Resource Center

In collaboration with The Water Council, this report explores the notion of contextual water risks impacting agribusiness operations and sourcing in the Great Plains region of the United States.

Petrobras to pay massive third quarter dividend Petrobras has approved the payment of around BRL 43.68 billion (USD 8.4 billion) in Q3 dividends. Of the total dividend, around BRL 20 billion (USD 3.9 billion) will go to the Brazilian federal government, Petrobras’ controlling shareholder.

Learn what the EU Action Plan is, its objectives, and the importance of taking immediate action to comply with its various regulations including the EU Taxonomy Regulation, Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, and the EU Benchmarks Regulation.

SEC adopts new rule on executive compensation clawbacks The U.S. SEC has adopted new rules requiring publicly traded companies to recover incentive-based executive compensation if that pay was awarded based on a misstated financial performance measure. The SEC had originally proposed a clawback rule in 2015, but it remained dormant until 2021.

U.S. financial regulator launches climate-related advisory group The U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council has now launched the new dedicated “Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee” (“CFRAC”) that it had previously announced in its 2021 report on climate risks. The CFRAC’s exclusively advisory mandate is to identify information gaps and data inconsistencies, make recommendations on addressing them, gather and analyze information on climate-related risks to the financial system, and provide advice on identifying, assessing, and mitigating climate-related risks to the financial system.

Activist pressures Australian banks on climate action Activist group Market Forces has submitted shareholder proposals to the upcoming AGMs of National Australia Bank (“NAB”), ANZ Bank, and Westpac, calling on the banks to stop fossil fuel financing.

Musk revives Twitter buyout, sparking financing concerns Elon Musk announced on October 4 that he will move forward with his original bid of USD 54.20 per share, while seemingly maintaining his right to pursue damages against Twitter for having allegedly misrepresented its usage statistics. The trial on the matter has been put on hold, but may be rescheduled for November should the deal not be closed by October 28.

Credit Suisse share price plunges amid concerns of collapse Credit Suisse saw its share price drop 11.5% to an all-time low on October 3 amid concerns surrounding the bank’s financial stability and ability to restructure its business. Spreads on the bank’s credit default swaps, which provide investors with protection against financial risks, rose sharply last week following media reports that the bank was seeking to raise capital.

P&G Chair targeted over ESG risks Friends of the Earth, with the support of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rainforest Action Network, has filed a “notice of exempt-solicitation” urging Procter & Gamble investors to oppose both the reelection of CEO Jon Moeller as board Chair and the reelection of two members of the “Governance and Public Responsibility Committee.”

DOJ unveils crimefighting policies for corporate misconduct The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a new “carrots and sticks” approach to fighting corporate crime that encourages companies to report misconduct while making it more difficult for repeat offenders to enter settlements and deferred prosecutions.

The negative physical impacts of climate change are being felt by communities and corporations globally and are likely to get worse in the coming years. The knock-on costs of more frequent “once-in-a-century” climate events on economies are likely to rise. To prepare for this looming threat, investors must forecast the asset-level effects of climate change on companies in a granular and sophisticated way. Here are six things portfolio managers should know to manage and mitigate the physical risks of climate change to their portfolios and meet growing list of climate-focused reporting requirements.

Philip Morris to lower acceptance threshold for Swedish Match bid Faced with shareholder opposition, Philip Morris could reportedly lower the acceptance threshold for its USD 16 billion takeover of Swedish Match.

BHP shareholders seek coherent climate policy Shareholder activist group The Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility (“ACCR”) has, with the support of circa 100 co-sponsors, submitted a set of climate-focused resolutions to BHP Group’s next AGM. The ACCR is urging the miner to "proactively advocate for Australian policy settings that are consistent with the Paris Agreement's objective of limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius."

ASEC strengthens pay-for-performance rules The U.S. SEC has announced amendments to its remuneration disclosure rules, requiring companies to provide information on the relationship between the paid executive compensation and financial performance.

Activist calls for change at Disney Activist investor Third Point has disclosed a 0.4% stake in Disney and has called for changes at the company, including cost cutting, a spin-off of its sports network and a shake-up of its board.

Data centers play a critical role for many technology and telecom companies and for their supporting servers, digital storage equipment and network infrastructure for data processing and storage. Data centers require high volumes of water directly for cooling purposes and indirectly, through electricity generation. Morningstar Sustainalytics’ recent activation of the Resource Use Material ESG Issue (MEI) within its ESG Risk Ratings recognizes water risks of data centers.

HSBC pressured to spin off its Asia business Hong Kong-based investor Ping An, which holds an 8.3% stake in HSBC, continues to pressure the lender to spin off its Asia business. The investor first advanced the idea in April 2022, but was at that point rebuffed by HSBC’s leadership.

The Clean Power Plan was created using a directive from the Clean Air Act that enabled the EPA to set emission limits for air pollutants based on the best available technology to reduce emissions. The EPA aimed to cap carbon emissions and curb greenhouse (GHG) emissions by changing the composition of the existing operational power generation assets by forcing the closure of coal plants through strict emission caps, resulting in a system-wide transition to renewable energy.

At Tesla AGM, ESG proposals fall short of goal line Tesla’s August 4, 2022, AGM rejected seven shareholder proposals addressing: reporting on anti-harassment and discrimination efforts, board diversity reporting, employee arbitration, lobbying reporting, freedom of association and collective bargaining, child labour reporting, and water risk reporting.

Alibaba plans primary listing in Hong Kong Alibaba Group will apply for a primary listing in Hong Kong, with the process expected to be completed by the end of this year. Currently, the Chinese tech giant has a primary listing in the US and a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.