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Program on Corporate Governance Advisory Board
- William Ackman
- Peter Atkins
- David Bell
- Kerry E. Berchem
- Richard Brand
- Daniel Burch
- Paul Choi
- Jesse Cohn
- Arthur B. Crozier Christine Davine
- Renata J. Ferrari
- John Finley
- Andrew Freedman
- Ray Garcia
- Byron Georgiou
- Joseph Hall
- Jason M. Halper
- Paul Hilal
- Carl Icahn William P. Mills
- David Millstone
- Theodore Mirvis
- Philip Richter
- Elina Tetelbaum
- Sebastian Tiller
- Marc Trevino Jonathan Watkins
- Steven J. Williams
- Daniel Wolf
HLS Faculty & Senior Fellows
Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation
ESG Disclosures—Considerations for Companies
Recent months have seen institutional investors, multinational organizations and the private sector emphasize the lack of (and importance of) comparable and decision-useful ESG disclosures. Some of the key issues in considering ESG disclosures are: Choice of Framework and Content. Despite the growing recognition of the need for standardized reporting metrics, companies continue to face a […]
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Posted in ESG, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation
Tagged Climate change, Disclosure, Environmental disclosure, ESG, Institutional Investors, International governance, Long-Term value, Materiality, Risk, Risk disclosure, Securities regulation, Sustainability
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CII Comment Letter on Proposed Amendments to Rule 14a-8
The Council of Institutional Investors (CII), appreciates the opportunity to provide comments to the United States (U.S.) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) in response to proposed amendments to Rule 14a-8 (the “Rule”) in Release No. 34–87458, Procedural Requirements and Resubmission Thresholds Under Exchange Act Rule 14a–8 (the “Release”). CII is a nonprofit, nonpartisan […]
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Posted in Corporate Elections & Voting, Institutional Investors, Practitioner Publications, SEC Comment letters, Securities Regulation
Tagged Boards of Directors, Comment letters, Institutional Investors, Proxy advisors, Proxy voting, SEC, SEC rulemaking, Securities regulation, Shareholder proposals, Shareholder voting
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The Illusory Promise of Stakeholder Governance
Corporate purpose is now the focus of a fundamental and heated debate, with rapidly growing support for the proposition that corporations should move from shareholder value maximization to “stakeholder governance” and “stakeholder capitalism.” In a new study, The Illusory Promise of Stakeholder Governance, we critically examine the increasingly influential “stakeholderism” view, according to which corporate […]
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Posted in Academic Research, Comparative Corporate Governance & Regulation, Corporate Social Responsibility, ESG, HLS Research
Tagged Accountability, Business Roundtable, Corporate Social Responsibility, Entrenchment, ESG, Program on Corporate Governance, Shareholder primacy, Stakeholders
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Investment Company Institute Comment Letter to SEC on Proposed Rules for Proxy Voting Advice and Shareholder Proposals
The Investment Company Institute supports the Commission’s examinations of proxy advice and the shareholder proposal rule. The Commission’s proposals would affect registered investment companies (“funds”) as both investors and issuers. As investors, funds may retain proxy advisory firms for administrative or research services. As issuers, funds receive proposals from their own shareholders; as investors, funds […]
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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, Corporate Elections & Voting, Institutional Investors, Practitioner Publications, SEC Comment letters, Securities Regulation
Tagged Comment letters, Disclosure, Institutional Investors, Proxy advisors, Proxy voting, SEC, SEC rulemaking, Securities regulation, Shareholder voting
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Top 10 ESG Trends for the New Decade
If the 2010s laid the groundwork for ESG corporate practices through debate and policy development, the 2020s will be about putting ESG into action. Our new decade is expected to see widespread adoption of ESG-related practices as the norm. The 2010s: Building Momentum To fully appreciate the shift from debate to action in ESG practices, […]
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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, Boards of Directors, ESG, Institutional Investors, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Climate change, Disclosure, Diversity, Engagement, Environmental disclosure, ESG, Executive Compensation, Institutional Investors, Shareholder activism, Stewardship
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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Comment Letter on the Shareholder Political Transparency Act & Workforce Investment Disclosure Act
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the following bills that the Committee is expected to mark up on February 27. H.R. 5930, the Workforce Investment Disclosure Act (Rep. Cynthia Axne) The Workforce Investment Disclosure Act would require specific line-item disclosures in Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) mandated reports on information that in many cases is […]
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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, Practitioner Publications, SEC Comment letters, Securities Regulation
Tagged Comment letters, Disclosure, ESG, Human capital, Materiality, Political spending, SEC, Securities regulation, US House
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ESG Performance and the Credit Markets
The view that it is not only possible to do well by doing good, but that doing good is critical to doing well in the long run, has come to the fore in the investment community. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are, as State Street says, “a matter of value, not values.” In his […]
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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, ESG, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Credit risk, Disclosure, Environmental disclosure, ESG, Information environment, Risk management, Sustainability, Transparency
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The Business Roundtable Comment Letter on Proposed Amendments to Rule 14a-8
This letter is submitted on behalf of Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers who collectively lead companies with more than 15 million employees and $7 trillion in revenues. Business Roundtable members invest nearly $147 billion in research and development. In addition, our companies annually pay $296 billion in dividends to shareholders and generate […]
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Posted in Boards of Directors, Corporate Elections & Voting, Institutional Investors, Practitioner Publications, SEC Comment letters, Securities Regulation
Tagged Boards of Directors, Comment letters, Engagement, Institutional Investors, No-action letters, Rule 14a-8, SEC, SEC rulemaking, Securities regulation, Shareholder proposals, Shareholder voting
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Society for Corporate Governance Comment Letter on Proposed Amendments to Rule 14a-8
The Society for Corporate Governance (the “Society”) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) on the Procedural Requirements and Resubmission Thresholds under Exchange Act 14a-8 (the “Proposed Rule”). Founded in 1946, the Society is a professional membership association of more than 3,700 corporate and assistant secretaries, […]
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Posted in Boards of Directors, Corporate Elections & Voting, Institutional Investors, Practitioner Publications, SEC Comment letters, Securities Regulation
Tagged Comment letters, Institutional Investors, Rule 14a-8, SEC, SEC rulemaking, Securities regulation, Shareholder proposals, Shareholder voting
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CII Comment Letter on Proposed Proxy Rules for Proxy Voting Advice
The Council of Institutional Investors (CII), appreciates the opportunity to provide comments to the United States (U.S.) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) in response to proposed amendments to the federal proxy rules published on December 4, 2019, in SEC Release No. 34–87457, Amendments to Exemptions From the Proxy Rules for Proxy Voting Advice […]
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