By Matthew Garza, J.D., Mark S. Nelson, J.D., Lene Powell, J.D., and Brad Rosen, J.D.
This year has been a steady build up to what promises to be an active period of rulemaking, enforcement, and maybe even lawmaking on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) front in 2022. In this article our analysts offer a comprehensive review of ESG activity of 2021 at the SEC, CFTC, and Congress, and highlight key issues to watch next year. We start with social and governance, where the SEC has already adopted rules and is now proposing modifications, then look at the SEC’s ESG enforcement activity and the CFTC’s ESG efforts. We summarize myriad ESG bills floating around the 117th Congress, take a deep dive into the formation of sustainability reporting standards, and provide a chronological list of other relevant activity from the SEC. Click here to read our analysts’ take on 2021 and the year ahead.