SEC webpage tracks agency's ESG activity

Over the last couple weeks, the Securities and Exchange Commission has engaged in a whirlwind of activity related to climate change and environmental, social and governance investing. On Monday, the agency established a webpage to help the public keep track of what has become the agency’s highest-profile priority.

The site is part of the agencywide response to what the SEC says is soaring demand from investors for information about climate and ESG issues. A link at the top of the SEC homepage directs visitors to the site, which will be continuously updated.

The webpage highlights the SEC’s request for comment on climate disclosure, a directive on climate-related disclosures, an announcement that the SEC Division of Examinations has elevated ESG as an examination priority, an announcement of an enforcement task force on climate and ESG, and an investor bulletin.

“Our all-of-SEC approach looks at how climate and ESG intersect with our broader regulatory framework to get investors the information they need to plan for their financial future,” SEC Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee said in a statement.

The SEC’s intense focus on ESG issues is expected to continue after the Senate confirms Gary Gensler, the Biden administration’s nominee for SEC chair. In a Senate Banking Committee hearing earlier this month, Gensler voiced support for expanding corporate ESG disclosures.

When Gensler is confirmed, the SEC will have a 3-2 Democratic majority. The two Republican members of the commission, Hester Peirce and Elad Roisman, have pushed back against the SEC’s recent ESG moves.