and social issues.

For her part, Smith notes that though California legislation such as Senate Bill 261, as well the SEC’s proposed framework for governmental reporting of climate-related financial risks, may prompt other states to implement disclosure requirements, the momentum towards greater transparency for large companies stems, at least in part, from another source—market forces.

“[California’s] foray into ESG with broader requirements for GHG emissions and climate-related financial risk disclosures is aligned with a wave of voluntary climate-related disclosures, and related voluntary emissions reduction goals, by large companies in the U.S. and abroad,” she said.

Read the full article here.

See a recent Allison Smith post on Stoel Rives’ Environmental Law blog for more on California Senate Bills 253 and 261.