In January, President Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to take actions to prevent climate change.
In response, both the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Labor have proposed regulations designed generally to encourage sponsors of employee benefit plans to take Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") factors into account when prudent, and to increase the effectiveness of ESG regulations. They do so by adding heft to reporting obligations surrounding greenhouse gas emissions and cracking down on the use of names that may imply ESG characteristics.
These recent developments in Washington make monitoring ESG regulations more crucial than ever. Several relevant rules are currently pending, and their basic provisions are summarized in the 401k Specialist magazine article, "Top ESG Considerations for Plan Advisors," authored by Groom's George Sepsakos and Jacob Eigner.
To read the article, click here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
