This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Pursuant to Request for Proposal No. 2009-5330, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System intends to award the contract for Corporate Governance Research Spring-Fed Pool to: Creative Investment Research, Inc. See: http://www.calpers.ca.gov/j2/data/ei/contracts/files/2009-5330/Intent-to-Award.pdf Related articles Fact and Fiction in Corporate Law and Governance Corporate Governance Corporate Governance

From CalPERS: "CalPERS Expands Environmental, Diversity Corporate Governance Guidelines - Supports State Legislation on Climate Change SACRAMENTO, CA – The CalPERS Board today signaled the importance of environmental disclosure and diversity of corporate boards by expanding corporate governance guidelines for portfolio companies. The new guidelines will be added to the System’s Global Principles of Accountable Corporate Governance. These principles are used by CalPERS to vote proxies, engage management and boards of equity companies, and implement initiatives. Both guidelines were proposed by State Controller John Chiang, a member of the CalPERS Board of Administration. The environmental guidelines are aimed at getting companies to disclose and act upon climate risks like carbon emissions that, if unaddressed, could diminish investment returns. To stay in step with changes in the marketplace, the pension fund’s Board adopted new corporate board diversity guidelines which will crea...

On November 14th, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on Proxy Access. The hearing was chaired by Senator Jack Reed . In his testimony , SEC Chairman Christopher Cox noted: " Last autumn, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit invalidated the SEC’s interpretation of our existing proxy access rule that had been applied at least since 1990. Indeed, in the SEC’s view, that interpretation had been in effect since 1976. But the court found the SEC’s view since 1990 to be inconsistent with its prior interpretation. At the same time, the court said that it would “take no side in the policy debate regarding shareholder access to the corporate ballot,” noting that “such issues are appropriately the province of the SEC.” This decision applies only in one of the 12 judicial circuits in America. And it has created great uncertainty and danger for every stakeholder in our public markets. This uncertainty is compounded by a recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which crea...