Now more than ever, environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability considerations are at the forefront of business practices. Companies, sponsors and financial institutions are faced with mounting pressures to factor these considerations into investment decisions, improve sustainability practices, and report under various frameworks addressing these considerations.
Simpson Thacher takes a holistic approach to meeting our clients’ needs and advises on the spectrum of issues that fall under the sustainability and ESG umbrellas, including impact investing, sustainable finance, corporate governance, ESG reporting and disclosure, crisis management and risk management, diversity and inclusion, climate change and green initiatives, among others. Selected work in this space includes advising:
- KKR in the first U.S. sustainable use-of-proceeds syndicated subscription finance facility for the KKR Global Impact Fund
- Riverstone Credit Management, as direct lenders in an innovative green loan financing to Circulus Holdings, a public benefit limited liability company
- Alibaba Group Holding Limited in its S$5 billion senior unsecured notes offering, including the sustainability notes being issued under its sustainable finance framework—one of few sustainability offerings by a China-based issuer
- Sponsors, as fund counsel, in the formation of multiple ESG/impact funds, including sustainable energy funds, and the European Union Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation
- Registered fund sponsors, including for Ecofin with respect to its Tax-Advantaged Social Impact Fund and Impact Shares, with respect to its line of ESG-focused ETFs
- Limited partners in connection with their investments in impact investment vehicles
- Underwriters in a sustainability bond offering by Pfizer, the first ever issued by a biopharmaceutical company
- Issuers and underwriters across industries on green bond offerings
Our sustainability and ESG advisory practice includes transactional, regulatory and litigation practitioners spanning several offices. The versatility of our attorneys, coupled with Simpson Thacher’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and
corporate responsibility—including our deep involvement with the Natural Resources Defense Council as a pro bono client that dates back to its founding nearly 50 years ago—benefits our diverse range of clients that includes public and private companies, private equity firms, founder- and family-owned businesses, financial advisors and investors and boards, including special committees.
UPDATED: ESG Battlegrounds: How the States Are Shaping the Regulatory Landscape in the U.S.
This alert details developments in U.S. ESG regulation, particularly as individual states have stepped up their lawmaking through drastically different approaches. It further explores these approaches to ESG-focused legislation and offers high-level takeaways on ESG investing and contracting on the state level.